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Has your garage become a dumping ground for items with no designated area in your home? Your garage is one of the most used spaces in your home, and easily the most cluttered. A thorough spring clean can help to declutter your garage space.
Whether you simply want to park, declutter, or create a leisure space in your garage, this guide will get you on the right path to an organized garage. Let’s make a change together! Read these 8 steps before you decide to organize your garage.
#1 | Have a plan
Before starting, know what your vision is for this space. What do you want your end result to be? What items do you keep and give up? Will you be needing organizing products? By having a clear plan of what you want to accomplish, you eliminate a lot of common errors when trying to organize. Making a checklist of all your ideas, and then adjusting based on what you need, can help. Tackling a garage is a large task but having a goal in mind will make the project worth the effort and rewarding in the end.
#2 | Grab some help
It is important to remember to pace yourself so you don’t burn out but asking for help from a family member or close friend would do well in this project. If your garage needs some serious TLC or your schedule is all over the place right now (or both!), professional assistance will be needed to give you a bigger time commitment. A professional can also help you plan and offer valuable advice if you need it. Besides, it’s always nice to have someone to bounce ideas with and talk to while doing a project.
#3 | Declutter
Whether you have a little or a lot of stuff placed in your garage, you want to remove everything. This allows you to do a thorough cleaning of your garage and see what all you have. As you pull things out, think about what is worth keeping and will get used, or thrown out or donated. Think of these 5 categories: keep, donate, recycle, toss, and sell. If you are keeping an item, first ask yourself whether you have used the item within the past two years? If not, is it worth the space it is taking up in the garage? For the items you plan on removing, discard them in a timely manner. Placing those items back into the garage for longer than a week contradicts all of your hard work. If you plan your garage organizing project ahead of time, sometimes you can schedule a donation pick up to remove all your unwanted items. Look on my resources page for some local resources.
#4 | Make a floor plan
Time to decide how you will better organize the items you will keep. You don’t want to put the items back in the same fashion if that layout failed to work for you before. Be practical and think space saving. Items you use together, such as gardening tools and lawn chemicals, should be stored close to one another. Put bulky items, like lawn mowers, wagons, or ladders in corners where they won’t get bumped or knocked over. Place frequently used items, such as a bike and trash cans, near the garage door. Seasonal decorations, or rarely used items should be stowed up high or in hard-to-reach areas.
#5 | Determine your storage needs
Now that you know where everything will be placed, it’s time to use storage to consolidate smaller items or to hide items that don’t need to be seen. If your garage space will allow it, installing built-in cabinets or modular storage can give your garage a new, tidy look and aid you in distributing your items in a clean order. A professional organizer can give you an idea of what storage system would work for your space and install the system effortlessly for you! If you can’t quite fit an organization system, that’s ok. You can then decide what storage containers to use. In this case, you can take advantage of any wall space you have and utilize wire grids or utility shelving that will help you create a grid for placing your containers. To further consolidate, consider some sturdy shelves that can mount to your garage ceiling and utilize that overhead space.
#6 | Organize
Now it is time to place all of the items you will keep back into your garage, following your floor plan and using the storage system you set up. Remember to avoid placing items in the same fashion you had before. Your goal is to change your routine and adjust to better organization habits, so really push yourself to use an organizing strategy and stick to it. Don’t forget to label your boxes and bins. It will save you time and effort. My husband’s favorite quote “Work smarter not harder.”
#7 | Confirm your outline
As you organize, check your work and make sure that the order you are choosing fits your needs and goals. You want to make a big change, but you also want to ensure you are happy with the new order. Don’t be shy about re-ordering things to your liking and making changes where you see fit. If you need a second opinion, ask a friend or family member to give you suggestions or ask your professional organizer for help.
#8 | Set your organizing schedule
Depending on the use of the items in your garage space, set a quarterly or biannual garage maintenance schedule to preserve all of your hard work and improve your method over time. As you get into the groove of organizing, it is less likely you will let your garage space get out of order again. Setting a schedule will motivate you to keep up the order you established.
Best wishes for a successful sale and STAY ORGANIZED!
Contributed by S. Peace
