Anyone have a garage, but is not able to park your car(s) in it

I have a couple of neighbors, two out of maybe 30, who have maxed out their garages as a storage unit for crap they don't really use but want to keep anyway. I shudder to think what their basements if not their entire houses look like inside. My parents were hoarders, I can't remember the last time they had even one of their cars parked in their garage. I hope millennials and zoomers reject this behavior.

Sounds good.

I laughed when I saw this thread because I thought I was the only one who notices things like that.

My neighbors across the street bought their house brand new for $1.6 million and it included a garage. In my neighborhood, garages are scarce so it's a really big deal for a house to have one.

When they first moved in 2 years ago, they parked their cars on the street. I figured it was because they temporarily had stuff in the garage that they needed to unpack. However, there is even more stuff in the garage now than there was 2 years ago, so it's clear they are treating it as a storage room. It's only going to get worse from here.

I hope I never get to the point where I wouldn't be able to park a car in a garage because of boxes and boxes of s#$@.

I live in the city so don't have so don't have experience with this, but aren't cars waterproof? Garages seem like great spaces to keep your bikes, kayaks, lawnmower, treadmill, tablesaw, etc. But if you prefer, I guess every time you come home you could wait for the door to s l o w l y open, carefully maneuver into a tight space, and fill up your home with toxic fumes. Your choice.

The fact that my truck is just oh so slightly too long to and wide to fit comfortably. Sure it "can" fit, but it would only be a matter of time before I take a mirror off or hit the back wall.

And yes I need the truck, I do construction, live rural, pull an RV and mountain bike with friends.

Imagine being such a Karen so that you not only care about what stuff other people keep and where they keep it, but you also post about it on a running forum! Hilarious!

So in California where it is extremely rare to have a basement most people park their cars in the driveway or street and use their garages for storage, home gyms, office, space etc. My garage houses my home gym, washer and dryer as well as my table saw and other woodworking tools, lawnmower, skis, bikes etc. The fact most of the state stays snow free and has fairly limited rain makes the outdoor parking of cars pretty painless.

Some just have too much to make it fit

Most people can never get enough storage space. We have a big house with one room that is used as a shop mostly to work on and store bikes. One bay of the garage is used to store outdoor equipment (lawnmower, edge trimmer, etc.) plus a spare refrigerator/freezer and our bike trainers. That leaves two other spaces in the garage for our two cars. But if we didn't have a big house and a 3-car garage, at least one car would be parked on the street or in the driveway.

If this is your situation, it either means you’re disorganized, don’t lift, or both

On my whole street (probably 50 houses), I think we're the only ones who still park in our garage. The main limitation is the size of the garages and the width of the driveways. The houses were built ~90 years ago, so the space between houses (where the driveways are) is super tight. We bought a new car this year, and our choices were severely constrained by needing a relatively narrow car. We've probably got a few inches of clearance on either side for the entire length of the house, and I have a string hanging in the garage to help me position the car since there's only about two inches of clearance in the front and back combined.

With all that in mind, I'm not entirely sure why I still insist on parking in the garage. I do like not dealing with snow in the winter, and with a super-hot car in the summer. And there's some theft deterrence. The problem is that our driveway is so narrow that if we park in it, it becomes almost impossible to get bikes (or scooters for the kids) past it.

Anyway, that long ramble to say: in some places it's tough to fit the car in the garage even if you're not storing crap there.

The reason we do not park in garage is the free weight gym my son built.

I bench a little and use the sit up board.

We have a Sonos speaker and have great workouts with lively music so well worth it

rojo can't park in his garage because he doesn't know how to open the door, and also because he is afraid of the resident raccoons.

I bought my house with a three car garage SPECIFICALLY to use for storage. So what. I have room to park my car inside but don't because it is a waste of time. It is more convenient to leave it parked in the driveway. There is nothing that says because you have a garage it is to be used solely for vehicles.

It's unreal to me how many people stuff their garages full of stuff they don't even use. I have a neighbor who does that then jams up the street with their unnecessary number of cars. It's also a fire hazard when your garage is packed full of garbage.

Having a garage is a luxury and people should embrace parking their cars inside it. It is safer and you can't piss and moan your car was stolen from your driveway when it's inside the garage.

The only exception is if you buy an old house that has a tiny garage where a modern car (not SUV) can't fit. These garages are OK for storage since a car won't fit.

This is also an adequate exception. Saves money on going to the gym and promotes a healthy lifestyle. I prefer having a setup where I can pull my car out, lift weights, then pull my car back in, but that's not available for everyone.

In Texas, most homes have no basement because the soils shift too much and in some parts of the state the water table is too close to the surface. So, everyone puts all their junk in their garage and parks in the driveway.

What is also funny, is that in the sprawl suburbs with all the cheap McMansions, there is no front porch and the HOA rules keep people from being able to do anything with their front yards. So, on the weekends, you will see people sitting in their garages with the door up, drinking beer and hanging out like they are on a front porch.

I have a three-car garage for vehicles only and because my parents were hoarders the garage has extremely limited use for storage.

I added two back yard structures to my property. One for "shop & storage" things and the second for a hot tub, sauna, shower and endless pool.

If I were to get a boat there would be a tandem at a minimum but probably another backyard garage structure.