My {updated, clean and organized} garage

I spent the beginning of the summer cleaning, organizing and decorating my garage. I had to work on it between projects, and it's still not the perfect workshop, but it's working a lot better for me these days.

My first step was cleaning out my scrap pile. I hate to get rid of anything I might use at some point, but I really needed the space. So I went through and tossed anything that was less than 18" long. Thankfully, we have a few friends that have fire pits in their back yards and they took the extra wood off my hands!

I also bought a new (used) workbench from Craigslist. It has a few drawers, a vise, a cabinet with a shelf, and a metal pegboard back. I use the pegboard more for the magnetic-ness (that's totally a word, right?) than for the peg hooks, but I use those too. It's nice to have a place to hang random things that I use all the time like safety glasses, gloves and my to-do lists. The extra storage and workspace is great too!

I use the top shelf for my Sony iPod dock/radio so I can have my jams all day while I work!

The other thing I've been working on is making my garage my happy place. I know it seems a little silly to 'decorate' a garage, but I spend more time in there than anywhere else in my house. It has to be my workspace, a storage space and my office all in one. When customers come to see what I build, I need a clean place for them to sit! So I spent a little time and money making it prettier and more comfortable. I built these chalkboards for extra drawing/list space, and I built this nail-head art sign out of my logo.

Wouldn't this one have been perfect?! I love the color but the price was not quite right.

I spend quite a bit of time looking for the perfect bar stool for my garage. I thought I needed someplace to perch while I drew plans or wrote invoices. I initially thought I wanted this one from Pier 1. It's the perfect color for my garage and it's nice and sturdy, but $100 is a little steep for a stool for the garage!

So I kept looking. I found a few others that I liked, from World Market and Target, but World Market didn't ship their stools to Hawaii, so my decision was made. I ended up with two stools, gray instead of teal, but I can always paint them if I really want... I bought them online when they went on sale, so I paid $60 for two stools, and shipping was free. I love having them! 

My husband gave me this gorgeous baby for my birthday last year. I love it! It really helps me stay organized and work efficiently since I always know exactly where everything is.

  

I lined all the drawers with cheap shelf liner to keep my tools from sliding around or scratching the bottom of the drawers up.

Here's a few more pictures of the rest of my garage. I'll share the rest of my garage update later this week. I have a miter saw cart plan, a fancy workbench and a few more fun things to share so make sure to check back! Happy Monday!

I might like to put my logo on EVERYTHING I own...
my barstools, my water bottle, my husband. (wait, what? Who would do a thing like that?)

Thanks for stopping by! Find me on Facebook for pictures and updates between posts. And if you don't want to DIY, you can buy from me on Etsy!