“How do I declutter my garage?” This is a huge question asked frequently by home owners and renters alike.
Did you know that almost 50 percent of households have such cluttered garages that they are unable to park their cars inside – even when their garage is built for two cars! Even worse, most of the contents of a cluttered garage are unused and ultimately unwanted stuff that is stored and forgotten.
It’s easy to take a “set and forget” philosophy to your garage. It’s not technically inside the house, and it’s often more convenient to just put stuff there to think about later (or never). Whether you’re a hoarder or not, it’s likely your garage is the top place in your home where things go to “disappear”. Except they don’t – and at some point, they’ll need to be addressed and managed one way or another.
So, are you ready to reclaim your garage? Get ready to:
- Declutter
- Sort
- Organize
How to Declutter your Garage
If you’ve decided it’s time to conquer your cluttered garage and reclaim the space for its intended purpose, follow these tips:
- Set aside a weekend and enlist help (if you want or need it from family or close friends).
- Hire a skip or book a rubbish removal service to come when you have finished.
- Empty everything out of your garage. You need to allocate each item into categories:
- Keep
- Sell
- Donate
- Toss
Go through every single item and ask yourself;
Do I really need this?- Do I really want this?
- Have I used this in the past year?
- Is it useful?
- Can it be repaired? Will I repair it?
If the answer is not “YES”, then get rid of it! Don’t be tempted to keep things you “might” use someday as chances are, you won’t!
A lot of people struggle to part with things because “that cost money”. Here’s a hard fact: that $350 desk you purchased 30 years ago has paid for itself. The money is gone and its value has gone too if you are not using it. Let it go.
- Pack up and donate good-quality unwanted items to charity
- Pack up and donate old unwanted books to a local charity book sale.
- Recycle, all recyclables at the appropriate facility – including old newspapers, batteries, light globes and bulbs, and electronics.
- Hold a garage sale if you’d like to turn good quality unwanted items into some fast cash – but schedule it NOW
When you have taken out all unwanted items for disposal, recycling, or donation, you need to sort and organize what you intend to keep.
What is the Best Way to Organize a Garage?
The primary purpose of your garage is to keep your vehicle/s – so make sure that there is plenty of room in your new-look garage to do this.
- Keep frequently-used items in an easy-to-access spot. This includes shopping bags, dog leads, etc.
- Use wall hooks for bicycles, skis, rakes, edger, shovels, etc.
- Keep like items together:
- Gardening equipment
- Auto-care equipment
- Tools
- Sporting equipment
- Place larger items like your lawnmower out of the way in a rear corner of the garage
- Keep items such as boxed Christmas decorations and other rarely-used items stored in plastic seal able bins and on shelving to minimize risks of insect and rodent infestation.
Best Garage Organization System
If you’re looking for inspiration and solutions regarding the best garage organization system, the great news is that there’s an entire industry dedicated to exactly this!
Maximize space by using your walls and keeping the floor as clear as possible. Your garage walls represent an enormous storage opportunity for those things that do belong in your garage alongside your vehicle. Use garage shelving, wall hooks, and a single bench with cupboards underneath if there is room to do so.
Consider free-standing shelving, fixed shelving, cupboards, tool benches, or whatever works for you and your available space.
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as decluttering and organizing your garage – it makes a huge difference about how you feel about your house and may be just the first step in a bigger decluttering journey for your entire home. Just make sure to comply with the golden rule: keep it tidy and don’t re-clutter your garage in the future!
