Organizing Your Garage
It’s time to stop the procrastination and clean the garage. Get that same feeling you got decades ago when your parents told you to clean your room? Me too. Organization is not my strong suit, but space is necessary with home renovations underway and a newborn in our home. Here are ten tips to make our lives just a little easier when it comes to organization. And, if you need motivation: Go clean your garage!
But Why Do You Have To?
You don’t : ). But cleaning and organizing your garage will give you more space to work, park, hang out in, or store more stuff from spring cleaning the rest of your home. You will also find all the crap from last summer, so you aren’t buying new pairs of swim goggles or another bike pump. Think about what you want to do with the garage and then organize accordingly. Garage organization will give you more space and peace of mind in the home.
#1 Chunk Out Organizational Tasks
We are busy people and don’t have the flexibility to take a week off work to organize the garage from start to finish. Starting a major project can be daunting. But if you break it up into small, attainable tasks, you’ll progress towards a clean garage without burnout and feeling just a little accomplished each step of the way.
#2 Create Space to Organize
Before organizing, it’s time to eliminate trash and large unwanted items. Think Marie Kondo—”Does it spark joy?” This is your permission to get rid of the Instapot that’s lived in your garage since your grandmother gifted it to you three years ago. Our garage is home to scrapwood and cardboard boxes. The scrapwood gets cut up and gifted to our neighbors for their outdoor firepit – a win for everyone involved. Let’s be honest: nobody wants our thousand-pound entertainment center from the 1990s. Let’s be more honest: I won’t actually be repurposing it and refinishing it despite how *inspired* I am by my favorite content creators. To the curb it goes, with a “free” sign to reduce my environmental guilt.
#3 Garage Organization: Pick a Category
We have tools, building supplies, painting supplies, Christmas decorations, etc. I like to start with the most visible task first. For example, if I walk into the room and see tools scattered about everywhere, I will start collecting all the tools and putting them into piles.
#4 Invest in a Storage System
You are going to need a place to put your stuff, or it will be disorganized again by next week. You have low-budget options like storage bins from your favorite hardware store. Mid-range options like our American-made slat walls. For those wanting to bring their garage organization to the next level, our Ultimate Storage Cabinets combine beauty and function.
#5 Organize by Usage
We won’t need our Christmas decorations for at least eight months, but I can guarantee you that my husband will be using his impact drill tomorrow. We use our painting supplies every 6 weeks or so. Think about how often and when you will need the items in your garage and organize them accordingly. We will put our impact drill so that it is easy to grab, but our Christmas decorations can go high up on a shelf. Our painting supplies will be out of the way of daily usage items but still convenient to get to.
