Step 1: Put together a team
For most people, organizing the job is a massive undertaking. Involve several members of the family, if you can. Many hands make light work. Or, at least, lighter work.
Step 2: Organization day
Be ready. Have a tarp available to stack things on. You'll need large plastic tote boxes (or some type of containers), garbage bags, markers for labeling, and gloves to protect your hands. You might consider colour coding your tote boxes — one colour for items for the car, another for garden tools, etc.
Decide how you want to sort your clutter. For example: garbage, recycle, give away and keep. Garbage can be disposed of immediately. Contact your local landfill to find out how to properly dispose of old batteries and hazardous materials.
Recycling items (bottles, metal, etc.) are also readily disposed of and provide the incentive of a little extra cash.
It's sometimes easier to part with the treasures in your garage if you know someone else can get use from them. Give away — or hold a garage sale — for those items that you can no longer use, but that someone else might have use for.
The most difficult pile to sort will be the "keep" pile. Do you really need the items in that pile? Be tough.
Years of clutter won't disappear in a day. A garage can take four days to clear and sort. Gauge your own garage realistically and allow yourself enough time to complete it.
Step 3: Organizing what's left
Now that you've disposed of everything you can, it's time to find a nice orderly arrangement for the remains of the day.
You have three potential areas of storage: floor, ceiling, and walls. Utilize them according to your own specific needs. Wall shelving for garages is relatively inexpensive; garage cabinetry can dress up your garage. Bikes can be suspended from the ceiling or racked against the wall to free up more floor space. Clear containers — labeled — take care of the odds and ends neatly.
Step 4: Clean up
This is the time to sweep up and hose down your garage. Leaving it neat will encourage you to keep it organized and tidy and eliminate another organizing marathon.
Before:
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