Garage Organizing…for Real Life!
Oh, the garage. That mysterious cavern where holiday decorations, gardening tools, and that thing you bought while late night scrolling (because, obviously, you needed it) all seem to form into a mountain of "I'll sort it out later." Well, guess what? 'Later' has arrived, and now is the time to tackle this behemoth once and for all.
First things first, let's acknowledge that organizing a garage is basically adulting on hard mode. And yes this is a photo of my actual garage. It’s not glamorous by any means. We use it and abuse it daily but everything has a home and it’s easy to get sorted out. And I have total faith you can get yours under control too. With a little determination and a lot of sweat and dirt (sorry it’s a garage) you got this! Take a deep breath, grab a garbage bag and throw out the obvious trash. Wrappers that have fallen out of your car, coffee cups you’ve set down.. anything that is unusable and broken. Next comes those delivery boxes. That’s right Amazon. We are talking about you! Break those bad boys down for recycling. But keep a couple of them for items you want to donate or sell.
Now is the time to start categorizing your items. Create piles for "Keep," "Donate," "Sell," and "Why do I even have this?" This will help you understand exactly what treasures (or trash) you've been hoarding. Remember, if it’s broken trash it. If you or your kids don’t use it donate it. Selling takes time. If you want to clean it up, take pics and deal with selling on Marketplace or any other avenue by all means do so. But if it’s going to be more hassle than it’s worth and you just need it gone give yourself permission to donate.
Pull all your trash and donations out of the garage and ask yourself how you use the space. What is your goal? Do you park your cars in there? Do you want to park your cars in there? Are there things that you need to access all of the time that are just too hard now? Just like you would in your home create zones. Lawn and garden supplies, tools, sports equipment etc. For my family, my car is always parked in the garage. My husband only parks his in there if it snows. So most of the time we have a good open area to come and go. We store everything used most on that side of the garage as it’s easily accessible. I have a shelving unit inside the door on the right for gardening items like gloves, tools, soil and pots. On the left is a unit that is more my husbands. Some tools, extension cords, gas for the lawnmower and chainsaw. The kids bikes, scooters, sports equipment and yard toys are on the shelving across the back wall. Trash is by the stairs and door to the house. We have a wall of hooks next to my car and I hang things like beach chairs, beach bags and a bag for clothing donations. (Once it is full I pop it in my car and bring to our school textile bin.) On the other side of the garage we have a row of hooks for shovels, rakes, brooms etc. next to the garden supplies. And please don’t forget to leave space for any items that you need to store in there over the winter!
Once you have zoned everything it’s storage time because, let's face it, the floor is not a shelf. If you have built in shelves, you have a great starting point. If you don’t and having them installed or installing them yourself is not doable at this time there are plenty of freestanding options like this one out there. Next, what are you storing on them and what type of access do you need? Any type of seasonal item or decoration should be stored in a covered plastic bin to prevent pest or water damage. You can go with clear bins or opaque depending on what you like but make sure you measure the shelves to ensure they fit. Place these items up higher as you don’t need access to them all of the time. I like open bins for most other items. Easy to grab and to put away on the go. Especially for kids. The same rules that apply inside your home apply here as well. If you don’t want your kids to have access to something store it up high. The bins don’t need to be fancy. If you’re storing heavy items in them make sure you do get a quality bin so they don’t break. For my small garden supplies and some kids items I used dollar tree plastic bins.
Something I need to upgrade in my garage is my kids sports equipment storage. Right now I have 3 large open front bins for different types of balls, gloves etc. They work ok. But they’ve acquired a few new items that don’t quite fit properly so a little revamp is in order. I’ll update here soon with what I found to work!
And pretty please label everything! Not only does this keep you organized, but it also keeps everyone else organized because it’s clear where things belong and the “I don’t know where it goes so I put it somewhere completely random” shenanigans can stop. I did not label right away ( see photo) and it took my kids about 15 seconds to mess it up. You can label with anything from tape to printed labels but I highly suggest the labels are easily read from a few feet away.
Finally, remember that organizing your garage is a marathon, not a sprint. It may take multiple days. Take those breaks. Do the decluttering one day, zoning the next and think about your storage solutions. Use what you have in the meantime even if it’s not perfect.
Is thinking about getting started really making you itch? Give us a call. We got you!