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Garages
This kind of piggybacks on Jill's thread about organizing.
I've been working on our garage for the past 3 weekends (once it got cool enough to be outside) with hubby and our boys helping some. We moved to this house in Feb, 2020, and moved my mom in with us as well. Both our boys boomeranged back during the summer. So, our garage has been a catch-all. We've merged our household, plus my mom's, plus each boy has some storage, we even have storage for our daughter who lives in CA!! We're originally from So Cal where cars can be left in the driveway, even in the winter. Last year, we had to leave the cars in the driveway, and scrape them if it was frosty or snowed. Hubby just bought a 1964 Buick Riviera, and wants to park it in the garage... hence, him helping with getting things cleared. We're almost at the point where there's enough room to park that one car in the garage. I doubt that we'll get the other cars in there (I should say that we have a 3 car garage. LOL!). Here are some photos so you can see the transformation! These are from the beginning of the first day. Yikes! What a mess! These are from after we finished for today. There is stuff that still needs to go to Goodwill & Habitat for Humanity. That will free up some space. I'm really hoping we'll be done after just one more day!! Oh, I guess I should share a photo of the car that will be parking in the garage. So, I'm wondering... do you park your car(s) in your garage? Is your garage tidy, or is it a storage area? |
#2
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We have one car in the garage and one in the driveway. Currently we use the othe side of the garage for yard stuff, mower snow blower etc until we can get a shed in the yard.
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#3
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We have a garage and it has a workbench area, an extra fridge, an upright freezer, extra supplies (toilet paper/paper towels, etc.), and a car and a truck in there. Our driveway has my suburban and my son's car and other assorted vehicles depending on who is here at the time. It's always musical cars out there. You come in the house, you hang your keys on the hook in case someone needs to move your vehicle.
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#4
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We do park our cars in the garage.... let me rephrase.....my husband parks his cars (toys) in the garage and I've been relegated to the driveway. I do use it to store Christmas decor, etc and it is organized but....we moved into our house in phases so I organized as I went otherwise.... it would have been a massive project.
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#5
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we don't really have a garage. We had to transform a shed into a smaller garage for a car my husband inherited from his dad but in the winter the vehicle we drive still has to be parked outside.. in the snow.. which we get a lot of... which i broke my ankle from trying to clear the snow from the roof this last winter lol
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#6
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I grew up in a house where there was never room for cars in the garage, and DH grew up in an apartment where he only had a space in the building's garage. So it's never even come up in 24 years of marriage--our garage is for cars! (But we have a basement, too, so it's easy for it to be a non-issue. We don't have a ton in our basement, but if we had to keep it all in the garage we'd have a problem.)
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#7
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We have never had a garage until July when we moved into our new house. It's a double car garage , hubby's truck does not fit inside it because of the tool cabinets. We acquired a new car this year (my mom gave our 13 year old her convertible ... don't ask!), so the convertible is in the garage and hoping we can make enough room on the other side for the car I drive - it's close, just have to move some bikes and stuff. Hubby's truck will be on the driveway (which still sucks for snow, but at least it's not on the street and never knowing if we'll get a spot like our last house of 10 years!).
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#8
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No garage for me. I don’t even have a car. I sold it years ago when we moved to the city and don’t miss the cost and hassle. When we take trips, I just rent one.
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#9
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Our house was built in 1910. I have no idea when our detached garage was built, but it was advertised as a "2 car garage" ... clearly not for modern-sized vehicles. It would be impracticable for us to park a vehicles in it, since we use the driveway space directly in front of it to park our 2 vehicles (side by side) and it would be very difficult to accommodate a vehicle in the garage too (basically, it's either one car in the garage or two cars in the driveway). We also have a lot of "stuff" in the garage. Our 3rd vehicle is parked on the street.
Good for you for cleaning out the garage. I've spent hours cleaning stuff out, but I still have many hours in front of me. It's exhausting work!
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#10
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wow, you have been busy Tammy. I live in a townhouse/condo, I have no garage, just an assigned parking spot outside my door, and my son parks in a visitors spot (we're allowed to do that for second vehicles, just no guarantee it will be close to your unit).
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#11
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btw. first of all. I LOVE THAT CAR! Second, do you have to put it on the longer side of the garage? IT'S SO HUGE! We have an L-shaped garage too. We park both cars and hubby's motorcycle. It is a MESS! I am hoping that once I get this year's Xmas stuff to decorate, everything else I don't use this year is going to get donated!
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#12
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As a small child I have a few vague memories of parking the car in the garage, but then it got filled up and the car sat in the driveway. FF 20 some years, my parents built a new house with a very large garage and they still can't park in it. I think there's one tractor in there for sure and then just lots of stuff. I now live in their old house.. and still no parking in the garage. We still have some of their 'stuff' plus a freezer, lawn mower, tool bench, bikes, lawn chairs and lots of other stuff. I admire your tenacity and motivation!!
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#13
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Is my garage tidy??? BLAHAHAHAHAHA..... NOPE! Its a disaster. Until spring there was literally a path from the laundry room door to the garage door. We bought a new AC/Heater for upstairs and our AC guy got hurt at work so it could not be installed so that sat in there for almost a year. We only have a one car garage and its a bit shorter since we took the back 1/3 to make a new laundry room. My car used to fit before we did that.
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#14
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We have two cars in the garage and two cars out. Luckily, we have a basement and shed for stuff.
Tammy, your garage looked like my basement before clearing out all the toys. I still can't believe I got it all cleaned and donated right before the shut down.
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#15
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I don't have pictures to show, but I did a total clean and organization on my garage this summer. Since I am afraid of heights and will not climb the ladder to the attic and my basement is fully finished, I don't have any other place to store things so the garage was the dump spot for my stuff, my mom's stuff and the kid's stuff. After my mom passed, I made sure that anyone who wanted something of hers got it, finally got my son to take all his stuff to his house and then went after the rest of the mess.
I actually started in January when all the organization stuff went on sale and brought the shelving and storage bins cheap. Then I started going through the unknown boxes, organizing what I personally wanted to keep and slowly throwing the rest of the smaller stuff out through the year because I didn't want to pay for a dumpster. Once I was down to just the big ticket items, lawn mowers, old furniture, Chet the dummy, the salmon ladder, etc, I put them all on the curb, posted on FB and watched the people come. Everything was gone in less than two hours. LOL Now I am at the point where I am organizing and labeling the bins and moving some stuff out of the house and into the garage to free up and clean up some closets that are overstuffed. I am also going to bin up all my quilting stuff and move it out there until I set up my craft room, which is down the road more towards retirement. The final step in my garage redo is going to be turning the side with the door to the kitchen into a "mud room." Now that I am able to park in there, I want a place to take off my shoes, hang dog leashes, put on boots, etc. I don't want to drag all that stuff into the house, so I am going get a nice entry way piece that I can use out there. My sister says I am nuts to put "furniture" in the garage, but since that is the way I go in and out every day, I think making it look nice and function comfortably is the way to go. I am debating on whether or not it needs to be painted a pretty color instead of the cream it is now, because even I think that may be going a little too far.
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Last edited by LJSDesigns; 09-20-2021 at 07:37 AM. |
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My parents built the house I have in 1964 and Dad actually had the garage widened an extra 2 feet at that time. Great decision on his part.
So growing up, 2 cars were always kept in the garage. When I started driving and they got me an older car, it sat in the driveway about half way down so the car it was behind could still get out without moving it. After I moved back in with them (after 12 years away), Dad parked in the driveway and my car was in the garage. Then when Mom stopped driving, they sold her car and we only had the 2 cars in the garage. We have a full basement so the junk went there and all the lawn stuff went into the shed Dad put up. When Dad moved to NC after Mom's death, it was only the 1 car in the garage and I still parked on the side as if there was going to be another car in there. There was some mess in there but it was usually just stuff like boxes to be recycled (actually have some of that now). After Dad passed away and I decided to clean out the junk in the basement, a lot of it went into the garage until it could be disposed of whether it was recycling, donation or trashed. When I remodeled the kitchen/dining room, I had furniture out there until it could be picked up and taken away (I sold or donated it). When I had the dumpster for the last of the basement stuff, I also took time to clean out the shelves in the garage that Dad had stuff on. Had to laugh because I found an attachment for a piece of lawn equipment that had not been around for about 25 years. So right now, my garage is relatively clean and I can get my car in there. There is space for a 2nd vehicle as well. I have a pen setup for the dog for when I'm gone during nice weather. She can get to the fenced in patio or be in the garage. I probably should put some of the boxes that have built up out for recycle but they aren't in the way so I haven't done it. About once a year (sometimes twice) I will move the car out, move things and sweep the garage floor to get the grit and leaves that accumulate out. Next month should be a good time to do it. The only times I can remember not even being able to park in the garage was the 2 times I was having remodeling done and each time was about 2 days since the company doing the work put all their tools and the new cabinets in there. The other time was about a week and it was when the old driveway was torn out and a new driveway was put in. Had to park in the yard so I could go to work. Other than that the garage has always been used for its original purpose. |
#17
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You have made tremedous progress on cleaning and organizing the garage! And like @Dalis said ... nice wheels!!
We have a 2 stall garage and an added garage. Hubby parks his truck in the add on garage, We park our Yukon in the 2 stall garage - and then keep our bicycles in the garage as well. Along with all of the "stuff" my husband has aquired, including tools, etc. I consider the garage his "space" so it is not very organized. I'm grateful for a garage, here in Northern IL, the winters can be pretty brutal and having to clean snow and ice off of vehicles gets old pretty quickly!
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#18
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Quote:
Thankfully, there was a shed in the backyard when we bought our house! That's pretty full, too! Quote:
The key hook is a great idea!! We tried stacking our sons' cars in the driveway, but it didn't work well, so one parks his car on the street (which I don't like. LOL!) Quote:
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#19
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We do both have automatic starters in our cars to warm them up and keep the defrost on during winter so that as the car heats up it will clear the windows. Then I go out and wipe the car off if it's snowed while he snowblows the driveway. Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk
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#20
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We have a three car garage but don't park any of our cars in there. Our garage door opener broke and we have just not really worried about upgrading it to code. Also, my husband owns a business that he operates out of our garage so he currently has a lot of things in there. I used to hate parking my car outside but I've just learned to let it go.
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#21
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...you know you HAVE to tell the story of the convertible now! |
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Thanks! Yes, it's very exhausting work! I'll be so glad when it's done! When we lived in an apartment, we had an assigned parking spot, and a one-car garage. Thankfully at the time, we only had/needed one car, so the garage was for storage. Where do you store things? |
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#24
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Yes, we do park in our garage in the winter, we have a two car garage. I'm actually pretty anal about it. Because our last house we only had a 1 car garage and we couldn't park in there because we needed the storage. We don't park in it during the spring/summer, DH's riding mower, bikes, stuff like that ends up in there. When that stuff gets put away for the season, then we start parking in there again. That's actually on the plan for this weekend.
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#25
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I love your idea for the mudroom. Hey, paint away!! I think it would be awesome painted a pretty color! Okay, I have to ask.. what are Chet the dummy and the salmon ladder? |
#26
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Had to laugh because I found an attachment for a piece of lawn equipment that had not been around for about 25 years. This made me laugh because when my Grandpa passed, we were cleaning things out, and he had stuff like this out in his shed. Quote:
It's nice that you don't worry about the garage because it's your hubby's space. Even though mine likes his cars, he doesn't work on them, and doesn't really do fix-up around the house. That's always been my area. When I was still working outside the home, we had a boss visit from Georgia. He wanted to fix something in our office, so I said I would bring my toolbox. He laughed and said that usually a woman would say, "I'll bring my husband's tools". lol |
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We have a three car garage, but only one car (mine) actually fits in it. The other half of my garage is full of bikes and storage items, and the 3rd garage space hubby walled off and made into a workshop for himself.
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#30
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We have a two car garage...We have my van and a 1966 Ford Mustang inside. Hubby's Rogue is outside and when we get my teen his car it will be in driveway. Our driveway is short so we will have to do musical chairs. The garage is pretty organized. We have two shelves that fit over the garage on the ceiling and then shelving as well for stuff. It is tight but we make it work. Our house doesn't have a lot of storage. We put some stuff in the attic but it is HOT!
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#31
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I personally keep the garage and the house very tidy. My husband does not. I allowed him free reign in the garage and he likes to randomly decide to "organize" it. Except he has ADHD and halfway through his organizing, he gets distracted and starts playing with stuff. Then it's late and he just shoves it all back into a pile in the middle of the garage, then he's overwhelmed by the disaster and it sits like that for a while. This last time it was a whole year it sat like that. I finally got him to clean it up a couple of weeks ago. I had to park my car outside in an ND winter. I was less than happy. We are about to get it fully insulated and heated, so hopefully it works out well.
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#32
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I think that having a basement helps with not having the clutter in the garage, at least for me. Now that both the garage and the basement are cleared of clutter, I'm keeping them that way. That was one huge project that took me quite awhile.
Oh yeah, basements are a very good idea to have where I live.... we have 2 "tornado seasons" a year and the 2nd one is coming up. I have a chair, a tv hooked to cable and a lantern down there so I can settle in if needed. Oh, I do grab a blanket as well since it can get cold down there! |
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It’s more like a townhouse, I have 2 stories plus a full basement. Basement is laundry, storage and where son has his bedroom/computer area. Upstairs is 3 bedrooms and bathroom, main floor is kitchen/dining/living room with a big hall closet and smaller utility closet.
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#36
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Our garage is a detached 1.5 car garage. We own 3 cars, and our driveway is a single car width wide. Before we had 3 cars, we would put my husband's car in the garage when we were going to get a major snow storm, so he could get to work at his odd hours easier without having to scrap snow/ice off of it.
Our garage is basically his work shop. He keeps his tools, wood, and anything lawn related in there. He does have moments where he will clean and organize, giving us a good amount of space in the garage should we have another ice storm. The other 2 cars can fend for themselves though!
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#37
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No parking on the street for us - unless we want a ticket. It's illegal to park from 2 am to 5 am on the street, so no overnight parking.
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#38
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#39
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A salmon ladder is a vertical ladder which you climb by jumping a free-moving bar up one rung at a time. Think American Ninja Warrior. Again, that was my son's and it was too high to fit in his basement so he couldn't take it home. It took up a lot of room in the garage, so it had to go. Some hot dude with great arms came and got it; he'd been wanting one at his house and was really happy. I was happy to see it go and to see a hot, happy dude. LOL
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Last edited by LJSDesigns; 09-20-2021 at 09:21 PM. |
#40
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Did I mention we're in Canada, so it's convertible weather for only May-Sept? lol I do enjoy it though, it's super fun to drive - even when it's only a few degrees about zero like the other morning
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#41
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You're lucky you have a garage!! I miss having a garage. I hate having to store my stroller in the back of my car. We have a basement with no outside access and a small shed that has bikes and toys and gardening tools. That's all we can fit.
Way to go on your cleaning progress!!
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#42
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#43
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Thank goodness for the attic! Oh wow... A friend of mine has that in her neighborhood, but they're allowed to call visitors in to get an exception. |
#44
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Bahahaha!! So you got benefit out of the salmon ladder, too Quote:
I laugh when I see people with convertibles here. Our season is a bit longer than yours, but it still seems funny to me. Quote:
Thanks, Lea! |
#45
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Wow - I'm amazed at my fellow northern girls that don't park their cars in the garage in the winter! I grew up drilled in me that cars get parked in garages - even the house I grew up, we had four cars (only three of us, haha and I was too young to drive - but my mom had a mail route and had to have reliable cars available)... they added onto the garage so we could park three cars in a row and then the collector car had the other stall. All my apartments had garages - that was a deal breaker... my first apartment, the garage was across the roadway, what a hardship! haha
We have a three car garage and both or cars in it... third stall is for lawn mowers/show blowers, etc. Not sure what we are going to do when kiddo starts driving. That third stall has to be backed into to be able to be used for a car. We have a lot of junk in our garage... we have been cleaning it out, just mostly stuff for rummage sale, tools, things like that.
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#46
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Good work, Tammy. That is a lot of progress.
We have a 3 car garage that has 3 cars in it (one big & 2 small), but honestly it is only because we have installed so much storage. We have 7 ceiling racks, a big custom made shelf in front of our big car, shelves on the walls and even stuff in between our 2 car garage & the 1 car garage. My husband manages it =) He has inherited stuff from his parents and they were from a generation that didn't throw anything away. It was ingrained in him not to let things go he might have a use for someday and much of that now lives in our garage. He is working on letting go of some things and I applaud him =) We also have a large shed out back that is very full - bikes, lawnmower, garden stuff, misc wood stuff, more tools live out there.
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#47
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How long until your son starts driving? Quote:
It's hard to get rid of stuff that's inherited. I brought a lot from my Grandparent's house and I just can't get myself to let it go. Maybe at some point I'll be able to do it. I applaud your husband for working on getting rid of things! |
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Wow, that's awesome progress!! And a cool car to put in your 3rd garage bay!
My car is in the garage, my husband's truck has been outside all summer (we're lucky to have a 2-car garage but there's no extra room for bikes etc. so it's just easiest to leave it out). But, we currently have about 4" of snow & it's still falling, so I know he'll be ready to clear his side of the garage & make room for his truck (hopefully it fits!)
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Last edited by knittingbec; 09-24-2021 at 03:55 PM. |
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We have a carport, but we also have a gate, so our car is rarely parked under the carport because it's too much trouble to pull it into the yard every day.
But when we are in the States, we always park in the garage because it's way too cold for me during the fall and winter and spring to go outside to a cold car.
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#50
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We have a one+ garage that is my husbands work shop. Fortunately, we have a 40'x60' metal shed which houses five vehicles and lawn equipment. We have the same rule about keys, they have to go on hook by the back door. We play musical vehicles all the time and when the kids are home it's even worse.
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