There's perhaps no organizing task more daunting than the garage—it's often the dumping ground for the stuff that has no other place in the house, or the things you don't use but just can't bring yourself to toss.
How do you know you've got a problem? Maybe you've noticed it's getting
harder and harder just to park the car. Or it takes you an hour to find that
box with the Halloween decorations. Or, worse, you spend an hour out there and
can't find the Halloween decorations at all.
The solution is not to try and forget about it, because that's what got
you into this mess (literally) in the first place! Instead, follow these tips
to transform your garage from a place full of random pieces into a place of peace.
- Start
with a plan. No, you don't have to know what you're
going to do with everything in your garage just yet. But before you start
tearing everything apart, it's a good idea to make sure there's a method
to the madness. Organizing professionals recommend creating categories to
group your things—common ones include sports gear, tools, garden
equipment, automotive items, seasonal decorations, etc. Then, when you
start looking through all that stuff, put each thing in the right “zone”
(even if it's just a pile at this point). And don't forget to create
temporary zones for donations and stuff to throw away. If this is a big
organizing project, you're probably going to have a lot of each.
- Remember,
you don't have to do it all at once. Feeling overwhelmed
already? There are boxes everywhere. Nothing is labeled. You don't even
know where to begin, because you're thinking about the entire garage.
Stop. Take a breath. You don't have to tackle this in a day, a week, or
even a month—unless you want to, of course.
If it all seems like too much, pick just one box. Go through it, decide what you want to keep and what you can throw away or donate. Put each item in the right zone, because that's going to help with the next box. (And when do you do that next box? Whenever you want. Take the whole weekend, or take the next few months. Just keep making progress, bit by bit.) - You
do need to go through everything, though. It's tempting to skip
certain boxes or areas, especially if you think you know what's there. But
let's be honest: You probably don't actually know. (If you did, you
wouldn't have spent that hour looking for the Halloween decorations,
right?) Every item needs to be evaluated and then placed along with the
other items in that category or zone. Don't worry—you still don't have to
know where you're putting everything for good.
- Now that you've got your items grouped as best as possible, it's time to start thinking about permanent homes for them. Items that you use frequently should be easy to get to—for example, make sure you can get the lawnmower out without moving the car, and that you don't have to move five other things to get to your hammer or drill. Things like seasonal décor, rarely used household items, that vase from your mother you only put out when she visits? Those can be a little more tucked away. Just make sure to label everything you keep in boxes or bins (and make sure you can see the labels when they're put away).
-
This is when you'll want to consider your storage options, too. Stacking
boxes or bins on the floor is not a good solution. (Inevitably, you're
going to want something in the box on the bottom, which means moving all
the other boxes. Big towers of bins can fall, too, which isn't great if
you or your car are in the way.) You can buy freestanding shelves, attach
shelves to the walls, put up pegboard with hooks, even install racks that
hang from the ceiling. If you like, create a diagram of your garage and
figure out what would work best where.
- When
everything is done, you aren't quite done. If you don't stay on
top of things in the future, you might find yourself facing the same old
situation down the road. So be vigilant. Any time you put something new in
the garage, make sure it goes to the right place. When you use something,
put it back in the right place. (It wouldn't hurt to do a little cleaning
out there once in a while, too—and while you're at it, double-check to
make sure that yes, everything is in the right place.)
 get your garage organized){kind=link}
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