Simplify Life: Spring Cleaning - Tips for Tackling Garage Clutter

Monday, April 9, 2012

Spring Cleaning - Tips for Tackling Garage Clutter

Longer daylight hours, warmer days, and the delights of spring lure us outside. We can’t wait to see what the fresh new season brings. Children rush to the garage to find their baseball bats, water guns and other toys.

“Mom, I can’t reach my bicycle…Mom, there are boxes in front of my tennis racquet…”

Over the winter, everyone quickly tossed things into the garage just to get them out of the house. Now, it’s so cluttered nothing is easy to find. Springtime is a great time to get your garage organized!

Here are some tips to get you started:

Walk through with a measuring tape, notebook, and pen, and plan how you want to organize and store things. If you’re going to need shelving, bins, pegboards, hooks, etc, gather them now so they’re ready to go when your garage is emptied. (If you’re remodeling your kitchen, this is a great place to use the old cabinets.)

Schedule a weekend to pull everything out and clean thoroughly. Assemble cleaning supplies - garbage sacks, broom and dustpan, vacuum cleaner, mop, rags, and cleaners. If you’ve been wanting to paint or seal the floor, now’s the time to do it.

Make a picnic lunch with plenty of drinks in a cooler, and set up comfortable chairs in the shade so you can take a breather. And plan on a simple takeout or pizza dinner because you’re going to be tired when you’re done!

As you pull things out sort it on the driveway according to use – seldom vs. frequently used items, automotive, gardening, toys, and so on. Items that have been outgrown can be saved for a garage sale or donated. Anything that needs to be cleaned or repaired can be put in a pile to be tackled while you rest or at another time.

Throw away any broken items. As you sort and notice items you’re going to need by next year, put them on a list so you can shop the sales and get a good deal rather than being forced to pay full price.

Make safety a priority by properly storing gasoline, paints, and garden chemicals. If you’re going to put them in the trash, check with your local sanitation department to find out how to safely dispose of them. Or check out www.earth911.com for a recycling center near you.

Make good use of overhead storage places. The more you can store vertically, the more floor space you open up. Just be sure to label everything. Seldom used items like holiday decorations can easily be retrieved when you need them. You can even purchase racks that lower by remote control, making it easy to access your things.

Organize things according to where and how frequently you use them. Your recycle area should have clearly marked bins next to each other. And household paper products should be on a shelf close to the house, not in a box at the back of the rafters. Toys should be easy for your children to reach, so they don’t have to ask you to fetch them, plus they can put them away by themselves.

Once your garage is organized, you’ll want to maintain it. So, impress on everyone to put things back where they came from when they’re through using them. Just as you regularly schedule house cleaning, schedule a regular garage clean up day.

Does the thought of organizing your garage overwhelm you? Or are there other things on your spring “honey do list” that just aren’t getting done? If you live in the Silicon Valley area, why not ask us for a complimentary consultation and find out which of our Spring Cleaning services best fit your needs.