The ultimate garage at Brookfield Homes' Bentley showcase model at Lansdowne on the Potomac was recently the star of a "Tricks of the Trade" segment with reporter Liz Crenshaw of NBC4 in Washington, D.C.
The Bentley is a classic example of the luxury residences found within the Executive Collection at Lansdowne on the Potomac, the Washington area’s preeminent resort community. Like all Brookfield Homes, it has also been crafted to resonate with today's lifestyles and adapt to a family's changing needs.

Like all Brookfield Homes innovations, the ultimate garage was inspired by homebuyers, specifically the growing number who are turning their garages into comfortable and organized utility centers that serve as Dad's home away from home.

The ultimate garage found in the Bentley is outfitted with track lighting, Internet access, television, a "freezerator" that can be used as a freezer or a refrigerator and a set of workspace organizers.

In addition to showing off this innovative space, Chip Devine shared a number of useful, time saving tips on how to "de-clutter" your garage.

To watch a video of the segment, please visit http://www.nbc4.com/tricksofthetradearchive/4520913/detail.html and click on "Tricks of the Trade: Garage." (IT IS NOW IN THE ARCHIVE)

Chip's tips include:

• When organizing your garage, sort little-used items into boxes according to the charity to which you would donate them to if you did get rid of them. Seal the box and store it for a year. If, after a year, you haven't broken the seal, take the boxes to the appropriate charity.
• Tack an old belt to the edge of a shelf or cabinet at 2-inch intervals. Slip tools into the open slots for easy retrieval.
• If you hang bikes by those popular wall-mount systems, remember to mount them low to the ground so they will be safely accessible to children. Better yet, designate a permanent "parking space" on the floor of the garage and outline the space with tape.
• To store large items that mount to the roof of your vehicle, such as canoes or luggage carriers, use a rope and pulley system to suspend them from the ceiling of your garage. It takes advantage of vertical space, and this way the items can be easily lowered onto the roof of your car when needed.
• Old jars can make excellent storage containers for screws, nails and nuts and bolts. Simply nail the lid to the underside of a wooden shelf with the lid facing down so you can twist the jar to open or close it.

To see these handy tips in action and to explore the Home of Ideas that Brookfield Homes has constructed, stop by the Bentley showcase model at the Executive Series at Landsdowne on the Potomac.

To visit from the VA Beltway take the Route 267 W. exit (Dulles Toll Rd.). Take Exit 9 (Route 28 N.) and proceed approximately 5 miles to Route 7 W. Proceed 3 miles on Route 7 W. and turn right onto Lansdowne Boulevard. Turn left onto Riverpoint Drive at the waterfall and turn left onto Kittiwake Drive to the Model Park on the left.

For additional information about the Executive Series at Lansdowne on the Potomac, visit www.brookfieldwashington.com/communities/lansdowne_executive/lans_executive_intro.html or call (571) 333-0168.

Photo caption: NBC4 reporter Liz Crenshaw and Chip Devine recently taped a "Tricks of the Trade" segment on garage organization tips at the Bentley showcase model at the Executive Series at Lansdowne on the Potomac.