It usually starts innocently.

A couple of totes go against the wall.

Then the Christmas decorations get stacked next to them.

The kids get bikes.

Someone buys a pressure washer.

There's leftover lumber from a project that you're definitely going to use someday.

Before long, one side of the garage is gone.

Then both sides.

Eventually someone in the family asks a dangerous question:

"When was the last time we actually parked a car in here?"

Nobody remembers.

We've talked to plenty of people at Pack Away Storage who reach this point. They aren't hoarders. They aren't unusually messy. They're normal people who have lived in the same house long enough for their belongings to slowly outgrow the available space.

And Wisconsin garages have a way of collecting everything.

Snowblower in the summer.

Lawn mower in the winter.

Camping gear.

Bikes.

Fishing equipment.

Patio furniture.

Holiday decorations.

Plus the mysterious collection of cardboard boxes everyone is saving "just in case."

Eventually, something has to give.

For a lot of people, the first instinct is to start throwing things away. Sometimes that's exactly what needs to happen.

But not everything taking up space is junk.

You might use that camping equipment every summer. You still need the patio furniture. Those Christmas decorations will be coming back out in December, whether you like it or not.

That's where a storage unit can actually be useful.

Move the things you don't need every week out of the garage and suddenly you can use the space for what it was originally intended for.

Your car.

And anyone who has scraped ice off a windshield during a Wisconsin winter knows there's something pretty satisfying about that.

At Pack Away Storage, we don't think the goal should be getting rid of everything you own.

Sometimes you just need a better place for the things you aren't using right now.

So if your garage has slowly turned into a storage unit of its own, don't feel bad.

It happens.

But your car would probably like its spot back.