Congrats on your sober time. I too kept my beer in the garage but I had a keg. There was no way to count so I could conceal my drinking. A keg would last 2 weeks at the most and I could smuggle a new one into the house undetected. Therefore nobody could count my drinks. Add to that my "Travel Drinks" which includes 6-packs, 12 packs and something to put in the Big Gulps I bought at 7-11
I never got hangovers either. Maybe I just got used to them.
Either way it crossed the social drinking line long before that.
I think drinking in solitude may in some ways make it easier to quit. I drank alone therefore when I gave it up I didn't have to give up my socializing at the same time. Of course on the other hand every aspect of my life was a "Drinking Event" Whether it be mowing the lawn or going to get the mail. Alcohol was involved. Therefore I had to learn to live my entire life without Alcohol.
Either way I have no regrets about my decision to sober up.