The answer to why your garage space isn’t working for you has everything to do with how you use and organize your garage space. We tend to use garage space passively. When was the last time you were out of options and thought, “just stick it in the garage”? With the right garage organizing strategies, however, you can enjoy both maximal storage and optimal usage. You can even park you cars in there! Here are 4 simple tips.

1. Remove the excess

As with all organizing solutions, garage organization needs to start with a purge. The garage tends to fill up with more postponed decisions than any other room, except perhaps the attic. Go large. Get it all out on the driveway. Exposed to the light of day, it is easier to separate the wheat from the chaff. Chances are, much of what you have in your garage was on the way out anyway. To get all the discards and donates conveniently removed on the same day, I recommend College Hunks Hauling Junk.

2. Recognizing all Categories

Sort the remaining keepers into major categories. By taking a comprehensive approach, you can recognize the space that each category requires.  Maybe you need a category for gardening, but by seeing all the flower pots spread out on the driveway, you realized that you don’t need that space as much as you need the space for the kids growing supply of sports equipment.  You have created an environment where you can now recognize that half the flower pots can go.

3. The Right Structures

Once you have determined the right quantity you want for each category then you can determine the best location for each one. This is called a dedicated zone and it is the first step in establishing a system that will help you stay organized. The next step is to choose the appropriate structure. Items that can be binned make sense on shelves, but many items in the garage are not shelf-friendly.  For the large and awkward items, I am a big fan of Monkey Bars.  Items that hang can free up floor space for parking.

4. Donation Depot

Stuff comes into our lives far too easily, so it is important to have competitive systems for stuff to head out. Most garages already have a trash can and recycling bin,  but it also makes sense to dedicate a shelf to a donation depot. This a place to collect items you are ready to donate, until you have a trunk’s worth, enough to justify a trip to a charitable organization. By locating it near your car, you make it as easy as possible to move it out, before it accumulates too much.

With these strategies, you take a proactive approach to the use of your garage space. By reviewing all the items you can more easily prioritize and dispense with the excess that is getting in the way of your most important storage and usage goals. The right structures can help maintain it and a plan for regularly managing the excess will keep your organized garage sustainable.

This can be a big job, so if it’s not something you have the time or patience for, we are happy to help. This month new clients can save up to $150 off our services with the Garage Massage Special.