Garage Retreats
Bigger, bolder, better
When I learned that my parents had air conditioning installed in their garage, along with tiled floors and finished walls for their three cars, I thought this was quite out-of-the-ordinary. However, I recently discovered it isn't so unusual.
In a USA Today article entitled "Garages motor to new heights," it covers various homeowners who have turned their garages into a first-rate retreat for men.
With organizational units and top-of-the-line windows, one Minneapolis man created his favorite room in the house...in his 3-car garage. Even his skis and fishing equipment are hung so nicely that he calls it "garage art."
The article also pointed out that it doesn't have to be so expensive to redo a garage. It states that Home Depot reported that the average garage makeover runs around $500. The article featured more upscale, high-prices garages. One of the more extreme garage makeovers was a $60,000 job in Sioux Falls.
According to USA Today, the percentage of U.S. homes with garages that hold three or more cars is rising from 11% in 1992 to 18% in 2001. The National Association of Professional Organizers say that more than 500 organizing businesses are now specializing in garages -- twice as many as in 2000 -- and that organization products in general are now an $800-million-a-year industry.
One of the newer additions to the garage-organizing world is Add-a-Hook, which I talked about before in an earlier blog post. Sweet and simple is how I like it, and that's what these are. The company just sent me some more of their newer products and I'm eager to put them to use! They launched Add-a-Loop, Add-a-Lok, and Add-a-boot. Very cool!
To me, a garage is an extension of my home and I like to keep it neat and organized so I can find things stored there easily ... as well as park my car in it. Although it isn't any "retreat" for me, I do find it a pleasant place to be when I have to be in there. But hey, I'm a girl.
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Related blog post:
Organize Garage
Hoarders Beware
How Hoarding Can Cost You Your Home
I don't think hoarders read this blog because its focus is about helping people get organized, and most hoarders do not have this goal in mind. But, I thought our readers would find it interesting to see what some new local community forces are doing about excessive hoarders.
It's in the news all the time, not just this week or today: hoarders getting evicted, found dead, and/or causing fires in the home. Recently, an evicted hoarder decided to file a lawsuit for being locked out of his condo with a sign reading "Unfit for human habitation." See full article, "Fighting to Remain Engulfed in Junk" about Sam Shipkovitz. Should we feel sorry for him, or rejoyce that some people care about him enough to try and stop him?
I personally am thankful the hoarder task force moved in to do something about it. I do, however, sympathize with his plight -- I'm not cold-hearted. On the other hand, other articles about hoarders do not have such positive results (if we believe the result to be positive, that is). Many of them are about fires that wipe out a residence or adjoining apartment units, injuring firemen who have difficulty getting into the place to put out the fire. See ABC's Good Morning America news article, "Police Crack Down on Hoarders" to learn that 14 firefighters were injured in such an incident. This was also covered in a NY Daily News article, "Pack Rat Neighbors Feared Death Trap."
There are many programs springing up now to stop hoarders. In my blog entry "Putting a stop to hoarding," it talks about a Hoarding Convention that is aimed at approaching the problem with hoarders at the prevention level, as well as the intervention level.
In another related blog post about hoarders called "Dangerous Piles" it talks about one tradegy of a hoarder, although this isn't the only story of its kind either.
So, if we are unable to change the habits and lifestyles of hoarders, than intervention seems to be the only way to guarantee their own safety, as well as the safety of their neighbors. Is eviction then such a drastic measure if it means saving lives?
Comments and stories welcome.
A Good Reason to Get Organized
Can a messy home affect relationships?
I really loved this article, "Why Getting Organized Can Improve Your Love Life." When some men were asked if they cared about their environment, it became evident that they do.
One married man stated his wife let the house go after a few years of marriage and felt this was the first sign that the marriage was over. Another man, a bachelor, wouldn't marry a woman who didn't keep her home tidy, but would date them.
Overall, the men surveyed wanted to be nurtured and creating a nice environment is part of that nurturing.
Related articles:
Organize Life
Home Made Simple, TLC's New TV Show
A new television show that features organization, outdoor living, decor, and even cooking is now airing on The Learning Channel (TLC) -- Home Made Simple.
The web site features articles and tips, as seen on the show, and giveaways you could win. I've seen one show and it looks like some of the others I've seen, but hey ... it throws in a little more of this and that.
Living with Less
Validating Ourselves with Our Stuff
In a Sew News Magazine interview with Christopher Lowell, he tells interviewer Ellen Marchant his observation:
Ellen: "...while reading your book, The Seven Layers of Organization, you wrote about the need to validate yourself with stuff. It made me realize that I don't need twelve copies of my first column as proof that I did something great!"
Christopher: "That's wonderful! You know, I believe I say this at the beginning of the book: Having clutter in your life is just like being overweight. It isn't something that's intentional. It just happens. We, as a culture, tend to hoard things. Having things around us makes us feel validated. There's a deep emotional reason why we can't get rid of our old life and make a new life.
"...They [people] said they walked back to their homes after Sept. 11 and found that their home wasn't nurturing them. They hoarded all this junk that didn't really mean anything...... I realized that before you can detach, you must purge. It isn't about the size of your space or where things should go, but rather the emotional side of things: Why can't I let go? Can I live with less and live with better? Tracing the psychology of why people hoard really cracked the surface of how to implement change in their lives." I think this should be posted on the wall of all pack rats!
Clutter Causes Stress
Poll Results
In a recent poll, 55.4% of the voters felt that the number one thing that causes them stress is living with clutter. 15.1% felt that paying bills was most stressful; while 13.7% felt that managing a household caused the most stress for them; 3.6% getting ready for work; 8.6% keeping track of important dates and appointments; 3.6% had other reasons.
Please vote in our newest poll at Organized-Living.com!
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