Car vs. Garage

I have lived in an apartment for 2 years, I have lived in a mobile home for 4 years, and I have lived in hotels for many months at a time totaling approximately 2 years.  Other than those 8 years without a garage, I have always enjoyed having a garage.  A garage to keep my car(s) parked in. 

 

I have never kept cars parked on driveways in any homes that we have owned.  We even had a 2 car garage once that was so small that I literally had to turn sideways to walk between the cars.  It would have been easy to park my car on the driveway; but I like to keep a clean car, a warm car; and that is not able to be accomplished by not using a garage.

 

I like to detail my cars in the spring and summer, and then detail the garage, mop the floors, and make sure everything is in its place on the storage shelves.  That is the anal-retentive OCD organized side of me; a trait that I proudly inherited from my Mom.  I can't stand clutter, un-organization, and things out of place.  I relax my garage standards considerably in the winter; and even though our garage is heated, I do not enjoy working in my garage during the cold winter months.

 

And finally, after months of waiting; my garage is clean again!  Thanks to Stephan, whom did an awesome job of organization, cleaning, and mopping it today.  Thanks ~ it looks and smells great!

 

What I fail to understand though, is how some people treat their garages.  This first picture is of a house that I have seen many times over the years.  Nice home, nice 3 car garage, and always has 5-8 vehicles parked in the driveway.  This particular early morning, there are 5.  Does that mean they actually have 8 vehicles, or is it more likely that their 3 car garage is so full of crap and clutter that there is not room for even 1 of their 5 vehicles? 



 

 

 

 

This picture is a house in the country that I pass 1-2x a day in my travels, and I watched the garage being built this fall.  The garage dwarfs the size of the home, as the home is about 800 s.f. in size, yet the garage is 1,200 s.f., and was built with a great slab, and steel girders.  He probably spent more on his garage than his home is worth.  And, his garage always has doors down, with his truck and tractor parked inside, not on the driveway.

This picture is out of focus, but you will see 4 vehicles on the driveway.  This home too is a nice home, with a 3 car garage.  Last year the owner completed the extra garage in the back, which was built with an upper bedroom or man-cave area, plus, the total new garage space s.f. exceeds that of his existing garage because it is so deep. 

What has always amazed me is why would you spend $100k on another garage and still keep your vehicles parked outside?  I see this house 2-4x a day, every day, and the driveway is never empty; it too, always has multiple vehicles parked in the driveway.  I know how much separate garages cost, as we just won a bid to build a 2 car garage in Owasso, with an upper 2nd floor man-cave.  Wow, spending $100k for another garage, and still not able to keep vehicles parked inside of it.  That is pretty astounding.  Build a garage to store more crap, but not store any of your vehicles inside.  That just doesn't make sense to me.

 

 





Some of it might be a pride thing.  You have to have pride in what you own and drive.  I've never seen a $40k Harley parked outside.  I've never seen a mint condition Vette parked outside either. 

 

And even when I have owned a ghetto car; it was still parked in the garage where it belongs!

 

Oh well.  Such is life.  And if you read my "Why?" blogs, I have to ask "Why do I care?"