May 31, 2003

Todd Mielke’s garage is a model of organization, cleanliness

Anyone who knows Appleton’s Todd Mielke knows he is somewhat of a neat-nik. His wife, Kathy, also is pretty persnickety when it comes to organization and cleanliness.

“We are a good match, as far as wanting everything in the home in its place,” Kathy said.

Todd, however, takes organization a step further when it comes to their 2-year-old home’s attached three-car, 33-by-24-foot garage, which is completely insulated, dry walled, plastered and decorated with NASCAR memorabilia. Three 8-foot fluorescent lighting fixtures have cold-water ballasts so they light in the winter. And the hot and cold running water with a splash sink makes it easy for Todd to “wash the garage floor even in the winter” — his words, not ours.

“There is a place for everything and everything in its place,” Todd said. “The biggest frustration a man can go through is when he is in a hurry and is looking for something and can’t find it. That compounds the problem.”

Said Kathy: “I would definitely have to say that the garage is a reflection of our home, or maybe it’s the other way around. Our home is a reflection of our garage.”

Kathy is not alone in that assumption, according to professional organizer Meg Connell.

“Organizing your garage has an overall effect on your life, and it helps you find the right tool at the right time, which makes any project that much easier,” said Connell, who established her private California practice in 1997 and has more than 15 years of experience in estate, corporate and residential organizing.

“As an adult with my own garage and as an organizing consultant working in the garages of others, I have discovered that if your garage is in order, the creative process flows so much easier,” she said.

Organizational hooks, baskets and shelving can be purchased at any home improvement store and local businesses such as California Closets/The Closet Works, Storage Design and Creative Closet & Storage all offer storage systems specifically for garages. But no local business was devoted fulltime to the endeavor — until now.

Called Garage Works, the company owned by Neenah’s Dean Katch is much more than plywood cabinets and a 2-by-6 complete with nails for hanging tools.

“We like to think the garage is an extension of your home,” said Katch, who opened for business April 1. “If the garage is organized, that’s going to reduce stress because you are going to know where everything is at and improve your quality of life so to speak because you’ve got things organized.”

Organization also leads to less time spent in the garage, Todd said. “Sweeping on a daily basis is about all I really need to do now. And also some reorganizing once in a while.”

Added Kathy: “He keeps things so clean that people say they could eat off the floor in there and are probably right. I think people would be hard-pressed to find even the tiniest speck of dirt on the floor because he is forever sweeping. For the smallest jobs, like blades of grass or microscopic pieces of dirt, he uses his pointer finger and … picks it up that way.”

Sheryl Ruedebusch of Organizing Unlimited, Menasha, and treasurer of the state chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers, deals in home, office and event organization. She often finds that people fail to plan the garage as they do the inside of the home.

“So things are not always containerized, aesthetically pleasing and/or make sense to family members or other people that use the garage,” she said.

Katch has potential clients fill out a two-page questionnaire to evaluate their garage storage needs, covering everything from cabinetry needs, how many rakes and shovels they have, materials they would like to keep locked up away from children and whether they have thought about finishing off a studded out 2-by-4 garage, such as the Mielkes did.

Garage Works offers custom-made cabinetry in five colors and an extruded PVC plastic product often used in retail stores. The wall is the base, and wall accessories, hooks, towel and magnetic bars, hose holders and everything else you can imagine hang from the slated wall.

Katch said his new business is targeting people who want to invest a minimum of $2,000 for a basic garage installation. “From there we go up. We are quoting a garage for a customer right now, an attached four-car garage, for upwards of $10,000.”

The company also is working on organizing new construction garages, Katch said.

“Then we have a clean palette to work with, which works out great for us and the homeowners. They can get in and give us their ideas and concepts on what they want to do. And before they move in we can get in there and set things up. Then everything has its place and they can put everything they have in that place.”

Organization, Ruedebusch said, helps people feel good. “They’re not looking at a problem area. They can find their stuff fast and efficiently. It’s a combination of a pleasing surrounding and an efficient way to work.”

Of course, having a clean garage can come with its share of good-natured ribbing, Kathy Mielke said.

“Shortly after we were married some of my friends would come over just to see the garage,” she said. “They couldn’t believe it. And some of them do enjoy giving (Todd) a hard time about this. When they come over, they like to pull open a drawer or two or move some of his tools out of their spots. I thought that was pretty funny, but Todd did not seem to find as much humor in it.

“Yes, my husband has a very neat garage and I love it, and him, very much,” Kathy said.

TIPS FOR RESTORING ORDER TO A GARAGE THAT'S BECOME A BLACK HOLE

Professional organizers Meg Connell of Oakland, Calif., and Sheryl Ruedebusch, Menasha, and OnlineOrganizing.com offer the following tips for getting the garage summer-ready and user-friendly:

• Pull everything out of the garage, then sort it into four piles: belongs somewhere else, belongs here, needs repairs or should be trashed.  "you want to have like things together and then decide what type of storage units, peg boards or hooks are needed," Ruedebusch said.
• If you have small children at home, always have at least one locked cabinet for storing hazardous liquids and powders.  Paint should be indelibly marked as to what room and surface it was for and when it was purchased.
• To free up floor space, hang as many tools as possible.  And don't overlook the ceiling and walls where you can hang bikes, lawn mowers, tools and sporting equipment.
• Set up shelving around the perimeter of the garage for storing small items.
• Create garage workstations.  Plumbing, painting, car cleaning and gardening supplies should all have their own place.
• If you have kids, create a play center where all sports equipment, balls, lawn and beach toys are stored.
• Go through the garage at least once every five years and donate, give away or sell items you no longer need, Connell said.  "The garage does not have to be the black hole of your home."