Remember when you were so excited about your garage? You thought about how great it would be to be able to keep your car in there, away from the elements outside. Now, you're lucky if you can find a clear path for to walk through it, much less get your car inside. You want to get organized, but when you look at how much there is to find a home for, you get discouraged. Now you have help. Organize Your Garage In No Time provides step-by-step instructions and easy-to-follow to-do lists to help you get and stay organized. You will learn how to arrange a garage based on use and budget. You'll even get specific product recommendations to help design the perfect storage solution using shelving, cabinets, peg hooks, wall and rafter hangers. Go from clutter and confusion to having a home for everything in your garage, including your car, using Organize Your Garage In No Time.
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Organize Your Garage In No Time About the Author
Barry Izsak, owner of ARRANGING IT ALL in Austin, Texas, has been helping corporate and residential clients nationwide get organized since 1996. He is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), currently serving as president on its board of directors. Barry is a member of the NAPO Golden Circle, recipient of the 2002 NAPO President's Award, and an authorized consultant for Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger software. As an industry leader, Barry is in high demand as a speaker and trainer for organizations and major corporations nationwide. He is well known for his steadfast commitment to promoting the professional organizing industry. Major newspapers and magazines often quote Barry as an authoritative voice on home and office organization trends and news, and he has been featured on CNN and CNBC. For more information, visit http://www.ArrangingItAll.com.
© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Preface
Evolution of the Garage
ith the introduction of the first "horseless carriage," or motor car, in the late nineteenth century, America's love affair with the automobile began. With the introduction of the Model T in the early twentieth century, motor cars were passionately embraced by the American public. No longer a "toy for the rich," automobiles quickly worked their way into the mainstream middle class and became an essential item. By 1920, there were already more than nine million of them.
The logical next question everyone began asking was, "Where are we going to store them?"
Early cars were very expensive, and people wanted to protect their investment, so they stored them in old carriage houses and barns alongside the horses or in public livery stables. The latter option was the predecessor to today's public garage. For $15–$20 per month, a car could be stored there, and additional services were offered that would later be provided by full-service gas stations.
This arrangement proved to be very inconvenient and lasted only a short time, as people began to demand convenience and didn't want their cars to smell like horse manure. People questioned why they couldn't just store their cars at home. The big fear back then was the real danger that this motorized carriage could spontaneously burst into flames. The concept of attaching a garage to the house was unthinkable, so people began building free-standing wooden or brick structures to house their prized investment. From the French word garer, meaning "to protect," the concept of the garage as we know it today was born.
The early garages came in two varieties. They were either built in the same style as the main house, using leftover building materials, or were delivered as a kit from Sears or Montgomery Ward. The garages that came in these kits were more utilitarian and constructed of wood or metal. They were practical, affordable, and quick and easy to build. The use of windows was strictly for ventilation or light and not for architectural significance or interest.
Early garage doors were much more like barn doors. The weight and awkwardness of these unwieldy doors made them very impractical, especially for those who lived in snowy climates. Sliding doors were introduced next, but the garage needed to be wider in order for this type of door to work, and city dwellers did not have that kind of space. These were soon followed by the lift-type door, and though definitely an improvement, they were heavy and cumbersome.
In 1921, C.G. Johnson invented the overhead door. Although a definite improvement, it too was heavy for some people to lift. This problem was solved with the invention of the first automated garage door opener in 1926. Consumers loved this invention, but unfortunately few could afford it. This changed when the mass production of garage door openers began in the mid 1950s. However, it would be another 20 years before the use of these devices became widespread and affordable for the masses.
The carport was another option for protecting the car. It gained increasing popularity in the 1940s and is still widely used today. Especially popular in places with warmer and more temperate climates such as Florida and California, carports were liked by builders because they were much less expensive to build than the traditional garage. Carports come in one- and two-car varieties and are usually constructed with a large closet-like enclosure to store tools, lawn and garden supplies, and the traditional items one would store in a garage. The storage space in a carport is much more limited, and good organization is critical for maximizing its use. A large number of the attached one-car garages seen today started out as carports that were later enclosed.
Not everyone embraced the concept of the attached garage right away. Many were not in favor of attached garages and resisted incorporating them as a part of their houses because they were viewed as unattractive. By the early 1940s, convenience prevailed and the attached garage became more common. Even the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright incorporated one of the early attached garages into his Oak Park, Illinois home. However, it was not until the late 1950s that the attached garage became prevalent. Still, approximately half of American homes had a garage of some sort or a carport.
With the inner-city flight to the suburbs and increasing American affluence, it was clear that one car would no longer meet the needs of the suburban family. Two-car families became the norm, and by the end of the 1980s, the majority of homes being built had two-car garages.
Realtors claim that the garage is the amenity most requested by today's homebuyers and, as such, ranks above a large kitchen, formal dining room, and large backyard. In the last decade, even apartment dwellers have demanded the convenience of a garage, and builders are accommodating them.
Two-and-a-half-, three-, and even four-car garages are commonly featured in higher-priced homes. And as everything old becomes new again, builders are returning to the carriage house garage style of years ago, offering that as an option in newer residential communities.
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These suggestions are invaluable for someone who needs to know what he or she has to choose from. And he addresses how you can use what you already have for storage, the cost of what you will need, and having a garage sale.
Some of the best chapters are the extra ones about storage in sheds, attics, and basements. He even throws in a chapter on storage of seasonal and holiday items.
Barry has left no stone unturned. If you need to organize your garage, you have what you need here.
Professional organizers and homeowners will benefit from the information they gain from reading Barry's book.
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