The Underdog’s garage is pretty tale-telling of what’s going on right now.  It has become a workshop, dumping zone and Craigslist store of sorts.

1 – That’s the new, upgraded 200 amp box which Handy Hubby relocated from the laundry closet in the den to the garage.  The original screw-in fuse box only provided 50 amp service.

2 – This is the pile of stuff that the previous owners left in the attic.  Handy Hubby brought it down so he could start moving some insulation around in the attic to make way for vaulted ceilings in the great room. My job was to go through the attic pile and see if there was anything interesting or worth keeping.  {I did get a chance to sift through the pile this past weekend and I’ll share what I found with you later.}

3 – Here’s all the carpet, padding, countertops and even a screen door that Handy Hubby has ripped out of the house.  The door was located in the doorway from the garage to the den but was heavy and cumbersome, so it came out while that entrance gets a lot of back-and-forth traffic during renovations.  Our lovely new neighbors were kind enough to haul the carpet away for us on their trailer.  I know ‘the dump’ is not a popular place in blog land but really there wasn’t much else to do with the disintegrated, rotted carpet and padding.  If we could have given it away or sold it on Craigslist we would have, but it was not reusable and unhealthy.  Anyhow, our new neighbors are really excited about the Underdog getting fixed up.  They keep telling Handy Hubby they’re so glad we bought the house.  Gotta love helpful and friendly neighbors!

4 – Those are the plywood shutters that came down last week.  We’re still trying to find a Craigslist taker for those.  So far, we’ve been able to sell the kitchen cabinets and laundry dryer {that was surprisingly left with the house} via Craigslist.

5 – This is the generator that a friend at Handy Hubby’s work has generously loaned to us until we get electricity hooked back up.  It’s been a lifesaver and a necessity!

6 – It’s hard to see but that’s a vintage copper backsplash and hood that was in the kitchen. They’re both up for sale on Craigslist.  We have plans for a kitchen overhaul that I can’t wait to share with you soon.

You can also see that Handy Hubby has set up shop in the garage.  An old workbench {just below the #1 in the picture} was left in the garage when we took possession and we’re using it as a tool catchall for now.  I think it’s going to be quite a while before we are able to park any vehicles in the garage.  But that’s okay.  There’s a nice-sized paved parking area at the end of the driveway that easily accommodates two cars side-by-side that will suffice until the garage is no longer needed as workspace for renovations.  Until then, I think it would be fun to check in on the garage every once in a while to see how its contents relate to what’s going on elsewhere in the house.  For instance, right now there’s no longer carpet and padding in the garage but a shipment of boxes arrived last week to take their place.  And, no, they’re not moving boxes.

image:  Dana Miller for House*Tweaking