Your Garage ...It's Time to Tackle the Clutter

Fall marks an ideal time for clearing out and cleaning your garage…you know, that space on the side of your house that used to have room to park your cars.  If you act quickly, the weather is still warm enough for you to use your driveway to hold things overnight should you need a second day to complete the project and before the cold days of winter are upon us.

The most effective way to begin is to is to remove everything from your garage and sort “like items” together in sections on your driveway, for example, all bikes and sporting equipment in one area, garden tools in another, etc.  If you own a pop-up canopy, you could set that up on the driveway too in order to shield things from the weather if necessary.  During the sorting process, you must get rid of anything that is broken or no longer needed, or make a donation/give-away/sell pile.  My recommendation would be to “let the items go” without thinking about a yard sale though. 

Once your garage is empty, sweep and wash the floor inspecting the overall condition of your garage.  Are there repairs that need to be made, such as loose shelving, etc?  Now would be a perfect time to paint the floors and walls in order to give your garage a more “finished” look once you put all of the items back into their respective spaces.  You could also put up shades, blinds or curtains on the windows, which will also offer privacy as well as beauty.

So what do we need in order to organize everything that needs to get back into the garage? Possibly more shelving, cabinets and/or counters?  All of these ideas can be implemented back into your garage in order to provide the storage space you will need.  For example:  Kitchen cabinets and counters can be installed on one wall, open shelving on another, and don’t forget the possibility of having rafters installed for those large seasonal items.  Your goal should be to get all items up off of the floor. 

Consider getting a storage shed if you have room in your yard to move out the more bulkier items like mowers and leaf and snow blowers.

Definitely put aside a day or two in order to complete your garage organizing project.  Here are a couple more tips to consider:

·         Avoid the temptation to use your garage to “store” things to put away “later”.  This is definitely how the junk will accumulate again.

·         Make sure to install adequate lighting in your garage with switches that are accessible.  Most important is to have enough power outlets installed to run power tools or a vacuum for easy car cleaning.

·         Place a doormat at the entry to your living space so not to track in dirt and water.

·         Hang tennis balls from the ceiling so that you know just how far to pull your car into the garage so that the door will shut…now that you have room for your car again.

Good Luck with your Garage Clean Out!