I am sure several of you have driven through neighborhoods and seen the garage door open and wondered to yourself, what in the world is all in there?  This is a scary statement but oh so very true.

“The U.S. Department of Energy reports that 25-percent of people with two-car garages don’t have room to park any cars inside, and 32-percent only have room for one vehicle.”

Now that we have “cleared the clutter” and did some spring cleaning in our home let’s get our garage declutterd.  Even if you don’t purchase an expensive custom garage storage system and we don’t have one in our garage you can still have a clutter free well organized garage by just hanging a few hooks for your bikes, a bin for balls, garden area and a tool section. You might even be able to fit your car in there once it’s organized!

Let’s start be creating categories or zones like we did in our house or the home office.

Create zones with like items: Gardening, sports, tools, automotive, home improvement and toys, etc. Go through each of your items and make sure the kids still play with the Barney Ball or now that they are 11 and 14 years old they might be able to let it go. Place items as close as possible to where they will be used. For example, keep gardening tools in a carrying basket, car washing supplies in a bucket and all the soccer equipment together in a sports bag you use to carry back and forth to the field.  Set recycling bins right next to the trash can so you can dump trash and recycling at the same time. Put tools near the workbench.

Install pegboard or shelving. Use hooks to hold tools and fishing equipment. Pop in brackets and you can install shelving as well. Keep a fire extinguisher handy, mounted on the wall.

Get things off the floor onto the walls and ceiling. Install inexpensive hooks to hold bikes, rakes, brooms, sleds and ladders.  Create suspended shelf to make use of the unused overhead space for seasonal decorations or things that you need occasionally.

Now is a great time to sweep, blow out and maybe even hose down your garage.

Make it easy for kids to put away their stuff. Use a tall trashcan to hold hockey sticks, baseball bats, and other long items. Put balls in a large tote (don’t use the lid; just stick it under the tote). A fun idea is to use chalk/painting tape and draw out an imaginary parking space and have your kids drive their vehicles into the garage and “park” them.

Author Michelle Lehman of Organizing Solutions “Clear the Clutter” Michelle is a Professional Organizer in the Tulsa area. Her articles have been featured in the Tulsa World, The Oklahoman, and The Chicago Post-Tribune & Chicago Sun-Times.  Michelle appears on Newson6 KOTV and Fox23 News This Morning giving organizing tips and recommendations.
Photo Credit © Klotz | Dreamstime.com

Tags: garage, organizing