Solutions for Garage Clutter
I live in Northern Illinois and I can tell you that people here start to feel an urgency to organize their garages this time of year! No one wants to be parking on the driveway once the snow and the temps start to fall! I can also be pretty confident in saying that very few of us are actually looking forward to organizing our garages. It’s overwhelming to begin working in a large, cluttered space like a garage and the best steps to get started may not be clear. Yet, garages are one of my favorite spaces to organize for clients because a systematic process to declutter and organize gives my clients fast and lasting results. In fact, for many families, strong organizational systems in the garage work to keep areas in the home like mudrooms, entryways and kitchens more organized. My blog this month provides suggestions to get started and reap quick organizing results when working in a garage.
Breakdown and Recycling Packaging
Boxes and bags are a good thing to have on hand - to a point. However, I frequently see a huge amount of space in clients’ garages devoted to storing empty boxes and plastic bags. Of course, we all need some extra bags and boxes, but that packaging inventory is a problem when it is preventing us from enjoying and using that precious garage space. In a recent garage organization we did, over a fourth of the garage floorspace was taken up in excess packaging. Once we cut down and recycled boxes and tided the excess bins and bags, the client was delighted to see how much space she actually had for her car and essential things!
Solution - determine a reasonable amount of boxes and bags to keep, tidy up those things and recycle the extras.
Complete Recycling Errands
I find a lot of good recycling intentions in garages – paint, electronics, batteries, and bags of plastic bags. The recycling tasks pile up because people may not know how and where to recycle or they may not have the time or energy to take care of those recycling errands. Because there is almost always a huge portion of garage space taken up by items that need to recycled, my organizing service includes a complimentary recycling errands in every session. I know the ACTION of recycling is where a lot of clients get stuck. By taking care of these errands, I’m freeing up physical space in the garage and calendar space for the client.
Solution - Make time for recycling by blocking out a couple of hours on your calendar each month. Designate a recycling staging area in the garage to keep all the recycling tasks grouped together. The best location is one that is visible and convenient for loading into your vehicle.
Be Realistic with Home Projects
The table that needs to be painted, the picture frame we mean to glue, the broken flower pot - they all end up in the garage because it is the most logical and appropriate place to do these projects. These projects become problems when they take over the garage and prevent more essential activities - like parking the car or safely getting in and out of our car. I recently worked with a client who had been stockpiling to-do projects in their garage but they were also dealing with major health challenges. In our planning discussion, we talked about how they felt overwhelmed and had no expectation of having the ability to complete all of the projects. We ranked their projects by their priorities, which helped them to edit the total number down to a more manageable group. We even set up some next steps to help him get started.
Solution - Review your priorities - do you need a functional garage or a workshop for projects? Consider those projects that have been hanging around for a while and either finish them or let them go and enjoy the benefits of getting in and out of a warm car every day this winter!
Sort, Then Declutter the Duplicates
Sorting is the organizing super power. Putting like with like gives us the understanding of what we actually own and gives us the context we need to make our best decluttering decisions. Clients are often surprised by the duplication that sorting reveals. This was the case with a recent client who hired us because his disorganized tools frustrated him. Actually, his wife was frustrated with his disorganized tools because she felt he would buy new tools rather than search through the tools he already owned! I spent a few hours sorting ALL of tools onto folding tables in the garage and categorizing them into groups. Seeing his tools sorted out helped the client realize that (his wife was right) and the VOLUME of duplicate tools actually made it harder to find and use a tool when he needed it. We quickly edited each category using the ‘most and least favorite’ technique. Fortunately, he already had tool chests so we used them to create storage zones and categories (plumbing, electrical, screwdrivers, saws). We then stored and labeled everything so he could see at a glance where to find tools and have an easier time putting things away.
Solution - Sorting and putting like with like allows us to see what we have and to make better decisions to declutter. Organization prevents future clutter by stopping us from buying what we already own.
It’s ok to not enjoy organizing a garage - all the more reason to make the process faster and have the results last! Whether you tackle this project on your own or use OrganizeWell, having an organized garage has a huge impact on how we feel about our home. For many of us, we enter and leave our homes through the garage and it’s incredibly calming to have this space organized and tidy. The final benefit - we won’t be scraping snow off our cars while clutter is sitting warm and toasty in the garage this winter.