Garages, Tools, and Purpose

I’m always amazed by the number of people in my neighborhood who have garages but don’t use their garages as garages. Their automobiles sit outside the garage, enduring the elements and kids with their footballs and baseballs. In some cases, other things, such as bicycles and scooters, that could and possibly should have a reserved space in the garage, don’t.

I understand that some of those garages may have been repurposed. They could have been turned into work areas. I know that my grandpa would have turned his garage into a woodworking shop if he hadn’t had his space in the basement. My grandma might have requested a repurposed garage, too, if she hadn’t had a room devoted to her loom and sewing machine.

In most cases, though, the garages serve no purpose. They are filled and sometimes overflowing with “stuff.” Nobody knows what comprises the “stuff,” but no one wants to take the time to go through it and get rid of the things that are no longer needed or wanted. People simply add to the massive pile of “stuff.” They then move that “stuff” from house to house and never, ever look at it. They fill their garages as full as they possibly can, and, when that isn’t enough, they buy a storage unit.

The point to all this talk about garages and “stuff” is not to bemoan “stuff.” It’s to address the fact that garages and other rooms are akin to tools. A garage has a purpose. It’s meant to house an automobile or a work area. A refrigerator has a purpose, even if it’s to store the takeout one brings home night after night. Tools, too, have purposes. They can be repurposed at times, but, if they aren’t serving a specific purpose, they’re useless. They’re overstuffed garages that can’t be used for anything.