Projects And so it begins…cleaning the garage

It’s finally getting to the fall/winter season and since most everything is done around the house I’m spending this holiday season cleaning out my garage and shed so I can use them for something more than a catchall. I will be listing tons of parts in the cl***ified section along with hitting a few swap meets to liquidate some of this stuff. But I have to get my convertible out so I can work on it (yes it’ll be another whole thread) and to do that we have to divulge into some urban archaeology……So let the fun begin​

 

Good lord what a mess! Lmfao

 

Looks like you may find a car under all that stuff.

 

That’s just the small garage I still have a shed that all I can do is push a lawnmower into and a few garden tools. It’s jammed packed full of NOS sheet metal a full set of wood for a 50 and lord knows what. Then in the main garage I have tons of stuff I need to farm through and then the attics of both my house and garage that has TONS of NOS chrome, gl***, full sets of wood for 50 and 51’s, etc that has got to go. Whenever I say I can build 3 or 4 cars without leaving the house I’m not joshun’.

 

I see your problem...you've got a bike and house paint taking up valuable garage/car space!

 

Yeah I kinda caught that one too

Bad thing is my granddaughter outgrew that one (24”) and is due for another and I have to find room for her new one now

 

Will definitely be a job. I know I need to similar but don’t have near as cool of stuff to go through as you do.

 

Thank you @lostn51 ! My own is so bad I have developed an aversion to even lifting the door. But at least there is someone out there even worse!!!

 

And I thought my shop was bad...

Good luck!

 

Well this is my side garage that has turned into a catchall since I cleared out a lot of stuff in the main garage to put toolboxes in and to be able to work on cars. Here’s the main garage that still needs a lot of stuff moved out…….

 

I’m still finding things that I had know idea that existed in here. Dad has more stuff ratholed in this place than you can shake a stick at

 

I've been seriously considering buying two 20 Ft shipping containers for our excess stuff and primarily for my keeper stuff that I need to organize and have where I can find it. Last time I had my garage doors open two women from Fema stopped and wanted to know about the disaster that happened.

My big problem though is over the past 20 years I bought a lot of shop stuff for my shop that I still don't have.

 

I think that’s all of us, I am always buying things that I know that I will need for a project or the garage even though it’s still a year or two before I can even think about starting it.

I need to redo the shed and the shipping container thing sounds like it would work out perfectly for me but will need to modify it for lighting and maybe put some of my big equipment in there like my tire machine, drill press, etc. I have the room for it if I tear down the one dad built in the early 70’s

 

Newsflash:
You can buy a shipping container but in a year, it's gonna look just like your small garage and your shed! Time and energy needs to be allocated to pulling everything outta all your shops, putting it all in piles (keep/sell/donate/toss), then do***enting/photos/listing everything in the 'sell' pile and dealing with the tire kickers, deciding who to donate to out of the 'donate' pile and transporting to said donation facilities, disposing of everything else in the 'toss' pile then putting everything that's in the 'keep' pile back into the shops in an organized manner.
The trickiest part is keeping everything clean and organized afterwards!! You sir, have a monumental task in front of you. I wish you all the best.

 

Oooooooooo

 

Oops

 

Keep the good stuff and call the Got Junk franchise to remove the rest. It becomes less of a stress when you don’t see it daily.

 

I looked at the first picture again, and yes, now I see a little bit of car!

 

Oooh, coffee cans full of nuts, bolts, washers, screws, drill bits, taps, dies and various small tools. Takes me back to helping my stepfather move. He drank a lot of coffee and never threw out an empty coffee can. His job (power plant construction engineer) required him to move about every 2-3 years. Growing up poor in the '30s, he never threw anything away. There were always overstock items on the jobsites, and they wound up in Dub's stash. When he had a project, he was always looking in those coffee cans and Mason jars for just the right piece of hardware. Sometimes he would find what he needed, but more often than not, there was a trip to the hardware store involved. He never needed all of what was in the package, so those found a new home in the closest can or jar. After he died, I was tasked with clearing all of that, plus his m***ive rock, gem, mineral, fossil and Indian artifact collection. Three pickup loads of miscellaneous hardware went to the salvage yard for less than the cost of the gas to get it there. I try to keep the mess down in my garage, but it's damned hard.

 

@lostn51 , let’s make a deal.
I fly to Tennessee and take on your situation, you come to California and take on mine.

I’ll make you cry

 

LOL…I’ve got cans filled with bolts from every leftover project for the last 60+ years around here. Your stepdad and mine are cut from the same cloth because he never tossed anything because he might need it later. Most of the stuff in there is really good stuff but he had the mindset that us kids (my sister and me) would need to maintain the cars so he was making sure that we had everything that we could ever need.

 

Road trip!!! Garage cleaning in Oakdale and SW Tennessee; dates to be determined later. BYOB

 

As one gets older. Less is more.

 

I figured he’d take me up on the offer.
I’d
scoot over to Cleveland, we’d knock a few back and talk about “what a deal he made”.
It would be a short visit, 3 hours after he landed, my phone would be ringing and there would be someone hollering “deals off”!!!!

 

Hey I’m always up for a road trip and I’m not afraid of a little work either. But the only thing is I’m sorta like my dad in a way and I would probably find a way to put the stuff up so you will have it for later, or I’d be loading up a trailer and bringing it back with me

 

You are not alone, Been There, Done That, in process of my last garage's, 2700 sq ft, cleanup as time is winding down. I've asked myself many times, WHY did I save this, WHAT was I thinking, making maybe my last dump run shortly and now many items to sell which I have been all along, a gigantic PIA dealing with people, courtesy, respect and common sense has left the building IMO. Good Luck, you will, Git R Dun

 

While I was out there working on my woodie I gathered some things off the shelf near the door to list in the cl***ified section. I’ll probably group them up so I don’t have to have a million listings to keep up with and it’ll save on bandwidth. But I think you guys are right this is going to be a huge undertaking