Millions of people around the world are using their garages to store everything from yard tools and power tools, to sports equipment, bicycles and instruments. But the problem with a garage is that it’s often cluttered with a variety of items that you’re not using very often.
Do you have cluttered garage with an overwhelming amount of stuff you don’t know what to do with? There are a few things that you can do to declutter your garage. Here you will find 10 easy tricks that will help you declutter your garage, quick and dirty.
Do you think your garage is a disaster? Well, it’s actually not. All garages are manageable with the right techniques. In this post we will explore how to declutter the garage, and also maintain this cleanliness in the future.
Wondering how to declutter a garage? Do you have all the things in your garage, but can never seem to find what you need when you need it? Do you even think you may have bought duplicate items because you couldn’t find what you know you have somewhere out there?
How to Declutter a Garage
Garages are tricky, you might have to be out in the elements when you’re working. It could be hot or really cold, so if you can plan for a moderate day to do your decluttering on, it can really be advantageous.
Then, working a garage can be overwhelming, so I’ve found it best to work through by types of items. You may have:
- Tools
- Yard & Gardening Equipment
- Sports Equipment
- Painting
- Home Improvement Items
- Automobiles & Motorcycles
- Outdoor Summer Fun
Toss the Trash
Go through quick and get rid of all the trash you see. This might be old tools that no longer work, paint cans (be sure to follow the rules for disposing of these though!), used but not washed paint brushes, any miscellaneous paper trash, etc.
Work a Category at a Time
Pick a category and work through it. Breaking things down into smaller chunks helps get past overwhelm and see progress in certain areas. If you go from place to place without some sort of plan of action, then you may make progress but not see it. Seeing progress is a key element of feeding your motivation so that you can sustain your decluttering efforts.
Gather Like Items
Move the cars out and make some room, then gather all the same type of item. Check around your house for any more of them. This is like the Marie Kondo way of doing things and helps you see just how many like items you have.
Keep the Best
You may find you have eight hammers and then you can decide to just keep the best one. Seeing them all together is a part of the KonMari method and can help you make more informed decisions based on what you see.
Decide Whether or Not You Really Use
Get rid of the item you don’t really use or that are items.
Set Limits
Set limits on how much you allow yourself to keep before deciding you need more.
Have a Garage Sale / Giveaway
Set aside the things you want to sell or giveaway, but be sure to mark them as such so they don’t reenter your garage as clutter.
Save Organizing for Last
Hold back from buying storage or organizational products because decluttering first will help you the most. Once you’ve pared down to much less, you may not even need special organizers, bins, or containers. Ideas for storage you may have considered when you had more may not even be the best solution once you have less. Even if you do decide to buy some storage solutions for this space, but when you have less items, its much easier to be organized.
Setting up a storage system for what you do keep may be key to keeping your garage useful and in great shape. The following items may help with organizing and storing your items so that you may easily access your stuff:
- Wall storage racks
- Shelving
- Tool bags
- Workbenches
- Pegboard hooks
- Tool belts and pouches
Group like items together so you will know where they are when you need them. Get rid of anything in boxes and at least get them into some clear bins you can see through.
