The weather will get colder soon and like it or not winter isn’t far off but don’t worry there’s still time to organize the garage before the snow arrives. Need a little motivation to get started? Think about being outside each morning scraping ice and snow off your car because there’s no room for the car in the garage. Let’s fix that; let’s start now!
There’s more than one way to attack a project this size but I’m only going to describe one method. If you don’t think this method will work for you contact me and we’ll find a solution to meet your needs.
The tips I’m providing with this method assume that you don’t just want to move everything around so you can fit the car in but rather you want to organize what’s currently in the way so you can find what you need.
Organizing a two car garage can take an entire weekend if you attack the whole thing at once. To avoid burnout I suggest organizing your garage one bay at a time and spreading it over two Saturdays with time off on Sunday to enjoy yourself with family and friends.
If the garage is full of boxes start by sorting each box. Put donations in boxes or bags and toss the trash. Sort everything you’re keeping into categories. Remember the most important organizing rule: like things together. Items that don’t belong in the garage should be placed in one section of the garage so you can bring them in the house when you’re ready.
Now that the boxes are sorted it’s time to handle the things that you want to store in the garage. Start by taking everything out of one bay and placing it on the driveway in categories. Go through those piles and throw away what’s broken or no longer wanted. If the item is in good condition put it with the other donations.
What’s left on your driveway are things you want to keep. Think about how you retrieve these items and where you should place them in the garage to make retrieval easy.
Now that you have an idea of how many things need to be stored in the garage do you have enough shelving? Would shelving just below the ceiling be helpful for seldom used items like holiday decorations or camping gear? Having enough shelving is critical. Take measurements of the space that’s available, leaving enough space for the car doors to open without hitting the shelves. Purchase and assemble shelves as needed.
You may also want to hang pegboard on the walls to hang small tools and snow shovels. Lining a wall with pegboard is an inexpensive way to get tools off the floor.
Place everything that’s in the driveway on the shelves in the garage by category making sure to leave room for expansion; remember you’ve only worked on one bay. To avoid having lots of small items on shelves put like things together in a clear plastic bin. Remember to label the bin.
Next weekend repeat these steps for the second bay. You may have to do a second pass at arranging items by combining like things from both bays onto the shelves. Label the shelves when you have placed everything where you want it. You can even hang signs on the wall or from the ceiling, naming each section “car care”, “gardening”, or “camping” just like department stores do. Now everyone in the house will know where thing belong.
This may seem like a lot of work but it’ll be worth it. You’ll save so much time each morning by not having to scrap off the car and your car will be warmer when you get in. Also, think of how awesome it’ll be to know exactly where things are in the garage when you need them! Follow these tips and you’ll live a
Naturally Organized life. Pic credit: car in snow by Andreea Popa
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