How to Turn a Garage Into a Playroom
The past few months have caused many of us to take a long and critical look at our homes , and in some cases we have found ourselves lacking in living space. To be honest, most of us did not move into these premises, expecting that they would be our home, office and school, but here we are. We had to get creative by transforming dining rooms into virtual classrooms and guest bedrooms into home offices. But if you have young children and your cars are still parked in the garage, they might be missing out on the best opportunity to play.
If you already have a separate playroom, or a finished basement that you’ve turned into a kid’s wonderland, or a backyard full of jungle gyms, treehouses and trampolines, then great; keep cars where they are. If not, follow me:
Start by cleaning and decluttering
Obviously, you will need to delete at least one, and possibly both cars (if you have a two-car garage). You can park them in your driveway or on the street. My car, my husband’s car, and my neighbors’ cars were parked on the street while I lived on a street that had no garage (seven years). To be honest, it’s okay.
Next, you have a lot of crap in your garage. It’s time to get through it all – think this is a great opportunity to clear out the clutter! Think how you freshen up when you get rid of all those old Amazon boxes and rusted tools and … okay, I don’t know what people keep in garages, but there is junk in there, I’m sure.
Throw away or donate what you don’t need. Move everything else (it is not dangerous for children) aside. Store all potentially hazardous items in closets, shelves, and out of reach, or move them to the attic or basement.
Then you will want to clean it as best you can, like in a garage. Sweep or hose down the floor and remove dust from corners. Do your best, while accepting that a fairly clean garage is still a garage; children are likely to get dirty while playing there, but at least they will be busy.
Add fun stuff
What to put in the garage? Everything goes! Especially if it is big, clumsy, noisy or dirty: a bump stop, a mini trampoline, a small slide, push toys or riding toys for young children. You can even turn your entire garage into one large obstacle course. This is their energy-efficient space, so any toys that seem too dangerous, crazy, or dirty to be at home now belong to the garage.
You might also consider throwing one or two rugs, such as a yoga mat or some of these foam mats , in high traffic areas to protect against the concrete floor. One parent from our Facebook group Offspring got rid of an old mattress while she was converting her garage into a playroom, so her kids finally have a bed they are allowed to jump on.
Create a place for you too
Given that this will be their overactive space to go to the garage, if you are going to behave like an animal, you will need to keep an eye on them. But you don’t want to just stand and stare at them all the time, so prepare a chair for yourself. Anything as simple as a folding lawn chair will do; but if you have something more comfortable inside that you can move there temporarily during a pandemic, so much the better.
If you work from home, you can even create a small work space where you can move here for an hour or here during the day so that you can (try) to work while you watch them play. You don’t have to turn it into a separate office – if I were, I would jump over a folding chair and a $ 10 TV dinner tray and it would be over.
People in hot weather, I see you there. I have lived in Phoenix for almost ten years; I know the last place you want to be right now is a hot garage. It just means you have some extra time to think ahead and set up Garage Play Wonderland so it’s ready to go when it chills in late fall.