When life gets between you and your garage

[kavisiegel]

I grew up in my parents garage. I had a bedroom too and later the basement apartment, but since I was about 14, I was asking my parents for rides to Harbor Freight and messing around with my (immobile at the time) truck.

Fast forward 10 years. Stainless steel rolling tool chest packed full, around the floor you'll find 2 BCS tractors with most of the available implements, top of the line saws, freshly insulated walls, a jackhammer, tens of Acro-Mils bins on stainless steel wall shelves for organization of thousands of fasteners, adhesives, sandpapers, hand tools. A purpose built shelving unit for my Rubbermaid tubs, filled with accessories for the 4-stroke pressure washer, dust collection, infrequently used tools with hard plastic cases. 4 angle grinders, 6 drills, each with their own use and story. A 5 hp trash pump, used once to replace the pump in our irrigation well. Gladiator wall panels with brooms, cables, hoses hanging. 3" thick hand-built laminated 2x4 fir workbench, the surface planer I bought to level the boards right next to it, drill press to the left.

A song pops into my head, Bon Jovi - "who says you can't go home?" - I always loved that thought. My parents always said they'll be there forever, easy access to the highways, shopping, not far from anything. My mom has a bad shoulder and elbow from the landscaping she's done, but she loves the place.

I work in the city now (it's the only way I can afford these tools) and my sister just had a kid the next state over. My parents aren't going to be there much longer. I can't bring all of my stuff to a city. Realistically, I have a few more months with my stuff. I can't even finish my half-way projects.

I'm having an identity crisis of sorts. If I can't go back home and turn wrenches and cut wood, if I can't keep my tools for when I move back to the suburbs, if I don't have place to store my (once again immobile) truck, I can't quite ever finish building it, taking it on that trip across Alaska. I can't afford enough land in the city to feed my chipper/shredder, and I wouldn't even have enough place for a useful compost pile, let alone a garden. The years I spent learning the science of canning my parents harvest for them - I won't need that knowledge anymore. I have to sell everything that makes me who I am. Maybe I'll just quit my job while I'm at it and move to a different continent for a few years - I guess now would be the only time.

 

[Cyberbear]

Living with mom and dad is great when young, but when it's time to leave the nest adjustments must be made. If you can afford it, another option is to store your acquisitions until a time when you can be your own person, on your own land, under your own personal conditions. Once you obtain a place to live, you can begin to recreate the life you once had.

 

[Jon_E]

If I was in your shoes, I'd find a small piece of land, a few acres, within an hour's drive of the city, and put up a nice pole barn for all your stuff. Make it into that dream shop that most of the rest of the guys on this forum aspire to. Might take you a decade or three. Put all your stuff there and commute on the weekends. Keep just enough stuff in the city to prevent you from getting bored during the week. Maybe put up a small cabin, or even an apartment in the shop, or an RV, so when you finally get fed up with the city life you have somewhere to call your permanent home. Some people love city life but it sounds like it's not compatible with you.

I can't share your pain because I've always had a place to go, but in my case I made the sacrifice by driving three to four hours a day to my regular job. It only took 3-1/2 years of that before I took a 25% salary cut and a local job and it has made my life infinitely more enjoyable.

 

[bczygan]

Where are your parents going?

Can you take over the place?

Bill

 

[roscoe2000]

You will be surprised, things have a way of working out. First off get it in your mind that you will need to most of your tools into storage till you are able to find a place that you like and feel comfortable about with the space you require. That may mean at first a week home away from the city, or a city property that can meet your needs. Be open minded, there are people who have repurpose old saw mills, gas station and dealerships. Even barns that have been convert. Which from a distance show no clue, but once inside they open up revele living and shop areas. As quick and dirty fix, you can use an RV as the second home, providing temporary living quarters. When life gets in the way, which will happen to most of us......take time to reflect.....then make lemonade from those lemons.

 

[79cmc]

If I read your post right, it sounds like you're 24 years old and you have first world problems. As they say, "conflict is the catalyst for change;" who's to say this difficulty now isn't going to produce an even better situation with more opportunities and potential?

Maybe you can sell off some of your lesser tools and fund a local storage unit. Maybe you can find a buddy or local shop owner that will let you rent some garage/workshop space for cheap. Maybe you focus on the future, your desired end state, and methods of achieving that goal rather than the futility of holding on to yesterday and all the things you "can't" do. As your title alludes, life is full of challenges and decision points, but it's your life to live, so be aggressive, be decisive, and make it awesome.

We're all just waxing philosophical here, so those are my thoughts.

 

[kavisiegel]

Where are your parents going?

Can you take over the place?

I considered it. I have a form for a slab in the back with a building permit to match, what was going to be a 16x24 2-story garage. I considered finishing that, filling it up, and renting out the house minus that garage. My colleagues who landlord don't quite think it's wise, though. Hard to find tenants for a 4 bedroom home, especially in an area where their security + first month + last month is roughly the same as a downpayment on a slightly smaller place 2 miles away. It may be doable, but I'm not sure the effort is worth it. I'd hardly break even with rent/mortgage and I'd be committing myself to staying relatively local.

If I read your post right, it sounds like you're 24 years old and you have first world problems. As they say, "conflict is the catalyst for change;" who's to say this difficulty now isn't going to produce an even better situation with more opportunities and potential?

Well, when you put it that way.. Last year I quit my job at a company I half built, I threw away 4 years of hard work, nothing but good came of it. I'm somewhat preparing myself by equating this to that. After having dumped the company that I spent my time on and then dumping the hobbies I spend my time on.. I guess there's plenty of room to grow back into. I just hope I don't become one of those couch-bound creatures you hear so much about

 

[zmotorsports]

I would prioritize your projects then sell what doesn't make sense to keep. As for tools I am a firm believer in NEVER selling tools as they are more valuable to me being used than selling them and getting pennies on the dollar, plus it will cost a LOT more to replace later on.

I went through a similar situation when I got married @ 20 years old and moved out. Luckily I moved next door which allowed me to use my dad's home shop to work in while working my full time job and doing side jobs in my dad's shop on the farm. My wife and I had intentions and were saving money for a home of our own AND enough to put up a detached shop once we found our home.

About a year and a half later we purchased our home and another 4 years later I built my shop. I then moved my tools and equipment into my home shop and worked out of that. However, I had a lot of projects in various stages still being stored at my parents farm in out buildings and under tarps. My dad started to get ill and I could see the warning signs much like you that my parents were not going to be there forever and eventually their property would be sold. I was fortunate that I recognized these signs early enough to plan mentally, which then led me to physically start to decrease my stored projects. I had to write down EXACTLY what I wanted each project for and a "realistic" time frame of when I would have both the time and money to complete each. This was indeed the hardest part because it hit me that some of these projects will never really ever be completed if I were to be honest with myself.

I enjoyed drag racing at the time and was very involved with that as well as sand duning and snowmobiling. Those were the toys I ended up keeping and I sold basically everything else. I had a 56 BelAir that I wanted to build into a Pro Touring car that I didn't see being completed in the next decade or more. I also had two Jeeps that I was going to build into rock crawlers that realistically were never going to be done to the level that I wanted them. I had a 70 Camaro that I was going to build into a street/strip car but again, no realistic time frame or the money to complete it for at least a decade or two (if ever). I also had about 4 motorcycles that I wanted to build up but saw no feasible way on my budget of time or money.

All of those projects ended up getting sold to people who hopefully did something with them. It was hard at the time as it was like selling part of my soul, HOWEVER, looking back it was the absolute best thing I could have ever done. By keeping my tools/equipment and focusing only on those projects that I was immediately involved in brought me into more focus and allowed me to continue to race and show my vehicles at a level that I was happy with rather than competing and using them at a more financially crippling level. It also allowed me to raise my family and continue to provide without being overwhelmed by money going out which I had seen cause many of my friends marital hardships over the years.

I look back now and really don't even miss the projects but I cannot imagine my life without current home, my shop, my tools/equipment and ESPECIALLY my family. The other projects, not so much. My life is so much more organized and feels less cluttered than it did before as well, which definitely lowers the stress level.

Mike.

 

[Social_Joe]

I can relate. I'm 30 and moved from OK to OH last Summer. I'd never lived outside of that state and my profession required that I know it VERY well. In OK I had a house and two shops (35X40 and 24x24). For a plethora of reasons, I found a new job to transfer to, put the house on the market, got a one bedroom apt and me and the wife left for a place I'd only visited for a week or so before then.

We and especially me ARE NOT cut out for apt life, but I had a mortgage to cover down there. The house sold in September (I got damn lucky considering I'd barely owned it 3 years), in March I found a badass 1962 2400sf split level ranch with a 23x23 garage + 15x23 workshop that backs it. The owner (I don't want to buy right now) is paying me as a contractor to completely renovate the interior and I'm going to connect the garage and workshop. 3 weeks ago, the cars I stored at my parents place back home were delivered up here. And now, finally, I'm starting to feel whole again as I (without planning on it) have buried myself in projects and I'm happier than a pig in **** because of it.

Point is, transitions happen, sometimes they are mentally terrifying, but life goes on and you have to sort out what makes you tick and what you can and cannot do without.

 

[bczygan]

It sounds like you have choices between being rooted and mobile.

You have had roots planted long and deep, and now you're getting uprooted.

Almost my entire life has been uprooted, and I hated it.

The last 20 plus years have been one stable place, and I love it.

These days though, people must be much more mobile. Hard to do with a load of tools.

You are young, and a lot of people expect young unmarried guys to be footloose and fancy free.

Here's the thing though. You have the choice.

You can decide how and where you want to live.

You can expend your resources to shape and define your life in any way, and at any time, to suit yourself.

So figure out what direction you want to go in.

Then plan the steps to make it happen.

You might liquidate and turn everything to cash, and wait for another opportunity to set down roots.

You might put everything in storage.

You might find a small home base to work out of, and keep things going.

You can change your work, living location and type and possessions at will.

So what will it be?

Bill

 

[dillont]

I was kind of in the same boat. I just turned 25, needed to find garage space of my own. Ended up being a hermit for a while saving all I could, bought a house with a detached garage and a detached workshop. I **** it up and commute 30-40 minutes for work, but love having all the space.

 

[bdbecker]

...Maybe I'll just quit my job while I'm at it and move to a different continent for a few years - I guess now would be the only time.

Not sure if you were being sarcastic with that statement, but that is a pretty good idea. Sell all your stuff, and spend a year or two figuring out how you want to spend the rest of your life. You will never regret it. I suggest New Zealand.

 

[MarkWilliams60]

As above but if you get enough cashola not only go abroad but attempt to further your education too.

 

[Social_Joe]

The rest of the developed world travels ALOT more than us. The Aussies in-particular (they are on an island) often will do an circumferential trip of the world sometime in their 20's. Decker is right, it will give you a much wider perspective/worldview and with the work exchange programs that exist widely now, it's alot more doable without a mountain of daddy's cash than it used to be especially with the internet.

 

[Bluedodge]

kavisiegel -

Do you currently live with your Mom and Dad?

 

[matt_i]

Find a like-minded person with a larger industrial or commercial building, earn and keep their trust, and you can probably rent some of their shop space. I did this for several years, I consider this man (who is close to my Dad's age) a mentor who taught me so many things. Knowledge that I didn't need then has helped me considerably in my own shop build. He was benefitted by my cash inflow and I was paying considerably less than a mini-storage with free access to 3phase, security, and hvac. I had a key to the building because he trusted me. I think he absolutely loved having a like-minded individual to talk to and we helped each other on several projects. Eventually we parted ways, amicably, I got another job in a different state, but I call him up now and then just to chat.

 

[79cmc]

Well, when you put it that way.. Last year I quit my job at a company I half built, I threw away 4 years of hard work, nothing but good came of it. I'm somewhat preparing myself by equating this to that. After having dumped the company that I spent my time on and then dumping the hobbies I spend my time on.. I guess there's plenty of room to grow back into. I just hope I don't become one of those couch-bound creatures you hear so much about

Ha well, being young and having first world problems is a great place to be when you consider the alternatives. You'll only be a "couch-bound creature" if you let yourself stagnate into something like that. I see other people here are talking about travelling--I'd encourage it as well and personally, I enjoy the opportunity to go new places and experience new things. It puts a lot into perspective, seeing how other parts of the world live. I'll sit still when I'm seventy, but so far, 28 years in, I've been to about 15 countries (not counting airports) and plan to keep it up until I get tired or wind up on Interpol's watch list.