But, I Hate Cleaning the Garage!

The garage is often the everyday entryway into our homes and, yet, how do we keep it from overflowing with shoes, rakes, hoses, boxes, recycling and potting soil?  New American homes and garages grew larger in the past several decades and our accumulation of items has expanded to fit and even outgrow our available space.  My upcoming blogs will walk you through crucial areas in your home, give you some tips to reduce clutter, and offer some suggestions that you can use today.  Now, we step into the garage.  Watch out for that pile of cardboard!

One of my trusted organizing guidelines is, "take all of it out and put SOME of it back in".  To truly dig into a garage, you need time and help to empty it of all or most items.  I do this in smaller parts so the job is less overwhelming.  Imagine the garage is divided into four equal sections.  Pick a side to start on, empty and sweep out the front quarter of that side, and the proceed to the back quarter and to the other side's front and back quarters.  Progress feels quicker when the job is divided into easier parts.  Group like items together such as gardening equipment, sports items, recycling, car care and others and store on shelves or hooks.  In your car, place donations or recycling to be dropped off and commit to taking them this week! 

Shoes and more shoes.  In the garage photo shown, the owner installed shoe racks to contain the many varieties that this small family owns.  Another of my organizing guidelines is that everything needs to have a home. Then, everyone will know where to replace items when not being used.  A third guideline is to frequently thin out items no longer needed.  You can pass outgrown items to other families with children; you can donate to The Salvation Army http://local.yahoo.com/info-12167447-salvation-army-thrift-store-quakertown at 477 N. W. End Boulevard, Route 309, in Quakertown by simply driving up to the donation bins behind the store; you can sign up for a Purple Heart donation pick up through http://zc.purpleheartpickup.org/ or you can bring your worn-out sneakers to a Nike Grind Processing site http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/where-it-goes where they will be ground up and changed into materials for running tracks, playgrounds, shoe soles and other useful objects!  

Another way to increase garage space and reduce clutter is to use your vertical space.  In the other photos shown, the owner has installed nails, sturdy hooks and racks to contain garage items, to keep from piling on the ground, and to make room for garbage cans and the lawn mower.  

So, while the weather is now crisp and beautiful, get out in the garage, dig through your items, take time to enjoy an apple cider break and enjoy your new clean garage!