ADDING VALUE

If your garage houses everything but your car, perhaps it's time to consider cleaning out and reorganizing. Making space for projects, hobbies and storage extends your living space. For some, the garage is the biggest room in the house, so why not make it more livable?

From sports equipment and lawn and gardening tools to seasonal decorations and cherished relics that you can't part with, a roomful can be overwhelming -- especially when considering the decision to toss or keep.

Realistically, if you organize everything, you may not have to get rid of anything. This is an opportunity to get the treasure off the floor and out from behind the door. With a step-by-step process you can create an organized, usable garage space and create storage.

Pick a nice day so you can use the driveway to begin organizing. Separate things into piles by group -- sports gear, hand tools, fix-it supplies, yard paraphernalia and a junk pile. "Junk" being those things that you've hung onto that you "might use some day." Consider how many years it has gathered dust and toss or donate it to your local charity. The tax savings from your donation might even help pay for your garage makeover.

Once you have everything in its respective pile, look at your garage space. Now that you have empty walls and floor space, you can put everything back and hope it stays nice, right? Wrong. You wouldn't leave pots and pans on the kitchen floor, why leave valuable equipment on the garage floor? Add cabinetry with shelving, drawers and doors to store things properly.

Adding cabinets also creates counter space for woodworking, fixing the car, potting plants or whatever your interest dictates. Modular cabinets can be arranged in and around your large items, like the refrigerator, lawn mower or band saw to create a space for everything.

"With $2.5 billion spent on garage renovation in 2006, it's growing in popularity. Adding cabinetry is more than organization, it's about lifestyle," said Jim Schlimpert, general manager of Garage Storage Cabinets. "You're taking the most cluttered part of your home and customizing it to create a finished extension of your square footage and adding to your home's value."

Once your garage becomes a clean, organized space, you can also use it for garage entertainment. Hang a flat-screen TV and sound system to enjoy football games and work on your project at the same time and have fun in your garage.

GSC is one company that makes heavy duty cabinetry specifically to handle heavy tools, machines and rough conditions typical of the garage. With its unique hanging system, the cabinets don't sit on the floor so they are level and easy to clean under.

One solid bracket holds each cabinet, which can bear a 300-pound load capacity and up to 200 pounds on a single shelf. The cabinets come in three popular finishes, white melamine, light maple wood grain melamine and natural that can be stained or painted to suit your personal taste.

Easy for do-it-yourselfers, the cabinets go together with dovetail joinery and only require basic hand tools to install. Or, if you prefer, professional installers can complete most installations in one day.

For more information about GSC's storage systems, visit www.garagestoragecabinets.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent