As most homeowners will tell you, your garage can easily become a dumping ground for all manner of things. Very few people can even move around freely inside their garages let alone park their cars in the space. It’s easy to accumulate things in the space when you are looking for a quick place to store something.
The problem with an unorganized garage is that trying to find what you need can become a real hassle. The worse the mess gets, the less enticing it is to get things cleaned up. Although garages are meant to store cars, there is a ton of ways to neatly store all the things that you could possibly need and still have room to spare.
When you are ready to start cleaning out the garage, it’s best to dedicate a whole weekend to the project. Just clearing the garage out is only the beginning. You will want to sort your belongings, downsize what you can, and clean the garage while it’s empty.
Although you want to get this done, as a mother, your hands are full with the kids and chores. If you are a working mom, it’s even harder, and you may want to consider hiring a house cleaning service to help with this massive task.
Organizing a garage is big project, but with these tips you can get it done!
Clear It Out
The first step is to start clearing out everything in the garage. Start pulling out items and placing them on the lawn or the driveway so that you can see what you have. Once the garage is emptied out, it’s time for a good cleaning. Dust off the shelves and the workbench, and give the floors a good sweeping. When you start to reorganize, you will want to have this part already completed.
Sorting
When you are clearing items out of the garage, try to keep similar items together in your piles. Place all your camping items together and make piles for other items like tools, entertainment, sporting equipment, gardening tools and toys. Keeping like items together will make it easier to see what is there, what can be tossed and for cleanup when you are ready to put them away. For decluttering purposed, it’s best to go at each item thinking about whether it will be Kept, Tossed, Donated or Stored. This will allow you to quickly work through your piles with an end destination in mind.
Purge
You may find that you have lots of items that you no longer need or never use hidden away in your garage. If your kids are grown but you still have a pile of their toys, it’s time to find them a new home. Tools can multiply over the years so it’s best to keep only one of each item as you need it and sell or donate the rest. Anything that is broken or a duplicate item can surely be tossed, sold or donated. If you find anything that you haven’t used in more than a 5-year period, consider purging those items as well.
Organize
Once you have your final Keep pile ready to go back into your garage, it’s time to get organized. There are countless garage organizing systems that can be found in stores or online to help you keep things tidy. The easiest way to get organized is to keep as much as you can off the floor. Use shelving and hooks, pegboards for tools, and weatherproof storage bins to keep all of your stuff in. Clearly label anything in a container so that you will have easy access to it later on. Once you have everything put away on shelves or hanging off the floor you will be surprised how easy and accessible everything in your garage can be.
