Restoring Order to your Garage
Garages were initially intended for our cars but let’s face it, many of us have found the car is lucky to find a space inside it, with all the other stuff we have in there.
It is so easy for the garage to be the dumping ground for everything we don’t commonly use, the things we use outdoors, and the clutter we don’t quite know what to do with.
Clearing out and organizing the garage in a full-fledged, top to bottom project may feel incredibly daunting, but it is one of the most rewarding things to do in the spring and fall, as the purposes of our garage change.
Unlike other rooms in your home, the garage is a welcome spring project in your home. You can tackle it on a spring weekend when you wish to be outdoors and begin the season with a well-organized space that you will be staring at and using throughout the upcoming months.
To tackle this job requires a thoughtful plan. Think about what your goal is.
Perhaps it is to organize tools and seasonally reconfigure where your tools and equipment for various seasons go.
Perhaps it is to spring clean and restore order.
Perhaps you are ready to do both!
If you know what your main goal is, you are ready to get started. Pick a beautiful spring day that you won’t dread being outdoors, back out the car (if it has managed to fit in there!) and let’s get started.
Decide on a Process
There are different types of spring cleaning to a garage. Knowing how deeply you are diving into this space is your first step to achieving your goal.
Our favourite part of a garage clean-up is tackling it in its entirety. We commit the time and check into our motivation to ensure that we are not turning back once we begin. We like to do a thorough tackle of the space.
You may realize you don’t have that type of motivation or time. If you feel that the order of your garage is far too “out of control,” you may wish to tackle areas of your garage over several spring days to get specific spaces in order.
If you are ready for a complete facelift, you may need to consider the toolboxes, shelving and bins you want to put back before you get started.
Be Prepared to Purge
It could be helpful to have a trailer or bin ready to go to help you commit to making radical decisions with all the odds and sodds in your garage. Just like cleaning out a closet, there is a lot to be said about just ridding yourself of things that you no longer use.
Decide to donate or dump anything that you do not use. We have neighbours who borrow our leaf blower regularly even though they have one. Why? Ours works better. My advice to them; donate yours and either buy the one you want or continue to borrow.
If you never use it, donate or toss it.
The garage is trickier than a closet because there are things you may only pull out rarely - sports equipment, tools or gardening equipment, but they would be expensive to replace. If you use items annually, but they are still functionally maintained and useful, find a space for them that is not prime real estate. The most accessible parts of your garage should contain the items that you use regularly.
Look Up
The best way to add real estate to your garage is with organizational systems that can move items or storage away from the garage floor. Maximize space with bins or hooks on the walls or ceiling of your garage for all the “easy to tip” things - tools, sports equipment or holiday decorations. Anything that you do not use daily can get off the floor. And if the daily use items are typically used inside the house, our advice is to move them into the house. Make the outdoor high-usage items easily accessible.
Give everything a Home
Sectioning out the garage is the best way to keep it maintained and organized. Setting up areas in your garage for your tools, gardening, winter care, sports equipment and holiday decorations will not only make it easy to find things but help you maintain the system for the long haul.
Even garbage needs a home! No one enjoys the accumulation of garbage, but it is even worse if it ends up in the pathway of your garage awaiting garbage day. Having an orderly system that minimizes smell, optimizes convenience and has an actual temporary home is one of the easiest ways to improve your garage maintenance.
Knowing where your tools and equipment do not only save time but nourishes your motivation to get outside and work. Getting your garage organized is a very rewarding project that will go a long way to helping you get your outdoor maintenance done.
