Sunday 9 October 2011

Our car has been (temporarily) evicted from the garage

When Mr Sociable turned 3, we were planning to have a "hat" party at the park. But in the week before the party, we decided to have the party at home as the park was boggy and more rain was forecast. Our living area is not huge and we had invited lots of people. So, we had a massive garage clean-out to make some extra party space.

Outside area covered by a tarp
Garage cleaned up and ready for a party!
After the party, I realised how useful the space could be if it were more organised. We are lucky enough to have a double garage. The downside of having such a big space is that we tend to use one side for the car and the other side to store junk that we don't need or don't have time to store properly.

The first step was to get some good storage for the garage. I love these cupboards - all the mess is hidden behind closed doors (which the kids can't open, because we didn't put handles on them!

We installed 4 flatpax pantry cupboards from Bunnings
So long as I am disciplined about putting things away, the garage is now a useful space. Sometimes, we use the garage to ride bikes (when all the other toys are not set up in there). We also do messy activities in there (playdoh, painting, etc). On weeks when we have lots of rain, we can leave the car on the driveway for a few days and use the garage as a play space. Since we have had LOTS of rain lately, I have set up quite a few activities in there.

Our garage playland
The drums actually live in the garage all the time (I can still listen to their "concerts" from inside the house ;)).
Mr Fun loves drums!
 The slide and trampoline normally live outside, but they are easy enough to bring in.
Crash mats - because concrete is not quite as forgiving as grass!
I filled the paddling pool with stones and coloured rice.
Note the tarp underneath to help with clean-up!
The kitchen & play food normally live in the garage. The kitchen takes up too much space in the kids' room!

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