Per definition, the garage is a room where you store your vehicle (or more) in order to protect them from natural elements. Unfortunately, garages very often change their intended purpose to general storage, and the center of chaos and entropy in your home.
The garage quickly becomes a place to stave off every item that is not momentarily needed, which as a result gives a serious amount of clutter and disarray.
In those conditions, it’s very easy to lose track of things you actually need. Decluttering a garage is not a quick and easy process, so it is very important to have a plan (and stick to it) before you start cleaning.
The cleaning might seem like a daunting job, especially if you left your garage neglected for a long time, but with the right methodology, you’ll be able to finish that task quickly and efficiently.
And that’s where we come, to offer you some advice and tips for improving your garage look and function.
Preparation
Good preparation makes a job halfway done, and this stage of garage cleaning is often overlooked. The lackluster approach to cleaning will often leave you in need of additional sorting after you piled up all the excess items in one bin.
Before you start cleaning, make sure because you have arranged your bins, baskets and trash bags so you can sort similar items together.
Also, prepare enough cleaning supplies, empty boxes, and various plastic containers. If there is a considerable amount of trash in your garage, you might contact your local authority and rent a dumpster truck.
The ideal time for reorganization is in late spring, like May/June or early autumn, September or October. Not only the weather is ideal for some outside work, but also days are still long enough for you to squeeze all the work before sunset.
Clean
A good way to begin cleaning the clutter in your garage is to identify what’s in it. Just choose a section of your garage as to where to begin and take everything out onto the driveway in order to sort it out.
Once you’re sure everything is out, you can start with a thorough cleaning. Sweep or vacuum the floor, but be careful about nails and other small items, cobwebs, and any living or dead creature which inhabited your garage.
The favored cleaning plan would be from top to bottom, so start by dusting off the tops of everything, including shelves, cabinets and every surface facing up.
Then, sweep the floor so you can get rid of the dust. Finally, mop the floor and hose it off. Give it some time to dry, usually two to four hours, before moving things back in.
Sort
While you’re waiting for your garage floor to dry, you can use that time to decide what to do with all the items you took out.
Those items can be sorted into four different categories: keep, sell, donate and trash. The main criteria when deciding which item goes where in which category can be expressed in one simple question: “Why is this here?”.
Instead of struggling over every single item, this way you can sort your clutter in a more efficient way. There are items that are purposely in a garage, but also those who are left there because we didn’t know what to do with them. It’s not hard to guess the sorting category based on that classification.
Organize
Once that you got rid of the redundant things, it’s time to organize your necessary items in the most convenient way. Since the garage is a place where how many different types of items are stored, it is recommendable to divide your garage into zones.
For example, you may divide your garage into vehicle space, tools, sports equipment and recycle zone. The size of those zones depends on the usage.
Sometimes, vehicle space will contain just a parking space, but if there are many other vehicles, there might be a bike parking spot or a practical scooter stand, for environmentally aware family members.
The optimal way to arrange garage items depends on the type of items, the size of the area and your usage of them. Generally, frequently used items go on shelving units, while items you don’t use so often get stored in cabinets or closets.
For hand tools like hammers and hacksaws, there’s a pegboard, while wall hooks are used for larger tools, such as rakes and spades.
Don’t be afraid to go vertical and use walls to store items. Basically, organize your storage cabinets in a way that you find appropriate and meaningful.
If you have children, make sure that any dangerous items are safely stored and under the lock, so they cannot access them.
Maintain
Now that you finally organized your garage into the best version of itself, don’t let the feeling of accomplishment prevent you from maintaining that state.
The old truth many are unaware of is that it’s much easier to maintain something on a regular basis than undertaking a huge cleanup action every couple of months.
Do a quick clean up every weekend and your future self will be very grateful to you. The garage is a very lively area, therefore, it requires regular attention and maintenance. Once you organize the garage, it doesn’t take much to keep it clean and tidy.
Conclusion
A legend says that people used a garage to park their cars in it. However, over time the garage changed its purpose to the miscellaneous room and the storage for all the items currently not in use.
It’s no wonder that garages are usually the most cluttered area in the house. Usually, it takes a lot of work to clean up and organize the garage space, so it can restore its original functionality.
It’s a long and complex job including multiple steps, careful planning, and significant organizational skills. However, once you fix your garage up, it’s easier to maintain its state than letting clutter pile up again.
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