A Garage Storage Cabinet - You Gotta Love It

A garage storage cabinet is just a thing, right? It's not alive. It doesn't talk, eat or breath. Some would argue that it doesn't even have a personality, and further, that it is something certainly unworthy of such a thing as love. Well, I disagree. Not only does a garage storage cabinet have a personality, there are more than enough reasons to love it. And if you love it, it will love you back.

When I think back on my first garage storage cabinet, I remember how great it was when I first started carefully organizing things into it. I finally had a place to put things that would otherwise just be thrown into a box or into a pile on the bench. On the left I kept about eight cans of partially used containers of paint. I had all my brushes and other painting supplies neatly laid out next to them. On the right I kept a various assortment of sandpapers, tapes, miscellaneous goops and some rags. It looked great.

I also remember my utter frustration, and irritation, when about six months later I went to find some plumbers putty and could hardly make sense of things at all. I knew it was in there somewhere, but I just couldn't find it because I had let the cabinet get so disorganized and cluttered. I mean, this thing was literally eating my stuff. I'm not sure how it happened, but it did. The light was starting to turn on in my head. I was starting to realize that I could no longer ignore the needs of my cabinet if I wanted to stay happy and sane. Am I alone here? Didn't think so.

So what did I do? I took the opportunity to get real. Something clicked and I made the realization that my garage storage cabinet would only take care of me if I took care of it. This is when I realized that it did indeed have a personality. I resolved to start treating it with the respect and dignity that it deserved.

First thing I did was start over. I removed all the junk that had accumulated over time and threw away the stuff I didn't need anymore. Then I reorganized it, only with a master plan. I resolved to only store things that I would actually use, and I bought my garage storage cabinet some friends. I got a huge stand-alone cabinet with tread plate doors and heavy duty steel construction. This purchase alone really improved my relationship with my original cabinet. Now I didn't have to feel like every single thing I had to store had to be put in only one space. Getting this second unit really freed up a lot of space and made it much easier to store things in an organized way.
I could almost hear the sigh of relief and appreciation coming from my original cabinet. The love was beginning to happen.

It's been about a year now since I made that simple change and resolution. I am proud to report that my garage storage cabinet situation has remained a positive aspect of my life. And as silly as it may sound, it has actually deepened my love and appreciation for anything that gives me peace and structure in life, including cabinetry.