Garage Makeover: A DIY Guide to Decluttering Like a Pro

Has your garage space become more like a garbage space lately? It’s all happens so quickly. You pull boxes out season after season…*boxes explode….and then you try to shove them back into their space (good luck with that…we’ve been there). If you have children, it seems an unavoidable mess trails behind them where ever they go (bikes, beach toys, basketballs). And, your car? Chances are you haven’t parked your car inside the garage in a while (OK, maybe a long while). You’re not alone.

Take a deep breath and worry not. With a few simple steps you can learn to maximize your space and start a serious garage makeover to keep it neat and organized (rather than treat it like the family’s dumping grounds).

Get ready to clear the clutter and go gaga over your garage!

Garage Makeover Step No. 1: Clear the Space

If a messy garage is driving you crazy, steer things back on course with a garage makeover.

Before you do anything, mentally prepare yourself for the task at hand. This is not going to be easy. Make an action plan (kudos for reading this post), enlist some help and schedule a weekend to attack the mess together.

Ready to reclaim precious square footage?

Pull everything out of the garage. (We warned ya this isn’t going to be an easy job.)

Most of us know we own too much stuff. When you clear your space you have the chance to have a good look at everything. You may even find that missing box of holiday decorations you’ve been searching for all these years.

After you pull everything out, pull the car back in so you have a feel for the remaining space you can use. Envision how the shelving, cabinets, work bench and ceiling storage could work for your items.

Now it’s time to sweep, clean and paint. Use a specialty cleaner to remove oil and grease stains; you may also want to use a mask to prevent irritants from entering your airway.

After you mop the floors, use your garden hose to rinse away the cleaner and let your floor air dry. Then while you have everything hauled out and clean, patch up cracks with concrete filler to keep the bugs out and look for signs of rodent damage -set bait traps if you need to.

Garage Makeover Step No. 2: Take Inventory

Sort everything into three piles: keep, sell/donate, dump.

Now is a good time to re-label your keep items and put them in clear containers (or at least boxes that aren’t held together by loads of duct tape).

Take pictures of your sell items to post them on craigslist, E bay or your community “Buy/Sell/Swap” Facebook group, hold a garage sale, or donate to Goodwill or a local charity. Visit donationtown.org to match your items with a local charity and arrange for a pickup, too.

And finally, for your dump pile, get rid of anything you haven’t used in the past year. Seriously. Pay attention to chemical and paint products that require proper disposal. Cleaning products and outdated paint, for example, can do serious environmental damage if not disposed of properly. Start by reading the label which may have instructions about safe disposal and check the rules with your local municipality. Check out earth911.org to find local recycling centers to safely dispose of paint and chemicals.

Garage Makeover Step No. 3: Purge

It’s entirely reasonable that you don’t want to part with your high school letter jacket. (Or is it?)

Goodbyes can be tough and often overwhelming. Those hard-to-let-go items, filled with memories, are like an emotional time machine.

Decluttering the tough stuff is tricky. But, thankfully you can clear some sentimental stuff without having to ditch the memories. Find closure by digitizing your memoirs thanks to the magic of digital scanners or even the convenience of your mobile phone camera. For items that have exceptional memories or sentiment behind them, designate a reasonably sized keepsake box.

Save all the other stuff on the cloud, and create some breathing room.

Don’t stop there. Once you have everything sorted, it’s time to get organized to keep it clutter free.

Garage Makeover Step No. 4: Organize

Think vertical. Utilize wall hangers to organize shovels, brooms and other tools.

Face it, your garage isn’t meant to be the prettiest room in your home. But it can, and should be, organized and functional. Besides, it is the only room that has big open doors for all neighbors to see inside. While you have everything sprawled out on your lawn, group like items together.

Look right, look left…look up! There’s a ton of unused space right next to you and above your head. Move things off the floor wherever possible. Overhead storage is great for storing seasonal items, camping gear and luggage. It’s also great to use a vertical bike hook to get the bikes up and out of the way. Move it on up!  

Congratulations on Decluttering like a Pro

As Benjamin Franklin said, “A garage saved is a garage earned.” You don’t have to wait until spring to clean. Get started now to free your garage from looking like a disastrous episode of Storage Wars. Your car will thank you later.