Being efficient means being organized in every aspect of your life. Many people keep their home extremely organized, but the garage becomes a catch all for the items that they can’t find room to store inside the home. Reclaiming that space can make the garage feel more like an extra room of the house and will eliminate the chaos that has invaded the space. It is important to know that the garage is usually the space that is overlooked and used less than it could be. By organizing it, you will be gaining space and making a more efficient room for yourself.
You can’t organize the garage if you don’t empty it first. The plans won’t be completely visible to you until the clutter is out of there. Cleaning everything out and setting it in the yard or driveway will do two tasks- help you to see the space available and allow you to go through the items that you have and may or may not want to keep. If there is something in the garage that you have not used in over 2 years, it is almost a guarantee that you will never use it. Consider donating it!
One way to sort the items out is to make two piles. One of things that you want to keep and one of things that you can live without or that you have not used in several years. In the pile of items that you intend to keep try to find items that are similar and group them together so that you can store them together in the garage. The best way to store them is in categories, such as sports equipment, holiday decorations, tools, household items, etc.
Another great asset to having the garage empty is so that you can plan what you would like to do with the space and see how much free space you actually have to work with. The floor plan can be important at this point. There are many sites online that can aid you in figuring the organizational limits for the room based on the dimensions. This is also a great time to look at what extra storage items you will need. Many companies sell some wonderful garage storage items. Garage storage is a hot business for sites like this and you may find that with the items they offer, you can even eliminate some of the bulky cabinets or work benches that you have in there.
If your garage happens to need any repairs, it is best to do them while the garage is empty as to save yourself trouble later. Use the walls for storage as many people overlook that space and a cluttered floor makes the entire room seem cluttered and suggests an overloaded room. Organize items by groups of like items and do not put something that you will use often behind all of those Christmas decorations. Think of how often an item will be used before you store it. Totes with small items in them and the totes written on will help you to keep small items organized and clean.
Replace the items into the garage but only if you have a plan and an empty floor. Then you can begin to build or design a new room and eliminate a lot of the clutter. It is important to be organized to make your lifestyle both more efficient and less hectic. Taking the time to do the garage along with the housecleaning, could lead to a whole new room being done by the time you are done.