Why do you have a garage when you cannot park your vehicles in it? That is the question I am asking myself every time I am looking at some of the garages when I drive through neighborhoods. Some of them are so packed full that the garage door only can be opened very, very, very slowly. Otherwise the boxes still fall out into the driveway. I have a neighbor like that.
We all like to keep mementos and precious things, but then you have so much stuff that fills your garage from front to back and top to bottom that you have too much. It is time clean house.
Do you really know what you have and where things are when you need them?
Let’s clean house to make room in the garage for your vehicle, or maybe just to create the party room with a bar, pool table, and flat screen TV you always wanted. The key is to just get started. You may have to order a small dumpster to put the trash in you didn’t realize you had.
Things you are not throwing out, consider having a yard sale or list them for sale on Ebay. You can sell items also on craigslist, but keep in mind you have to monitor the item on a daily bases to keep it on the first page.
After you trashed out the garage, sold the things you would like to sell, and tossed the things that needed tossing, now it is time to organize the things you are keeping.
To organize your garage you have several options. You might consider using a professional organizer or interior decorator to help you with the layout and storage of your garage. When you want to tackle the task yourself, consider first to draw the layout of your empty garage with the exact dimensions on a piece of paper.
Now consider how you are planning on using the garage. For parking your cars? Use it to entertain family and friends? Workout room? Regardless of how you are planning on using the space, how much room you will have available for storage. The less storage you will have remaining, the more you might still have to purge to make room for the items that are left.
Some good ideas for garage organization can be found on Pinterest. A trip to your local hardware store is another great place for Ideas. The container store is another great place, but also California closets are great for inspirations. Before you buy all the items in sight, draw the final layout on paper to make sure everything fits and there is room for everything you would like to keep.
There is nothing more rewarding than to have a clean and clutter free garage you can use.