Garage Organization Made Easy

Planning and using a few simple garage organization tips will help keep this area clean and clutter-free.

Often the garage tends to become the area where items end up if there is nowhere else to store them.

After awhile these items begin to spill into the middle of the floor - or may even become so unorganized that it is impossible to get your vehicle into the garage.

To prevent this from happening - organizing your garage is essential.

To start your garage beautification and organization project the first step is to actually look at what is in the garage - then decide what needs to stay or what needs to go.

Take everything out of the garage and leave just the walls and the floor.

If you are planning on using a garage organizer or putting in garage cabinets - overhead storage bins or shelves - this is the time to do it.

If you are planning on freshening up the paint this is also the appropriate time to paint.

Go through each box and get rid of all the items that you no longer need - items that are damaged - or that are unusable for any reason.

Take a look at the items that remain and begin to sort them according to groups such as sporting goods - mechanical things - household items or other categories.

Within each category separate the items that you use frequently from those that you use very rarely. Seasonal items may also be separated out of the various categories. Christmas decorations, lawn and garden supplies should be grouped together.

Take a look at the storage area you have. If you currently have no shelving or cabinets and cannot afford to get any, consider clear plastic bins for some of the smaller objects.

Plan where it makes sense to keep the various categories that you have selected. For example, lawn and garden supplies such as rakes or shovels could be stored on handle hooks or racks on the wall, rather than leaning against the wall. Lawn and garden equipment could be stored directly in front of the lawn tools.

Large items and less frequently used items should be stored towards the back of the storage area in the garage.

More frequently used and smaller items should be stored towards the front of shelves or cabinets. Rarely used items or seasonal items may be more easily stored in the attic or crawl space above the garage if one is available.

Garage organization isn't difficult if you work to minimize the items you are storing and group them based on their size and amount of use.

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