The Garage Chronicles: Back In Business

By Serge Bielanko | July 27th, 2012 at 4:20 pm

Paradise lost...and found again.

(This is Part Four of a Four-part series. Here’s parts One…Two…and Three.)

No matter where it is that you find yourself most comfortable in the world, no matter if it’s in your bedroom, or out in the woods under a damn pine tree, or racing down some freeway with the radio blasting your Loverboy‘s Greatest Hits CD as the sweet summer breeze gushes up your nostrils and the miles fall away, one thing is always gonna be for certain.

There is no place like it anywhere else in the galaxy.

So it comes to pass that I have finally finished setting up my garage. I have finally gotten my little corner of the world back up and running, and I’m a better man because of it too. See, this is where I do my minor woodworking crap and keep my nails and screws and all, yes that’s true, but there’s more to it than that.

Because, as it happens, this little heap of plywood and concrete and aluminum is also where I do almost all of my writing and a whole lot of my thinking, to boot.

So, it feels so great being back in here, with things organized the way I like them.

A few weeks back, when I first got the offer from The Home Depot to take on a bunch of posts about my garage, I was pretty overwhelmed. The place was a real mess after we had just moved back in to this house in a hurry, and quite frankly, I had no real idea where I wanted to begin.

But getting the assignment from them kick started me in the right direction. Look, they said, here’s a list of stuff that we sell that you can pick a few things from, things that will help you begin to get organized. And that was exactly what happened, too, no lie. I went and picked out some steel shelves and some tool bags and a a tool chest and by the time I got home with it I was already formulating my plan in my mind.

Now, to you, it might seem like nothing special, really, and that’s okay. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say…and I suppose that especially applies to people and their garages.

Mine is perfect for me now.

Really, the only thing maybe missing is a real mounted buffalo head.

So, like,  if you know where there is one available….let me know, okay?!

Anyway, here’s how it all turned out.

• 

  C'mon In!

  So, here we are. As you can see things are looking pretty good now. No more clutter. No more tripping over boxes of crap.

  /babble-voices/he-said-she-said/2012/07/27/the-garage-chronicles-back-in-business/#cmon-in
• 

  New Shelves

  These are the new set of steel shelves I got at Home Depot. They were easy to put together and they gave me more space than I had even hoped for. Of course, I filled them up in like ten minutes, so I'll probably need a new set before too long.

  /babble-voices/he-said-she-said/2012/07/27/the-garage-chronicles-back-in-business/#new-shelves
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  Tool Land

  This is the whole area known as 'Tool Land'. And no, it's not named that because I am a 'tool'.

  /babble-voices/he-said-she-said/2012/07/27/the-garage-chronicles-back-in-business/#tool-land
• 

  New Bins

  These are my two new Husky tool bins I got at the Depot. They are really big and can hold everything from hammers to levels and just about any kind of thing you can throw at it. Between these two, I don't even need to dig through a toolbox.

  /babble-voices/he-said-she-said/2012/07/27/the-garage-chronicles-back-in-business/#new-bins
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  New Chest

  See that baby? That's my new Husky portable steel chest from the Home Depot. It holds my magnificent collection of screws and nails and various tiny hardware bits perfectly.

  /babble-voices/he-said-she-said/2012/07/27/the-garage-chronicles-back-in-business/#new-chest
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  Bird's Eye View Of The Chest

  As you can see, I've already loaded her up with a ton of stuff, but I still have room for lots more.

  /babble-voices/he-said-she-said/2012/07/27/the-garage-chronicles-back-in-business/#birds-eye-view-of-the-chest
• 

  The Tackle Shop

  Of course, it ain't all hammers and nails out here, folks. I set aside one wall for my fly fishing gear. I love to stare at it and think of all the trout I'm not catching in the middle of my workday.

  /babble-voices/he-said-she-said/2012/07/27/the-garage-chronicles-back-in-business/#the-tackle-shop
• 

  Pit Road

  Over against a different wall is the area of my garage/man cave known as 'Pit Road'. Because, that's where I keep my hot rods.

  /babble-voices/he-said-she-said/2012/07/27/the-garage-chronicles-back-in-business/#pit-road
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  The Office

  And here is where I do all of my writing. If you've read anything from me over the past few months, this is where I wrote it. This picture will probably be worth some loot once I win the Nobel Prize for Literature or a Pulitzer or something.

  /babble-voices/he-said-she-said/2012/07/27/the-garage-chronicles-back-in-business/#the-office
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  Wall Of Serge

  This is a wall that I dedicate to things I like to look at. I change it up pretty often, you know, to keep things 'fresh'. If you were to ever send me a postcard from Paris or Mongolia...here is where I would display it.

  /babble-voices/he-said-she-said/2012/07/27/the-garage-chronicles-back-in-business/#wall-of-serge
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  The King And His Castle

  Well, that's it. Thanks for coming. Hope you dug seeing my little corner of the world.

  /babble-voices/he-said-she-said/2012/07/27/the-garage-chronicles-back-in-business/#the-king-and-his-castle

*A big thanks to The Home Depot  for sponsoring this campaign. Click here to see more of the discussion.

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