DIY Garage Parking Helper

Before leaving the last house, we had to patch the wall in the garage. That's because I rammed the weed-eater through it with my car.  It's always so hard to tell if my back end is in far enough for the garage door to not smash my trunk in (at least I think so) and I always end up pulling too far in. Luckily, that garage was an "unfinished" garage - just the drywall and spackle - so it was really easy to fix and blend in.  This new garage is finished and painted and I don't want to run the risk of making a hole this time. I definitely don't have the extra patch it and cover it up.  After many sarcastic comments from Matt like, "Whoa, Marge! You decided to park in the laundry room today?" I decided to put an end to it.  Too bad I can't install one of those lights like they have in the car washes that tell you exactly when to stop. However, a tennis ball and some string can do the same exact thing.

This is by no means a new idea and it is fairly easy to figure out on your own. BUT, in the rare chance that you have not seen this or don't know how to go about doing it, I thought I'd share with you.

Here's how to park in the garage in the perfect spot every time:

Supplies

• Drill (or something sharp to poke holes)
• string
• hooks
• pliers
• coat hanger
• tennis ball
  (you could also use something else soft like pieces of those foam pool noodles, etc)

First you need to poke a hole through the ball. I must say, my method worked but may not be the smartest or safest way so proceed at your own risk.  I placed the ball between my shoes so that the ball was a few inches off the ground. I used a drill to poke through it.  I would recommend doing this outside so you don't accidentally ruin your tile or carpet. 

Now you should have this. Take your coat hanger, untwist it, and cut off a piece (I used about 1/3 of a metal hanger) using some wire cutters/pliers. Bend one end and tie your string to it with several knots. I was too lazy to measure my string so I just cut off a really really long piece.

It should look like this. Now you will thread it through the holes you just made in the ball.

Pull the wire all the way through.

Now slide the knotted end off the hanger and tie a few knots in the string making it bigger than the hole.

To make sure it was secure, I decided to take the tale/excess string, and tie it back to the top of the ball.

Now this is what you should have.

I went into my garage and inched it back and forth (since I was alone. If a spouse is available, now would be a good time to grab him or her) until the car was in the perfect spot.

The next part may not be the best way to go about it or the safest way but it was my best option at the time.

I carefully stood on the hood of the car and held the string up to the garage ceiling so that the ball just barely sat tapped my windshield. Take that hook and screw it into the spot you just picked.

Then tie your string to the hook using a few knots. Make sure the tennis ball is just barely touching your windshield at whatever desired spot.

Now you're done! This is what it should look like:

Now when I pull into the garage, I stop once the tennis ball taps my windshield. Perfection every time!

I have space between the car and the wall.

And space between the trunk and the garage door.

No more bumper taps or holes in the wall for me!

As I said, this is not a new idea or a hard one to think through but maybe it'll inspire you to go do it. It's very easy and FREE (my favorite word).  I had all the materials on hand.

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