Get Your Garage Back!
You might be one of the millions of people across the nation who has a two-car garage, but every vehicle is parked outside. It’s a reality that the garage becomes a storage space for household items, from 10-year-old bikes to dad’s tool collection.
You want to reclaim your garage gear right now. Parking the cars inside and finding an item without digging for it sounds like a dream come true. Follow these simple tips to getting your garage back right now. It’s time to see the light in your garage.
Let’s organize your garage.
Empty Out Your Garage
One of the biggest jobs you’ll tackle is simply starting the project. It’s necessary to pull every item from the space. Don’t leave anything in the garage. Although that handheld toolbox seems unimportant, pulling it out into the daylight is critical to the process. Consider other places things can be stored, maybe some toys in the garage can be put in a toy chest indoors or maybe the lawnmower can be stored in a shed.
Step back and survey all of your belongings. You might have stored…and forgotten the items…long ago. A good rule of thumb revolves around time frames. If you haven’t needed or thought about an item after 10 years, you shouldn’t be storing it.
Create a Donate Pile
All of your belongings are now in the driveway or yard. It’s time to dive into the pile. Start with items that can be donated. There are thousands of people in the world who can use your items that are just collecting dust. Select items for donation that are in “gently used” condition. They might be dusty, but from a functional standpoint, they’re quality goods. Children’s clothes and toys often fall into this category.
Organize a Yard Sale
Some items may look too good to be donated. There’s money to be made in this case. It’s time to consider a yard sale in the next few weeks. Create a pile that’s strictly for selling. Organize it into stacks or boxes. Place these items in your main living space. This temporary storage area may sound unusual, but it forces you to have the yard sale as soon as possible. The items will be eyesores in little time when they’re in your living area.
Examine the Walls and Ceiling
Your empty garage looks incredibly big now. Take a look at the walls and ceilings that are open for inspection. Verify if you have any hooks, fasteners, or shelves in these areas. When you reclaim the garage, you must use every inch of space. This concept includes the walls. You don’t really want a lot of boxes piled up on the floor once again. Use a stud finder to locate hidden beams behind your walls. These wood struts will be your key to hanging heavy items with ease as you rearrange the garage.
Add Shelving to the Garage
With those hidden beams in mind, sketch out what your walls should look like with everything added to them. Bikes, tools, and folding chairs can all hang on the walls with the right fasteners. Use your sketch as a way to space everything out to scale.
When you add shelves, hooks, and pegs to the walls, the process will go very quickly. Without smart planning, you won’t be able to fit everything on the walls or ceiling.
Mix up the organization with shelving that’s easy to access. Use hooks closer to the ceiling for large items. When you make the space accessible, you’ll use it as it’s designed on your sketch.
Purchase Stackable Boxes for Garage Storage
It’s inevitable that some items will stack up on the floor. Avoid the mistake of stacking cardboard boxes in various sizes. Purchase sturdy boxes that can be stacked, such as plastic containers with snap-on lids. These boxes are attractive and will last the test of time.
Label and Date Those Boxes
Regardless of what’s inside of those boxes, place a clear label on their exterior surfaces. Add details about their contents and the date you boxed them on. All of this information will help you find things in the future without taking too much time in the garage.
Stay Organized
Your garage is perfectly arranged. You could have a party in the garage if you wanted to because the space is optimized with most items hung against the wall. However, your challenge at this point is to maintain an organized garage. Discuss your concerns with the rest of the family. Tools borrowed from the wall must be replaced in the same spot. If you must store something in the holiday decorations box, open it carefully and place it back where it belongs. It’s possible to stay organized with some effort.
The Takeaway: Get Your Garage Back, It Can Be a Family Project
Making the garage project a family affair is a clever idea. You aren’t the only person who contributes to the clutter. Everyone can make their own decisions about personal items and their final place in the household. Taking your garage back is possible with some effort and organization. Your car’s paint job would thank you if it could.
Once you’ve sorted through the sea of clutter and long-forgotten junk that turned your organized garage into a home organizer’s nightmare, you might be able to see your garage flooring for the first time in a while. As a result, you may notice that your garage flooring has become damaged or worn down over time. For example, there may be large cracks or scrapes running along the surface. If this is the case, why not round off your garage makeover by replacing the flooring entirely?
For example, you could install an Epoxy Garage Floor, which is highly durable and long-lasting. This means that whenever it’s time for your next garage makeover, you won’t have to replace the flooring as it can last for decades with very little maintenance required. Additionally, Epoxy flooring can be installed in just one day – which means you don’t have to wait around to transform your garage space for good.
Despite freelancing to make a living, her love is "all things home."
Deborah grew up in a family that grew a large vegetable garden and a fruit orchard, helping her parents pull weeds and can home-grown foods as part of her childhood. In fact, she had no idea that she could purchase veggies and fruits in pre-packed steel cans until she went to college and made a food run.
Today, she lives in Bertie County, North Carolina, an agricultural rural area with more chickens than people. She lives with her husband and two rescue pets a sweet toy fox terrier and a cat who showed up one day and moved into the house. Together, they enjoy DIY projects, furniture refinishing, gardening, and canning.
This blog celebrates all things home.
