disorganized garage Archives

National Clean Out Your Garage Day

September 1, 2016 by Rick Scully

A 5-Step Plan to Reclaim Your Garage

The garage is one of the most neglected spaces in our homes. Over time, it often becomes the family dumping ground from everything to broken furniture and outgrown toys to sports equipment and holiday decorations. Couple our tendency to stockpile items in the garage with our aversion to cleaning the garage, and you have a recipe for chaos as our growing pile of stuff gets out of control.

Garage clutter isn’t just an aesthetic problem or even a mere inconvenience that forces us to spend time searching for misplaced objects—like a garden trowel or someone’s lucky baseball. It also poses a health hazard. Improperly store baseball bats, hockey sticks and garden implements pose a serious tripping hazard. Clothing and newspapers stored openly in the garage attract mice and other vermin by providing nesting material. Chemicals stored in the garage pose a poisoning hazard to animals and small children. Improperly stored flammable liquids pose a fire hazard.

As garage clutter grows, it becomes harder for the garage to fulfill its intended use—a safe haven for your vehicles from the harsh summer sun, frigid winter temperatures and all of the precipitation that falls in between. If you’re like many families, perhaps you’ve surrendered to garage clutter, opting to park your vehicles outside. If so, don’t despair. Instead, get ready to take back your garage in five simple steps on Clean Out Your Garage Day—the Saturday following Labour Day.

Step One: Start with a Plan

No one wants to spend the entire day knee deep in clutter, so we put off cleaning the garage. However, when we approach the task with a plan, the job becomes easier and we can tackle it efficiently.

Take time to assess your priorities. What is most important to you when it comes to your garage? Reclaiming parking space for your vehicles? Creating a workshop for a hobby or small business? Securing storage space for sports equipment? Or perhaps you require all three. Start by mapping out the space to determine what you can fit inside the garage and where everything should go.

Step Two: Zone Out

As you lay out your plan for the garage, group like items to create task-specific zones in your garage. For instance, group yard tools together in a gardening and lawn care zone. Group motor fluids and other car care accessories in an automotive care zone. Store sports equipment together in a sporting goods zone. Establishing zones is the first step to creating order in your garage.

Grouping like items together makes locating items quicker and simpler—saving you valuable time on each project. However, without an orderly way to store those items, the space will quickly descend into chaos again, making it difficult to find space to park your vehicles. Instead of using valuable floor space, store items vertically and overhead whenever possible.

A garage wall organization system like Slatwall provides vertical storage for a wide variety of items through the use of integrated baskets, hooks and shelves. You can purchase and install a vertical wall organization system or enlist a professional garage renovation expert to install the system for you.

Step Three: Enlist Family or Friends

Reduce the amount of individual time and effort required to get the job done by making the cleaning of your garage a fun, family project. By involving every member of the family in the project, each person becomes more invested in keeping the garage clean.

Another option? Invite a few friends over, fire up the grill and transform the task of cleaning out your garage into a fun and productive day with friends.

Step Four: Empty the Garage

When your garage is overflowing with clutter, the best way to approach the situation is to start with a clean slate. That means emptying the garage of all its content. While this might seem tedious, it’s the best way to take inventory of what is stored in your garage. Knowing exactly what you have in your garage is critical to the next step in the process.

If you haven’t already installed your vertical wall storage system, now is the time to do so. Once your Slatwall, baskets, hook and shelves (or alternate vertical wall storage system) is in place, you are ready to proceed to the next step.

Step Five: Discard, Donate and Designate

This compound step is the most important task in the process. While it may seem daunting, it can more easily be described with one word: PURGE. By emptying your garage in the previous step, you can now see exactly what you’re working with. Group like items together to easily identify duplicates of tools and sports equipment.

Discard broken toys and furniture. Properly dispose of old household chemicals. Donate gently-used items your family no longer needs like old toys and shoes. Gift a friend or neighbor your duplicate yard tools or sports equipment. Once you’re pared the contents of your garage down to the items you plan to keep, designate a storage space for each remaining item.

Return each item to the appropriate task-related garage zone, as identified in step two. Using the complementary hooks, baskets, shelves of the wall organization system and professionally-installed overhead storage, place each item in a designated spot. Voilà! You now have an organized garage. To maintain your newly organized space, simply return each item to its designated spot.

Still on the fence about whether it’s worth it to spend a weekend cleaning out the garage? Consider this: a disorganized garage detracts from the aesthetics of your home and creates unsafe conditions for your family. It can also cost you time and money. Searching through garage clutter to find items steals valuable time. When garage clutter forces you to park outside, the harsh elements can damage the body of your vehicle and its internal systems, costing you money. Cleaning the garage might seem like an overwhelming task, but it is one that will pay off handsomely.

To streamline the process, tackle the early stages of cleaning your garage prior to the cleanout date. Plan the layout of your garage, incorporating task-related zones. Purchase and install a scalable wall organization system that includes complementary storage accessories like baskets, shelves and hooks or hire a professional garage renovation expert to install it for you. Enlist family or friends to help on the big clean out day. Completely empty your garage. Discard broken or outdated items. Donate gently-used items you no longer need. Designate a permanent storage space for each item within the appropriate zone and return items to their space.

If the project still feels too daunting, consult with a professional garage renovation expert for help transforming your garage into an organized, multi-use storage space.

Prepare Your Garage Now for the Change of Season

March 10, 2015 by Rick Scully

After months of cold weather, and still more on the horizon, we begin to look forward to the months ahead, when the temperature will slowly begin to climb. Perhaps your family is itching for warmer weather, ready to ditch heavy parkas and boots. However, your garage may not be quite ready for the coming change of season.

During the winter, the last thing you want to do is schlep out to the garage to carefully sort and put things away. Therefore, it’s not uncommon for the garage to become the family dumping ground during the cold, winter months. If your garage is piled high with bikes, tools, outdoor toys, gardening tools, lawn care equipment, off-season tires and sporting goods, you’re probably unable to park all of your intended vehicles inside of your garage. Additionally, finding the items you need in a disorganized garage can be extremely frustrating.

The impending arrival of spring signals the start of a variety of activities like softball, soccer, golf and gardening. All of these activities require specialized equipment which is likely buried in your garage. To avoid the annoyance and frustration of misplaced sporting equipment, gardening tools and lawn care equipment this spring, take the following three steps to get your garage ready for the change of season.

Step One: Out with the Old

The primary reason it’s so difficult to find anything in the garage is because the things we want and need are buried beneath items for which we no longer have a need. Think about the items currently stored in your garage. Has the garage become the designated dumping ground for broken toys, furniture and tools? Is the garage littered with bikes, wagons and sports equipment the kids have outgrown? Are duplicates tools stealing valuable storage space? If so, prepping your garage for spring begins with a thorough purge.

Sort through all of the items stored inside your garage. Be ruthless when it comes to cutting the clutter.

Throw out items that are damaged or broken. Perhaps you stored them in the garage with the intention of fixing them. However, if those items haven’t been repaired in a year or two, the likelihood that they ever will be is quite slim.
Donate or sell outdated items, those you haven’t used in years and items you’ve never used can either be donated to a local charity or sold. However, if you decide to sell unused items, set a firm deadline for getting rid of them. Otherwise, those items might still be taking up space in your garage three years from now.
Group similar items and look for duplicate tools and sporting equipment. Once you identify duplicates, decide which item you’ll keep and donate or discard the unnecessary items.

Purging the garage may seem like a daunting task for one person. Make the project fun by enlisting the help of family or friends. Turn on your favorite music. Once the job is completed, reward yourself with a night out or a fun activity the entire family will enjoy.

Step Two: Create Dedicated Zones

If weather permits, it’s helpful to remove all items from the garage in order to clearly see the storage space available. This will enable you to determine how to best use the space in your garage. Before you create the layout for your new, clutter-free garage, think about how you use the space. What tasks are performed in your garage? What kinds of items are stored there?

Create distinct zones for sports equipment, lawn care equipment, vehicle care accessories and gardening tools. Put away out-of-season items, like sleds and snow shovels, to make room for items you’ll need for spring. Then decide on the ideal location for each zone: back wall, sidewall or near the garage door.

Step Three: Optimize Available Storage Space

There’s a limited amount of space in a garage. Yet, the volume of things we own and need to store continues to grow. How can you find a dedicated space to store all of your family’s things? Maximize the storage space in your garage by incorporating shelving, cabinetry, baskets, hooks and stackable storage containers.

A garage wall organization system, like slatwall, is designed to maximize storage space. The complementary baskets, hooks and shelves slide and lock into place easily, creating a neat, organized system for storing items along the wall, rather than stacking them along the perimeter of the floor. Once the space has been optimized, each item can be stored in its designated space.

Shelving can be an essential component of an organized garage, particularly for those who prefer items stored where items can be easily seen and retrieved. Next time we’ll talk about how to maximize the storage space in your garage by using steel racks.

If organizing your garage feels like an overwhelming job to take on yourself, check out some of our amazing garage transformations, then contact Garage Tailors Garage to request your free consultation.

How much is a disorganized garage really costing you?

October 8, 2013 by Rick Scully

Are you a Have or a Have Not?

As you have probably noticed, it’s that time again. Yes, the days are getting shorter, the kids are back in school and it’s time to set up your garage for the winter season. In our many years of helping people organize their garages, we have identified two distinct types of homeowners in our area, the haves and the have nots.

1 car garage parks bmw plus 7 high end bicycles, portable workshop and all tools — HAVE: 1 Car Garage – parks 1 BMW, 7 high performance road bicycles, flip down workbench, all garden tools & seasonal tire storage

In this case, we are talking about homeowners who have taken steps to setup and organize their garages for easy seasonal transitions. These homeowners greet the seasonal change with open arms. They know that seasonal garage setup is not a chore at all, but a simple task that can be completed in a fairly short amount of time.

On the other hand, there is the other group of homeowners, those who have not organized their garages. As you might guess, these homeowners warily glance around the inside of their garage. They desperately try to figure out how long it will take to gather up all that clutter, move all that stuff around, store all the summer tools, toys and more away and bring out the winter gear. Sometimes, these garages are so disorganized that homeowners actually consider taking almost everything outside and then bringing the stuff back inside in the order they need. Unfortunately, if they are honest with themselves, they know this will most likely never happen. The end result is chaos or worse.

Back right 1 car central toronto garage — HAVE NOT: 1 Car Garage – cluttered, no storage, unable to park family vehicle, lacks organization

Then, once the first cold snap hits for these homeowners, it’s a mad dash to move the piles from here to there and everywhere in between to make room for the car. Oh, and should the home be equipped with a 2 car garage, too often, there is so much clutter piled up that just one car can be safely squeezed into the remaining space.

The point is simple and easy to understand: an organized garage will save a lot of headaches throughout the year, but especially so when it’s time to adjust for the season change. Look, if you plan on just shoving your stuff into various piles around the garage that’s your choice. Yet, you might want to consider what a disorganized garage is really costing you.

Of course, it’s obvious that a disorganized garage costs you extra time throughout the year. Do you ever find yourself hunting all over your garage for a particular garden tool? Do you ever move stuff aside to get to more stuff behind the first pile? Have you ever sent one of your kids out to the garage to fetch a garden tool and they can’t find it? Then, you head into the garage and it takes you a bit of time to find it yourself. You can see that you could end up spending a lot more time than necessary; if only your garage was better organized, you would save yourself a lot of headache.

Another way a cluttered garage is costing you comes right out of your wallet. Our storage solution team members regularly surprise homeowners when they point out that the homeowner has two or more of the same item such as weed whackers, garden hoses or rakes, one of which was buried deep in a pile of clutter years ago. Or, in a more painful hit to your wallet, what about the car door that bangs into a wheelbarrow or other item in the garage simply because the garage is over stuffed with clutter. Whether a small dent or ding, the damage is unsightly and will most likely need repair.

A third way that a cluttered garage can end up costing also concerns your vehicle. Think of it this way. Think about what happens if a garage is so cluttered that one or both vehicles (for a 2-car garage) can’t comfortably fit inside during the winter. A vehicle that’s worth more than everything in the garage combined has to sit outside and endure the brutal winter; but your garden tools, the lawnmower, the bikes, etc get to rest comfortably indoors. Of course, when you look at it that way, it’s immediately obvious there has to be a better way.

Actually, it’s about this time of year the storage solution team here at Garage Tailors Garage starts to field anxious calls from worried homeowners. Remember, your garage is not just a dumping ground for what doesn’t belong in the house. Your garage is there for your vehicles plus your other belongings. With the right organization system in place, your car and your bikes, sports equipment, garden tools and more can comfortably occupy the same space.

Are you using your space efficiently?

February 8, 2012 by Rick Scully

No matter what the size of our home is, most of us feel as though we could use more space: an extra bedroom, a home office, or just more storage.

The question we really need to answer: Are we using the space as efficiently as possible? Judging from the garages and basements I’ve seen, that answer is a resounding “No!”

The two most common rooms I see wasted are garages and basements. When I see a home with a disorganized garage, I’d bet that the basement is just as cluttered. In most cases, the problem isn’t lack of space, people simply aren’t taking advantage of all the space they already have.

In previous blog posts, we’ve talked about how to declutter your garage (keep, donate, toss) but this also applies to basements.

How are the basement and the garage connected? Once the garage has been cleared of everything that’s unnecessary, and shelving, cabinets and overhead storage has been added, it can create room to store more in the garage, including some of what is currently in other parts of your house, such as your basement.

Emptying your basement of unnecessary items leaves you valuable internal space for better use. People have converted their basement into a home theatre, guest room, home office, game room, even an art studio. One recent client was clearing out the basement to create a nanny suite.

Regardless of how you plan to use your basement, if it’s full of stuff you no longer use or need, now is the right time to be thinking about decluttering and getting your storage spaces organized so you can take advantage of all the space you have and use your home the way you’d like to use it!

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