Is your garage more of a cluttered storage space than a functional area for your car? You’re not alone. Garages often become the catch-all for everything we don’t want in the house, from old bicycles and broken tools to holiday decorations and unused furniture. But fear not, with a little planning and effort, you can transform your cluttered garage into an organized, efficient, and tidy space. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to unclutter a garage and reclaim it for its intended purpose.
Welcome to my Year Long Thorough Declutter Series. We declutter 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Each day we do a daily task based on the room we are working on. Today, our task is to start decluttering your clutter in your garage. If you prefer watching videos, check out my youtube channel here. Today, we’ll look at some tips for decluttering unwanted electric tools and cords in your garage.
The best way to develop a new habit is by slowly and daily application. We will begin a new daily declutter habit starting with the 2nd bathroom. In the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series, we will declutter 30 minutes a day, five days a week on weekdays. Sign up to receive daily encouragement and motivation.
Plus, you’ll learn your specific daily task to work toward completing the goal of a Year Long Thorough Declutter where you will declutter every space and learn how to start to purge your house. Are you ready to finally get organized? If so, will you join us? Leave a comment below to subscribe.
If you are new to the blog, welcome! I blog about cleaning, decluttering, and organizing. You can find my free printables to help you get organized in the drop down menu under the Printables category.
Currently we are working on how to unclutter the Garage. The daily task for today, Sept. 19, 2023, is to begin decluttering any unneeded electric tools and cords in your garage. Remember, we are focusing on just the garage area, so don’t declutter your whole house. We will cover each room separately. Today we will begin to unclutter the garage.
How to Unclutter a Garage: A Step-by-Step Guide to Reclaiming Your Space
1. Set Clear Goals
Before you dive into decluttering, take a moment to define your goals. What do you want to achieve with your garage space? Is it primarily for parking your car, creating a workshop, or simply getting rid of the mess? Having a clear vision will help you stay focused and motivated throughout the process as you begin to unclutter the garage.
2. Sort and Categorize
Start by emptying the entire garage. This may seem like a daunting task, but it’s essential to see everything you have. As you empty it, categorize your items into groups such as tools, sports equipment, seasonal decorations, and so on. This step will make it easier to decide what to keep, what to donate, and what to discard.
3. Declutter and Donate
Once you’ve categorized your belongings, it’s time to declutter. Be ruthless in your decision-making. Ask yourself if you’ve used the item in the past year and if you plan to use it in the future. If the answer is no, consider donating or selling it. Remember, one person’s clutter might be another person’s treasure.
4. Create Zones
To keep your garage organized, designate specific zones for different categories of items. For example, create a gardening zone for your gardening tools and supplies, a sports zone for your sports equipment, and a seasonal storage zone for holiday decorations. This will help you find things easily and prevent future clutter.
5. Invest in Storage Solutions
Investing in storage solutions is crucial for maintaining an organized garage. Consider installing shelves, cabinets, pegboards, and wall-mounted hooks to maximize your space. Clear plastic bins or labeled containers are excellent for storing smaller items while keeping them visible and accessible.
6. Utilize Vertical Space
Don’t forget to use your garage’s vertical space. Install wall-mounted racks and hooks to hang bicycles, ladders, and other bulky items. This frees up valuable floor space and keeps everything within reach.
7. Maintain Regularly
Once your garage is decluttered and organized, the key to keeping it that way is maintenance. Make it a habit to put things back in their designated zones after use. Regularly assess your garage and declutter as needed to prevent future clutter from accumulating.
8. Consider Upgrading
If your garage is still lacking functionality despite your best efforts, consider investing in upgrades such as better lighting, insulation, or a new garage door. These improvements can transform your garage into a more comfortable and inviting space.
9. Safety First
As you declutter and organize, prioritize safety. Ensure that hazardous materials, like chemicals and power tools, are stored securely out of reach of children and pets. Install fire extinguishers and smoke detectors if you haven’t already, and check them regularly.
10. Enjoy Your Transformed Space
Finally, take a moment to enjoy your newly uncluttered garage. Whether you use it for parking your car, pursuing hobbies, or simply having a clean and organized storage area, you’ll appreciate the benefits of a well-maintained space.
Uncluttering a garage can be a big project, but the results are well worth the effort. With a systematic approach and a commitment to maintaining your organized space, you can reclaim your garage and make it a functional and clutter-free part of your home.
I personally have a bad habit of placing items that need to be donated in the laundry room behind the door. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Wrong. Delaying decisions means we still need to declutter.
Maybe you have a habit of delaying decisions, too. Let’s decide today where your decluttered items need to go. Do they need to be donated? Disposed of? Don’t delay that decision any longer. If they need to be donated, sort and put them in your vehicle. Then, make a note in your calendar to drop them off at your favorite charity.
As you are decluttering your items, I want you to try not to just move them to another room. You may be tempted to do that. However, resist the urge to keep everything. Decluttering means we actually part with these items. Otherwise, assign those items a permanent home where you can best utilize them.
Steps to Take & How to Unclutter a Garage
1.Only spend time on your specific daily task.
2.Do not get side-tracked or distracted.
3.Work within a time of day that you have the most energy and stamina. This is one of the most useful declutter motivation tips. Listen to your body and work at decluttering when you feel the most alert and energized.
4.Avoid thinking too long about whether to keep or discard an item. This is one specific way for How to Be Ruthless When Decluttering.
5.Avoid cleaning during your declutter. The goal is to purge the dead weight. Getting rid of the clutter is your priority. Cleaning can be accomplished later. Read on for more declutter motivation tips and my room specific deep clean checklist, though, as you will begin cleaning after your declutter.
High Impact Decluttering Tips for How to Unclutter a Garage
Supplies Needed:
1. boxes -preferably ones you can donate (Avoid plastic storage bins because you may be tempted to just store the items and not part with them.)
2. sturdy trash bags
3. marker/pen to label boxes
Decluttering Tip: Avoid using storage bins to declutter. Storage bins tend to tell your brain to “store” the items for later. That is just delaying decisions. If you aren’t getting rid of items when you declutter, you are not truly decluttering. This is why I recommend a trash bag, also. A trash bag tells your brain to “trash” the item.
Obviously, recycle if you have that option. The boxes you use should be ones you are willing to part with, so I recommend sturdy cardboard boxes. As to donations, there are many charities that will come pick up your items for you at your home.
I use one in particular where you can book an appointment for pick-up online. This is so convenient, as it saves you the hassle of hauling stuff away yourself. Scheduling that pick-up also motivates you to declutter by a certain date.
How to Unclutter a Garage
1. Start by eliminating trash first- use a sturdy trash bag
2. Sort items by category if needed so you can see what you have
3.Get rid of items that don’t work or that work poorly, expired items, anything you don’t love, anything that you’ll never use again
4. Box up the donations and trash/recycle the rest
5.Select a charity to donate your items and schedule the pick-up if that is an option
How Do You Declutter Your Entire House (and get it deep clean?): Need to deep clean?
First, My How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen list can be found here.
Second, My How to Deep Clean Your Bathroom list can be found here.
Third, My How to Deep Clean Your Kids’ Rooms list can be found here.
Fourth, My How to Deep Clean Your Living Room list can be found here.
Fifth, My How to Deep Clean Your Bedroom list can be found here.
You can get your printable Daily Housekeeping Routine and Deep Cleaning Your House Schedule here. This 15 page printable kit is delivered digitally to your email for you to print and personalize. What Does a Deep Clean Include? It includes a daily schedule, calendar pages, and deep cleaning checklists for every room and area of your home. Check out the link above to see a sample page of what you’ll get in my printable set designed to help you create your personal Homemaking Checklist.
Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can find that here.
New to deemiddleton.com and don’t know where to start? I recommend going in this order:
Step 1: Check out this post on the 1st step you should take to get organized. If you don’t have a calendar, you can grab my free weekly printable calendar page here. It is in my shopify store, but it is totally free, so you won’t be prompted to put in any payment information. It is a free download and will be delivered straight to your email.
Step 2: Create a daily Housekeeping Schedule. You can use this series to start to set up your own schedule. You can also use this simplified weekly schedule.If you often ask: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Or, if you struggle to get organized and have tried and failed time and again, you can likely find out which of these 11 reasons cause you to fail to get organized.
Step 3: How do you remove clutter? How Do You Declutter Your Home?.…Sign up for the Declutter Series and get your entire home decluttered in just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.”Declutter Your Home” checklists are provided in each email.
Step 4: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Use a timer and use the Deep Cleaning Checklists above. They will help you get your home sparkling after you’ve decluttered.
Interested in becoming a full-time blogger like me? Check out my blogging series. At the top of every page on my blog, you’ll find a drop down menu. Just select the BLOGGING category.
Check out the most popular posts on deemiddleton.com:
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