Before and After: A Cluttered Garage Gets a (Zero-Cost!) Cleanup 35 Years in the Making
September is Transformation Month at Apartment Therapy! That means every day, we’re sharing a new before & after to show the power of transformations at home. Head over here to see them all!
Lori Roach and her husband spend a lot of time in their townhouse’s garage. They use it as their home’s entrance and exit, for doing laundry, and for storing tools, golf clubs, and more.
But that doesn’t mean they enjoyed the look of it. In fact, Lori says the garage hadn’t been upgraded or painted since the townhouse was built in 1983. “We moved in two years ago, and it was a filthy mess, full of random nails in the walls, bug infestation, and scuffs and debris,” Lori writes. “The paint had yellowed to the point that it looked like someone had a serious smoking habit.”
It was time for a facelift. The couple spent the entire three-day Labor Day weekend on the space, with Lori cleaning, priming, and painting, and her husband decluttering and organizing.
Because they had primer and paint on hand that was left over from other projects, they put a lot of time into the garage makeover, but no money.
“I love that it looks and feels clean and fresh in the garage, and that we only have things we know to be useful stored there,” Lori writes. “I am a big fan of organizing and decluttering, so it’s a tremendous stress relief to have this project completed. The only thing I would do differently is to have done this project two years ago when we first moved in.”
Thank you for sharing, Lori!