Turn Your Garage into a Clean, Well-organized Place in 7 Days
Stop avoiding that dirty dumpsite and turn it into the perfect garage you have always wanted. Now is the time to change your garage from dumpsite to a usable well-ordered space.
The plan is simple. First of all, divide this huge task into workable steps, so you can stop hesitating and start cleaning. Garages are normally crowded with cars, oil spots, and a mix of loathsome chemical materials.
They are also called the black hole of the house; the place where things are put and forgotten. The question is how to change all that.
Plan well
Probably you will need to work on the weekend for this. Still, it depends on the mess in your garage. Ask for help if possible. Make sure that you work in good clear weather because you need to drag things out of the garage to have more space.
You will do the hardest work in the first two days. Putting stuff back and organizing them in proper functioning storage come later.
Go through your plan before starting and make the necessary adjustments. Before you begin, take your time to imagine your new garage. How do you want to use it? Do you need space for your car? Do you want to make space for a workshop or a store for seasonal gear? Keep these things in mind to remain focused on your work.
Day 1: Cleaning up
Before you start dragging things out of your garage, you may want to think for a moment about what you want to do with all of them.
We suggest that you sort things out in the following groups:
- Dangerous wastes
- Recycling
- Garbage
- Donations
- Important stuff to keep
- Things to sell
You’ll be surprised to find out that you can recycle, sell, or donate most of the things you don’t want anymore. Still, you need to rent a dumpster because you’re going to need it.
Start grabbing stuff out of your garage and sorting them. Never try to classify things in the garage. If you do this, the place will turn into a mess.
We recommend to keep these things
- Memorabilia
- Things you used within the last year.
- Things you plan to use
- ( like the fishing gear you forgot about)
- Materials such as paint and tile
Classify the stuff you decided to keep.
- Holiday decorations
- Gardening tools and materials
- Home repair
- Car care
- Memorabilia
- Seasonal gear
- Work out and sports equipment
- Miscellaneous
Dispose of everything else.
You can’t possibly keep something just because you might use it someday. Keep only the things you do use, like, or need.
The unnecessary stuff you keep is taking valuable space in your house and your life.Space could be used for things more worthy.
So, give things away, sell them, and let them go.
Day 2: Clean and Check
Garages get dirty because they contain everything from cars to paint cans.
But, a little amount of dirt is expected in the garage. still, maintaining a basic level of tidiness can prevent insects from living in your stuff boxes.
A clean sweep starts today
Pull things out of the garage if you haven’t done that already.Check the garage searching for insects, rodents, or water leaks. If you find any, do anything necessary to treat them.
Sweep and vacuum the dust from the corners. Use a mask if you are sensitive to dust.
Spread enough amount of powdered detergent on the cement floor oil spots and scrub them with a brush and hot water.
Rinse and leave it to dry.
Fully sweep the floor.
In case you want to further clean the floor, use a hose to spray water, scrub with a mop, rinse and sweep out excess water.
Leave it to dry entirely before getting things back in the garage.
Rearrangement Tasks
While the garage floor dry. Go see your stuff from strangely shaped containers or crumbling cardboard boxes into solid neat plastic bins.
Plastic bins
Plastic bins are a good alternative for cardboard boxes since rodents chew their way in and use the soft material inside to make a nest.Use small open-top bins to put repeatedly used stuff like gardening equipment.
Use color-coded labels to recognize the content.
Don’t mix things if you put childhood memorabilia in a box, don’t put in a swimming suit. If you do so, you’ll make it difficult to find things when you need them.
Day 3 : Make a Storage Plan
Look around your garage with a clipboard in your hands. Make a rough floor plan of the space.Decide where each group of your stuff will be placed.
After finishing all the details about where you are storing what. Keep the plan, it will be useful when you take out the holiday decorations.
Day 4 : Keep Things off the Floor
Don’t store things on the garage floor. Water damages and mildew will make it easier to let things get messy again.
Now is the time to have a storage system in place if you don’t already have one.Use vertical space.
Shelving units
Add tall shelving units and a ceiling-mounted platform.
Use the wall wisely. If two of the garage walls are filled with shelves put wall-mounted storage on the third one.
You can make it look fancy like the custom storage system or simple like a pegboard and a row of wall hooks.
You can hang rakes, sports gear, bikes, shovels, and tools on the wall that way you can prevent things from piling up on the floor.
This ceiling-mounted system is the perfect use of space.
Stack plastic bins on top and make sure you label out.
Hang bikes and other tools from hooks underneath.
Put the least frequently used things in the highest places.
Things are stored in 3 levels.
Top-level storage: Childhood memorabilia and documents that must be stored for a long time.
Medium height: Gardening gear, home tools, and sports equipment.
Lower: Gardening gear, home tools, and sports equipment.
Day 5 : Finish the Job
Don’t be afraid if you still have a pile that looks like this. It’s time to finish the job and more to more important tasks-like giving yourself a treat like rice cold drink.
Take your hazardous waste to the disposal or recycling facility. Contact Earth 911 to find a place that collects dangerous waste and other recyclables.
A lot of things can be recycled such as old clothes, textiles, clothes hangers, shoes, and broken appliances.
Donate things.
Contact shelters in your area to see if they are accepting donations.
Sell or give away other things. Sell the things that you don’t need anymore in digital market places.
You can also give them away to anyone who needs them.
Day 6
Make an entrance if your garage leads to your house, you certainly use it as an entrance.You could use a small mudroom in the area near the door.
Put down a doormat to trap oil and dirt before people enter your house. You can put a boot tray or shelves for shoes and hooks for coats.
Day 7: Maintain the Good Work
Organizing tasks:
Change your way of thinking. Your garage is not a dumpsite for stuff you don’t know what to do with. It is useful, on hand storage place.
If you add new stuff into storage, put it in a safe, labeled container. Don’t forget to write it down in your storage plan.
Cleaning tasks:
Clean oil stains as soon as you see them, and spread on kitty litter to absorb the most of the stain before it sets.Collect things that need to go to recycling or waste center in a box.
Go there when the box is full.Set a date once or twice a year to clean your garage thoroughly.
