Life is filled with plenty of challenges no matter what you do.
That’s why when you have the opportunity, it’s always satisfying to knock at least one out, even if it’s just a small hurdle.
Take, for example, parking.
Parking is an almighty pain in the rear, especially in a crowded lot. And unless you’re this masterful trucker with a knack for grabbing the last spot, don’t even get me started on parallel parking.
Given all this needless stress, you would hope that parking in your own driveway would at least be simple, but sometimes, it just isn’t.
Parking in a garage requires a gift for aim and precise backing-up skills. I don’t know this for sure, but I have a hunch that torn-off mirrors are the main driving casualty for people with attached garages — especially if they have new drivers in the household.
That’s why we’re huge advocates of a super simple DIY tool that can eliminate your garage parking stresses once and for all, and all you need is an old tennis ball!
Scroll through the gallery below to see how it’s done.
This project teaches you to create a simple parking guide out of an old tennis ball.
You’ll need a single tennis ball, a drill, sturdy cord, some small fishing weights, and a cup hook.
You can “double the recipe” if you have two bays in the garage and want to do this for both.
To start, lay out your tennis ball and begin drilling through.
Choose a fairly narrow drill bit to make the hole, then drill straight through the center of the ball.
When you’re done, you should have a narrow tunnel running in one side and out the other.
Next, without cutting your cord, push one end through the tennis ball and out the other side.
Knot it securely several times to make sure that the ball stays threaded on like a bead.
Depending on how the ball hangs, you may also want some fishing weights that can be used for threading or washers to hang on top of the ball, so test it, and make sure it hangs straight.
Now, measure out your space a little bit, preferably with your car in its normal spot to improve accuracy.
Figure out where your back windshield normally is, then pick a spot on the ceiling directly above, and screw a cup hook into place at that point.
This is where the ball will hang from.
Next, begin to unspool your cord, and determine exactly how much you want to use.
If you’d like to simply hang the ball straight down from the cup hook, just measure out enough length for the ball to gently knock the back windshield with the car in its normal parked position.
If you don’t want the ball always hanging in place, you may want to consider attaching enough string to connect the ball to your garage door, so that it will automatically drop down when the door rolls up.
Once you have the proper length of string, tie it into place, and enjoy!
From now on, whenever you back into your driveway, you’ll have a bright yellow beacon guiding you to the exact spot you prefer to park, without any danger of skimming the sides or hitting the back wall.
If you love this clever, crafty tutorial, make sure to SHARE it with friends, family, and garage owners everywhere!
