Mr Old's Garage

Yes, this is the time of year to get all of the dust out of the garage and clean up the mess you made all winter long.

Get organized for spring chores, get all of the tools and equipment ready and hunt down all of the ‘lost’ winter fix-it tools.

Plan of Attack
Set aside 2 consecutive days for organizing your garage. One day for tearing it apart and putting it back together and the next day for organizing wall space.
You will need to take everything out, boxes, bikes, lawnmowers, snow blowers etc.

Dump and Declutter
Keep in mind when you might use items again! “Just in case” is not a sufficient reason to keep all the items in your garage. Decluttering is just as important in this space as any other in your home. Once you have made decisions about what you are keeping, it is time to define categories for storage. Categories for your garage might be outdoor toys, hardware, tools, gardening, and automotive. If you have wood scraps, be sure to store these together but don’t keep every scrap, the ceiling is a good place to store these items. Don‘t forget you have storage room above the overhead doors that can be used for long flat things.. Also, take this opportunity to clean your garage, sweeping out bugs, dirt and more!

Keep It Reachable
Once you have created your categories, put things that you use the most in easy access and things that are ‘sometime’ things can go up higher. Use wall and ceiling space to maximize your area. Put up shelves to put boxes on and label them so you can ‘look and find’. Electrical, hardware, peg hooks, etc. However, keep as much as you can off the floor.

Organizing Bins, Storage Containers Etc.
When purchasing organizing products for your garage, retail stores have wonderful and inexpensive products, look in every department for things to use. Such as a piece of pipe is good for hanging things on and very sturdy and unbendable; Garage items can be very heavy and need extra support, you might want to add extra supports or make them out of wood.

Metal shelving units are popular, but don‘t forget to use the wall space at the top of the wall. Shelving can go up here, be out of the way and is great for those things you only use once or twice a year.

Sturdy plastic containers with lids that seal are an excellent way to keep bugs and dirt away. Label everything you have in containers for easy searching.

Being able to actually use your garage and find everything without wasting time hunting for it are rewards for your hard labor.
Do you have any idea how much money you are going to save without having to go and purchase new items for the things you lost.
Good by to the saying; “I know I have one; someplace! ” If you need assistance in organizing your garage, please call me!

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If you have been putting off organizing the garage because it seems like a daunting job, you are not alone. But the spring season is the perfect time to organize and make your garage space more functional, and breaking the job into parts will make the job easier.

The first step is to assess the contents of your garage and organize them by function. When you are done, you want not only an organized garage, but a functional one that keeps all of the most frequently used items accessible. One way to keep an orderly garage is to store items that are used together in the same place. Here are some examples of how you may want to group the contents of your garage by function:

woodworking supplies car washing sports equipment lawn equipment and supplies tools

Once you have everything grouped into a general category, analyze what groups of items are lacking designated storage. Too many items without a designated space will only lead to an ongoing clutter problem. If there are a lot of loose items in the sporting equipment group, for instance, designate a place for those items, such as a shelf, bin or cabinet. If there are a lot of extra tools without a home, you could benefit from a higher capacity toolbox. The Systainer line from Festool tools has a variety of storage components that fit together to give you as little or as much compartmentalization as you need.

Throughout the process of organizing your garage, try to eliminate some of the excess by getting rid of unnecessary items. Chances are that you are harboring some things in your garage you don’t want or need. Organizing the garage is the perfect opportunity to get rid of some unwanted items by recycling or donating them to a charity. This will free up some space to neatly organize the tools and other items that you actually use.

Finally, tackle the small miscellaneous items. Storage solutions abound for items like screws, nails, nuts and bolts. A great solution is a compartment box. These handy boxes are divided into compartments so you can organize your small items using any system you like. Select the right compartment box to hold your small items with room to grow if you anticipate adding to it. Alternatively, you may want to incorporate small items into a larger tool box that streamlines your garage and minimizes clutter.

A permanent storage place must be designated for everything in the garage. Without a designated place for every item, it will only be a matter of time before the clutter begins to collect once again. You may create extra storage space by installing cabinets or shelves, or using stacking bins. If you need to store more than will fit nicely in your garage, consider moving some items to an attic, closet or basement if possible. The more accessible you make items in your garage, the more likely they will be returned to their designated spots next time they are used.

As springtime approaches, people’s thoughts naturally turn to cleaning, and getting homes in shape for the warmer weather. During the warmer months, families tend to entertain more, opening their homes up to friends, family and neighbors to enjoy. It can be fun and exciting to feel the renewing experience of shaking winter from our bones and getting our homes clean and organized to enjoy the warmth, sights and smells of spring and summer.

Despite these positive and enthusiastic feelings, there are some challenges in spring cleaning which can create a sense of dread. For many homeowners, this sense of dread is connected with their garage, and the horrors that lurk within. Cleaning the garage, getting it organized, and maintaining that organization, is perhaps one of the most difficult (and most avoided) home organization jobs.

The garage is often dirty, crowded, and maybe even damp, making it a somewhat unpleasant place to be at the tail-end of winter. In many cases, garage organization is put off until “next month,” but that can really mean the job is put off altogether, until you start thinking about spring cleaning the following year.

Garage organization is often avoided not simply because it is an unpleasant task but because the garage is cold and damp during the late winter months. Also, the garage might be difficult to maneuver in if you are storing summer furniture such as deck chairs. A garage can accumulate a large number of random items, especially if you’ve been living in your home for a few years. Many of us simply deal with the mess and clutter in the garage by piling more things in the space, hoping we will be able to remember where everything is! As you accumulate more items in your garage the process of cleaning and organizing starts to feel extremely intimidating, simply because there is so much to be done.

So how do you avoid wasting time and energy hunting down items stored in your garage? How do you organize your garage properly, and keep it that way?

Getting your Garage into Shape

The first step in getting your garage organized is to simply bite the bullet and start, instead of continually putting it off. Set aside several days you know you have free (they don’t have to be consecutive) and plan to make a start on the garage on those days. Make sure you know you can give the project your undivided attention for the days you schedule for garage cleaning.

For your first garage organization session, take stock of everything in the space and decide what you want to keep. Make an inventory of all items in the garage, and at the same time, decide what you want to keep, throw away, donate, or sell. Keep in mind that your garage has limited space, and that the accumulation of unnecessary items might very well be what got your garage into this mess in the first place!

Your next garage session will be all about cleaning up the space. Give the walls and floors a thorough scrub, and if necessary, clean up items stored in the garage as well. Dust off items and, if the garage is known to get damp in winter, use an anti-mold treatment on walls and floors.

Once you’ve taken inventory, de-cluttered the garage, and cleaned up the space, the next step is putting it all back again. However, this time, the idea is to store your items in an organized fashion.

At this stage in the process, it is time to start thinking about storage solutions for your garage. Shelving, boxes, racks, caddies, tool storage, cabinets and drawers, can all make garage storage a breeze, and ensure that your garage stays organized in the long term. With good garage storage, you can eliminate the stress and wasted time that goes along with having to hunt down items that have become lost.

When considering storage options, a good idea is to think “up.” Take advantage of the vertical space in your garage, and choose wall storage options such as shelving, wall racks, tall drawer cabinets, and wall-mounted tool storage. With a high-ceilinged garage you may even be able to take advantage of ceiling storage by having certain items hung from above.

Good Organization is all about Maintenance

Of course, it’s not enough to organize your garage and then forget about it. Keeping the garage organized and clean is an ongoing process. However, keeping the garage organized is fairly easy. Just follow these three simple rules to keep the items in your garage neat and organized:

When you buy items that will be stored in the garage, find a storage spot for each item as soon as you bring it home. When you use an item from the garage, return it to its storage spot as soon as you’re done with it. Clean up spills ASAP when they occur.

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