How To Manage Your Garage

The garage has been an area Americans have felt they’ve had permission to dump all their unwanted items as well as things they need and use, feeling justified in having a disorganized wasteland. Mounds of discarded toys, broken auto parts, tools, camping gear, holiday decor, and unwanted clothes are just a few things people store here. Having this highly useful and much needed storage area often gets used only partially and often becomes a place of embarrassment and frustration at lost items that can’t be found.

So, how can we more effectively manage this area and perhaps, actually park a car in here? The first step is ensure you have the proper infrastructure so that you have a place for kept items to be stored. Without this, items will be stacked and piled atop each other and more chaos ensues. Depending on your budget, you can install closed cabinetry or heavy duty free standing shelving so you can see what you have and like items are stored together.

We need to sort through these many items, ridding ourselves of things no longer needed or useful and donating or recycling said stuff. Things to be saved need to be sorted into groupings and contained–not in cardboard boxes, since cardboard breaks down and acts as a wick for moisture and dust. Clear plastic bins that fit the size of the items work best. Group like things together and create a zone of those things. Labeling all the bins is a huge help and larger placards can display a specific area.

Once these things are contained, then place bins rarely used either up top or down low and leave the middle areas for things you use most. Think of these areas as real estate and the more valuable the items should go in the more important and easily accessed places.

It’s important that as things are used, they go back to their designated home so they can be used in the future with ease. As new things come in, make sure you have the space for them and see if there are older items that can be eliminated or changed out. Some people hold onto broken items with the hope they will fix them “one day.” If they’ve been sitting here for a long time, good chance they won’t be repaired. Either hire someone to fix them or donate, recycle or landfill them to clear out the area.

Managing the garage, once the order and infrastructure are in place, isn’t a big job. A highly used area such as one with kid’s sports or with a lot of car repair, crafting or machining, requires more attention to how tools and pieces are being used and maintained. Keep focus on what’s projects overtaking the space and affecting other storage areas.

If you should need help with this area of the home or another, please call 510.501.1213 and let Creative Space Organizing get you organized today!