7 Steps to Begin Tidying Up the Garage

The garage is often the most neglected space in our homes. It’s a place where we store everything from old bicycles to power tools, and over time, it can become a cluttered mess. But fear not, because with a little time, effort, and a systematic approach, you can transform your garage into an organized and functional space. In this blog post, we’ll guide you through the process of tidying up the garage, step by step, so you can reclaim this valuable space in your home.

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 any broken equipment 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, Oct 4, 2023, is to begin to declutter any broken equipment 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.

7 Steps to Begin Tidying Up the Garage

Step 1: Set Clear Goals

Before you dive into decluttering and organizing your garage, it’s essential to define your goals. What do you want to achieve with this space? Do you want to create a dedicated workshop, a fitness area, or simply clear enough space to park your car? Having clear objectives will help you stay motivated and focused throughout the process.

Step 2: Gather Your Supplies

To tackle this project efficiently, you’ll need the right tools and supplies. Here’s a list to get you started:

Heavy-duty trash bags
Cleaning supplies (broom, mop, vacuum cleaner)
Storage bins or containers
Shelving units
Wall hooks and pegboards
Labels and markers
Safety gear (gloves, goggles)

Step 3: Declutter

The first and most crucial step in tidying up your garage is decluttering. Start by emptying the entire space. This might seem overwhelming, but it’s essential to see everything you have and make informed decisions about what to keep, donate, or discard. Sort items into three categories:

Keep: Items you use regularly or have sentimental value.
Donate or Sell: Items in good condition that you no longer need.
Discard: Broken, unusable, or hazardous items.

Be ruthless in your decisions. Remember, the goal is to create a clutter-free, organized space.

Step 4: Clean and Repair

With your garage empty, take the opportunity to clean the space thoroughly. Sweep or vacuum the floors, wipe down surfaces, and remove any cobwebs. If necessary, make any repairs, such as fixing broken shelves or patching up holes in the walls.

Step 5: Organize

Now comes the fun part—organizing your garage. Start by categorizing your belongings into logical groups. Common categories might include gardening tools, sports equipment, automotive supplies, and holiday decorations.

Invest in storage solutions like shelves, cabinets, and pegboards to keep everything in its place. Utilize vertical space to maximize storage capacity. Label your bins and containers for easy identification. Consider clear storage bins to see the contents at a glance.

Step 6: Create Zones

Divide your garage into functional zones based on your goals and the items you use most frequently. For example:

Workbench Area: If you want a workshop, designate a space for your tools and workbench.
Sports Zone: Store sports equipment like bikes, balls, and rackets together.
Seasonal Storage: Keep holiday decorations and seasonal items in one area.

Step 7: Maintain and Regularly Review

Congratulations! Your garage is now clean, organized, and functional. To ensure it stays that way, commit to regular maintenance. Set aside time every few months to review your garage’s contents, making adjustments as needed. Avoid the temptation to let clutter accumulate again.

Tidying up your garage may require some effort, but the benefits of having an organized and functional space are well worth it. Not only will you be able to find things more easily, but you’ll also gain valuable space for other activities or even parking your car. Follow the steps outlined in this guide, stay focused on your goals, and enjoy the satisfaction of a tidy and efficient garage.

Steps to Take & How to Begin Tidying Up the 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 Begin Tidying Up the 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 Begin Tidying Up the 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.