Organizing Tips Archives - Page 5 of 6

Is your garage ready for winter?

December 7, 2010 by Rick Scully

In September, I came across an article in The Globe & Mail that featured seven tips on how to prepare your property for winter. Back then I was in denial. I didn’t want to contemplate winter’s wrath, but the season is now officially upon us and I’m finally ready to share.

The maintenance suggestions were provided by Ontario-based home inspector Roger Frost. You’d be wise to apply at least half of them to your garage as well as your home. Got a few minutes? Check out the full article here. Pressed for time? Here are a few highlights:

Caulk windows on the outside, and check sills and frames for cracks.
Store patio furniture in a dry area to prevent rust and mildew. Remember, we’ve got garage storage solutions if you need them.
Service your furnace ASAP. If you wait until it’s freezing outside to discover a problem, you’ll end up paying high emergency service fees.
To prevent cracking and sagging, fill gaps in your home’s exterior, including your asphalt driveway, patio and wood deck.
Inspect the roof. Check flashing and shingles for potential water entry points.
Shut off water supply taps and lines from inside the home to prevent components from freezing.
Inspect your fireplace. Clean debris from the rain cap on your chimney and check for gaps and cracks.

If you have any questions regarding winter maintenance of your garage, feel free to drop us a line.

Looking for a professional organizer?

November 23, 2010 by Rick Scully

In my last post, I suggested hiring a professional organizer to help get your home in shape in time for the holidays. Since writing that post, I’ve come across a couple of online resources I wanted to share. The first is www.organizersincanada.com. This site is the home of POC – Professional Organizers in Canada. Go there and you’ll be able to search for a local professional based on your own criteria. You’ll also quickly realize you’re not the only one who needs help. There’s good reason this industry is thriving!

If you’re in the Toronto area, you might want to check out Organized Zone Inc. It’s owned and operated by Brenda Bernstein, a professional organizer I had the pleasure of meeting not too long ago. As her tagline clearly states, Brenda does for homes what Garage TailorsGarage does for garages: “We transform cluttered life and space into functional order.”

After we met, I took a look at Brenda’s website and found a number of articles that I thought you might find helpful, including “How to clean out your closet,” “Calling all Shopaholics,” and “Does clutter-free living really exist?” I also noticed she’s offering a pretty good discount on on-site consultations at the moment.

Want home storage solutions or help organizing your office? Try Brenda or one of her industry peers. Want garage storage solutions? Remember, Garage Tailors Garage is still the expert to call!

Get organized before the holiday season hits!

November 9, 2010 by Rick Scully

Our customers are often so pleased with the order we bring to their garages, they’ll ask us if we’re willing to tackle the inside of their homes, too – especially in December, when they find themselves rushing around madly to prepare for holiday guests! Unfortunately, we’re unable to oblige them. There are simply too many garages in need of storage solutions, cabinets and more. Thankfully, though, there are plenty of professional organizers willing to help you transform that make-shift storage room back into a guest room before Aunt Mary and Uncle Jim show up in their Santa hats.

When choosing an organizer, keep in mind that the person you hire will be working very closely with you, your family and your most personal belongings, so it’s important to make sure the fit is a comfortable one. As you shop around, ask these questions:

How long have you been in the business?
What’s your fee structure?
Do you offer any follow-up support?
Are you available for telephone consulting?
Can you provide the contact information for three local references?

Once you’ve found a professional who can answer all of these questions to your satisfaction, I say simplify your life. Let the experts go forth and conquer on your behalf!

Does chaos lurk behind the doors of your garage cabinets?

October 21, 2010 by Rick Scully

In our last post, we pointed you to online stores that sell organizational solutions. Boxes, containers and bins, oh my. The assortment is so extensive, it’s almost hard to excuse a disorganized home or garage!

At Garage Tailors Garage, we specialize in custom floor and wall cabinets, among other things. While our cabinets can certainly bring order to your garage, there’s plenty of opportunity for chaos behind closed doors. Use the solutions you find online to keep awkward items, including the following, neatly arranged on your cabinet shelves:

screws, washers, nuts and bolts
paint brushes and other paint supplies
sandpaper and small tools
string, rope and bungee cords
hose and sprinkler attachments
golf balls and tennis balls – every garage has some!

While labelling will help you quickly find what you’re looking for, you can skip this step by opting for clear containers to begin with. Don’t have any garage cabinets to organize? Check out our products page to find out what you’re missing.

Home organization ideas from your garage organization expert

October 12, 2010 by Rick Scully

Congratulations. You survived September! The academic year is now in full swing and you’re back to shuffling the kids between school and extra-curricular activities. While proper garage storage will certainly help you and the family get in and out of the car more efficiently, organization inside your home is essential at this time of year.

Because we know how busy you are, we thought we’d point you to a few online sources so that you can stock up on handy storage bins and other great things from the comfort of your home! Check them out.

The catalogue for the last site (Solutions) is currently under construction but it’s a great store, so bookmark the site for a future visit.

In our next post, we’ll be offering a few tips on how to put some of the goodies you find to good use in your garage. Until then, stay organized!

Does your garage have a purpose?

August 19, 2010 by Rick Scully

Floor Cabinets - Garage When you ask the right questions, you’re more likely to find the right solutions. So, what can your garage do for you? If you don’t know, don’t read on. If, however, you believe your garage can protect your vehicle from the elements, not to mention vandalism, keep going.

Picking up where we left off last post, for weeks your garage has been a hard-to-navigate maze of bicycles, garden supplies and more. How do you restore order?

Purge! If you no longer need it, let it go. Give it to a neighbour, sell it at a yard sale, take it to a charity store, or, if it’s broken, send it straight to the dump.
Dispose! In the interest of safety and space, get rid of empty or near-empty containers of paint, pesticides, motor oil and other hazardous substances by following municipal guidelines.
Organize! With excess items removed, you’re ready to clear the floor by maximizing the walls and ceiling for storage. For some, a two-by-four and a nail work wonders but if you’re looking for a little more functionality, check out our selection of shelves and cabinets.
Park that car! It’s what your garage was designed for, after all!

Do you suffer from Seasonal Garage Anxiety Disorder?

August 10, 2010 by Rick Scully

suspending shelves Labour Day will soon be upon us, which means summer is drawing to an end … but that’s not all. Any day now, thousands of Canadians will be hit with a common ailment that we at Garage TailorsGarage like to call Seasonal Garage Anxiety Disorder.

What are the symptoms? Anxiety. Will the former glory of your garage ever be restored following the care-free months of summer? If you’re like most individuals, there are kids’ bikes, hose pipes, shovels, rakes and planters strewn across your garage floor. I’d even venture to guess that a few of you have a pile of top soil sitting on a blue tarp in the very spot you once parked your car.

All of this is very well, but the seasons are-a-changing. In just a few weeks, the leaves will begin to fall upon the beautiful, waxy finish of your vehicle. If cars could talk, yours would be saying, “I’m worth a lot. Protect me. Please let me reclaim my space!”

Clearing out the garage is a daunting task – we understand – so to make it easier we’ll be sharing a few tips in our next post. Be sure to check them out.

Garage Wall Coverings: A Practical and Safe Way to Create Storage

June 15, 2010 by Rick Scully

Slatwalls Garage Organizing In the last post, we left you precariously hanging on the garage wall with a two-by-four, a nail and a pencil outline, waiting to fall on top of a car or a kid.

Not a good place to be.

Because not only is such a garage organizing system dangerous, but it doesn’t take advantage of the wide expanse of possible storage available to you on the garage wall.

And that’s where a slatwall system comes in handy. When you cover your garage wall with a slatwall system, you create an infinite number of storage combinations that use the space effectively – and more importantly – without risk of things crashing down on top of someone.

With a slatwall, you can create organized zones in your garage dedicated to specific tasks. Hang off season bikes up off the floor, suspend toxic substances out of reach of children.

And of course, secure dangerous tools to the wall without fear of them accidentally harming anyone or anything.

Want proof? Go check out our Transformations. You’ll be amazed at the difference.

A Board and a Pencil Are Not A Safe Organizing Solution: Risking Damage to Cars & Kids

June 8, 2010 by Rick Scully

Do the two photos in today’s post look familiar to you? I see it all the time in garage after garage. A board nailed to the wall with outlines of what tools hang where.

And with that most of us would call it garage organization.

Take a look at the first picture again, the one of the whole wall. What’s supporting that tool? A single nail? Someone brushes by it and the whole thing will fall down, possible scratching your car or worse causing some major damage to your kids.

While this garage organization system might work for a few tools in a large garage where few people enter, it doesn’t work in a high-traffic zone that also acts as workshop, garden shed, and sports equipment storage.

So what to do? Check out our next post to find out how installing a modular storage system can turn those little-thought-of walls into valuable and SAFE real estate.

(If you’re impatient of course you can go take a look at what we offer for walls.)

Build a Strong Foundation & Organize from the Ground Up in the Garage

May 22, 2010 by Rick Scully

So, we’ve looked at how if left untreated, the garage floor will develop cracks and corrosion which will encourage you to ignore the space and will demotivate you from maintaining an organized garage.

Plus an untreated, uncovered garage floor is just down right ugly. You’ve worked hard to coordinate the whole house – time to bring the garage into the picture and make it beautiful.

So, what can you do? Easy.

Coat the floor with a polyaspartic garage floor coating.
This better-than-epoxy low VOC option creates a strong seal that resists cracks and corrosion, stops dust from rising and adds a decorative touch to the space. (Low VOCs mean breathing easier in and around the house.)
Lay floating PVC garage flooring tiles.
Tell the world that you take good care of the biggest room in the, with a solution that many of our clients have chosen.

Once you get the floor cleared and covered, you’ll likely find yourself driven to organize and beautify the rest of the space. Stay tuned! We’ve got more tips coming up!

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