Ok, so this is what I do on a slow Sunday night when the baby is asleep and I can' t make noise in the garage, house, or yard 
While cleaning up in the basement today I ran across the June 2009 GRM, which I had never actually read thanks to it ending up underneath an old couch. Since I’m a garage geek (though many of you have better garages than mine!) I loved the “25 secrets to creating the ultimate garage.”
So being bored, I thought of the challenge for myself: Go directly out to my garage and see how many of the “secrets” I had fulfilled without seeing the article.
Here are my results. With pics because that’s what I do….but post up your results as well (with or without pics) if you’re uber-bored, lol. My pics taken tonight are next to the originals…
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DUMPSTER DIVING – used kitchen cabinets. CHECK. Got mine from a buddy who ripped some of his out to build a new wall. Still waiting for him to replace the rest so I can have them too. Coat of matte black paint makes them look new again!
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LIGHTING – a lot of it. CHECK. I’ve added several new lights this year.
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CARPETING – use old stuff, it’s nicer than concrete. CHECK. I actually do. I always thought I was weird….
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GET GREASY – use grease as a lubricant, anti-seize, etc. CHECK. No photo, but don’t we all do this?
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GET CONNECTED – computer and internet in the garage. CHECK. I use an old laptop, mounted on a swing-out base from an old-style 25” TV, lol
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BUY IN BULK – buy tools in bulk. CHECK. No photo required. I usually buy a full set if I just need 2 sizes of something, unless it’s something super-expensive.
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TABLE ON WHEELS – CHECK TIMES TWO. Not only did I, last month, make a rolling workbench that slides away under my main bench, BUT I also happen to have a GT6 transmission painted the same colors as the one in the GRM photo!
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AIR VERSUS ELECTRICITY. Check? I don’t have room for air, but have some high-power electric tools that work great for my purposes
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HMM…use of Amazon.com. I do sometimes. Half a check
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PUMP YOU UP: use hand pumps. CHECK TIME TWO. I often use a hand pump on my cars AND I have a set of Rota SDRs just like the ones in the GRM original photo, lol
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SIMPLY STORAGE. CHECK. I like my shed better than the GRM shed!
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RIDE THE LIGHTNING. No check. I actually don’t like rechargeable lights. I like plug-in. And I like big Mag-lites, since they’re also handy when in need of a BFH.
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MAIL CALL: Use old mail bins. Not here, though I have a lot of bins about that size that I paid for.
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SHOP USED: CHECK. I make a habit of buying 25-cent screwdrivers at garage sales whenever I see them (and other tools). Never know when they’ll come in handyto make a drawer look messy.
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RUBBER SOUL: Rubbermaid bins: CHECK. I used the really big ones.
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PLASTIC PALS: use old bottles for scoops, funnels, etc. CHECK. I’m to cheap to buy lots of real funnels!
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SHELVE IT: good, solid shelves from various sources. CHECK. Though most of mine I built myself out of leftover lumber and such..
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TAKE GOOD NOTES: ok, I’m bad at this. No check.
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FOAM FLOOR: no, I don’t have it.
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BUILD A BENCH: CHECK. I have several. Here’s my new small side bench with shelf
21 through 25 here:
I fail on 21. Great idea and I’ll make sure to do it soon. 22: I have three of the power cord reels in the garage…love em. 23. I have an old crappy stereo wired to four old boombox speakers. With iPod connection. I have my music, and it sounds like 1985 AM radio usually!
- ORGANIZATION…in the eye of the beholder.
- BORROW DON’T BUY….I hate doing this actually. If I need a tool once, I’ll need it again someday. So I buy it, and then my lousy friends borrow it instead, lol.
So by my count I got 19 out of 25 How bout you?
I am so inspired I might just build a challenge car with parts from that soggy beast. (or at least draw up pages of plans and pencil drawings and shove them in a random bookcase 
