You know you have a garage organization problem when you can’t find the tape measure to figure out how many garage organization shelves you need.

Tackling the pile of stuff in the garage was a project way overdue, so my husband and I figured we’d do it this Labor Day weekend.

Sleeping bags, power tools, musical instruments, childhood stuffed animals, candles from my wedding centerpieces and, yes, the box that I swore contained my tape measure have been sitting in pretty much the same spot since we unloaded them from the U-Haul in February.

Tired of rummaging through piles to find what we were searching for, we picked up a couple metal shelving units from Costco for $60 each. We also got some painting supplies to spruce up the interior of the garage, which was just drywall with unsightly tape and putty over the seams.

After doing some Internet research, we went with white exterior flat paint. Exterior paint will withstand the temperature extremes and mold and mildew a garage may be exposed to and a flat (non-glossy) paint hides imperfections, of which there are many in the garage.

We brought our clock radio out and listened to KWOD while painting. We had to lay the paint on pretty thick to cover everything. Painting has never been so easy. If we spattered a little on the floor or didn’t cover a tiny patch just right — hey, it’s just the garage!

It took us three hours to paint. After a Subway lunch break, we set to constructing the shelves. It was so easy! You only need a mallet to hammer the pieces together. Drop in a laminated board and you’ve got yourself a shelf. The shelving can be constructed into tall units or workbenches, so we made one of each.

We could use a couple more shelves and some organization for mops, buckets, tools and such, but it was quite a transformation for just a few hours of work on Labor Day.

I never found the tape measure, so we had to buy a new one. At least I'll always know where it is now - or at least where it's supposed to be.