The High Cost of Clutter + New Garage Storage!
How a bag of unused mountain bike parts cost me $198.62, why you should eliminate unused clutter in your garage & my new rack system
Hopefully this will be inspirational. It’s not too long. Go ahead and read it. For a more robust treatment on organization for engineers and others, see this post.
Today I went to Lowes, with the goal1 of getting a few storage shelves that would allow me to take advantage of a rather awkward bit of my overhead garage space. The result, shown below, is two sets of shelves, straddling a drain line from my air conditioner. The bag on the right shelf contains mountain bike parts and gear that I haven’t used for ~5 years or more:
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Look at that bag! Nicely situated out of the way, ready for my eventual use. But is it nicely situated? Consider the cost:
The rack itself ($28.98) + hardware ($6.48) + rail ($9.98) + tax ($3.18) = $48.62
My labor going to the store + installation (3 hours at $100/hour divided by 22) = $150
Total: $198.62
If I was to sell this gear (without looking at it) perhaps I could get $100 for the lot. You can see where I’m going with this, the cost of storage is FAR higher than what I’m putting on it. Granted, this is an expensive setup, but even at 1/2 that price it would still be better to clean things out.
In fact, I’m going to do that. Tomorrow. Maybe. My bag o’ MTB stuff has been a burden for far too long. Am I really at the point in my life where I should ride tracks necessitating a full-face helmet and greaves? Was I ever?
I’m glad to have the extra storage space, but spending time and money installing new shelves really puts things in perspective. Or it should at least. Do you have a bag ‘o not necessary anymore that you’re holding on to? Storage space is expensive, garage space is easily abused.3 De-clutter today!
But wait, there’s more!
After writing the above bit, I did clean out my bag-o-MTB, keeping little more than my full face helmet (you never know) and the bag itself. I also added a piece of wood straddling the two purchased racks, adding even more space. My unused bicycle frame and two surf boards are… still around.
Considering this more, I think the purpose of out of the way, long-term storage shouldn’t be for things that you just can’t bear to get rid of, but for things that you know you use intermittently. As shown here, air filters are a good candidate, as are boots specifically purchased for certain situations… including local flooding.
I also added a paint storage setup on the other end of my garage that I quite like4, but that’s for another day. Perhaps you’d like to subscribe 👇 to see what comes next, or even share this post if you know someone(s) who need to hear it!
Thanks for reading! I hope you will follow along as I post weekly about engineering, technology, making, and projects. Fair warning: I am a native Florida man, and may get a little off-topic in the footnotes. Maybe I even had an alligator or two as pets growing up. Perhaps they are alive today and could be used to test earth-wormhole pet friendliness.
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Addendum/Footnotes:
This was actually one of several goals. Other purposes included: caulk to seal the fountain on my front porch area, PVC pipe for a real, actual paid project I’m working on, and finding a solution to a broken irrigation line. Also, keep 2/3 of my children busy during 3/3’s naptime to give my wife a break. I accomplished 3/4 of these tasks and got propositioned for a home solar system. Not a bad afternoon.
A bit optimistic. I get paid that at times. Also I get paid at sub-minimum-wage… wages at times. Such is the life of a solo business owner. Also, did it take me 3 hours? Maybe, not sure. More $$$ = more inspiration, so let’s go with that for now.
The cost of freedom is eternal vigilance. - Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn, Wing Commander IV
The cost of organization is also eternal vigilance. - Jeremy Cook, Tech Adjacent
