Six Steps To Clean and Organize Your Garage

Guys, the moment you decide to own a garage, that is the moment your responsibility to organize and clean the garage kicks in. The responsibility to organize and clean the garage came with the package. Unless you are super rich, the task falls on your shoulder. You must be one of the rare human species if you do not mind the clutter created by improper organization. Sooner or later you would have to do it. Clutter and disorganization will drive most insane as things gets out of hand when the garage turned into a glorified family store for everything under the sun.

We have to come back to basics to realize that the primary function of a garage is to store your car or cars away from the elements. We want to avoid as far as possible any probable damage that the elements could extend to our automobiles. We must clear our mind that the function of a garage is not a glorified storage room for the whole family. It could be a secondary function but never the primary objective.

When organizing the garage space must be given priority first and foremost to the effective use of parking your car or cars. When this function has been fulfilled, you can plan for storage spaces for other items within the surrounding area. You do not want rubbish and unused items to occupy the principal space of the garage. Beside being an eye sore, a disorganized garage dampened and will erode the motivation to properly maintain your car or cars. You may have to park your car or cars outside, unprotected from the elements if the garage had become clogged with containers, tools, bicycles, skateboards, scooters, strollers and every other items under the sun. At the end of the day, you may not even be able to find your way inside your own garage to get the things you stored earlier when you needed them.

To overcome the overwhelming feeling generated when organizing and cleaning your garage, I have outlined in this article six simple guidelines that may help you take control.

1. The first task is to remove everything from the storage area before sorting the items into specific categories. Remove everything out of the garage. The next step is to categorize your entire possessions in the storage area. This is done by way of itemizing belongings of similar groupings to its respective category. My advise is to put kid's toys and games to kid's toys and games category, carpentry equipment to carpentry equipment category, sports tools to sports tools category, seasonal adornments to seasonal adornments category, etc. Then you need to sort out the damaged obsolete, or perhaps no longer needed items. Sell, give away or donate items you no longer need.

2. Get the right storage system Once the sorting has been done, decide what kind of storage system you want to invest in to help you organize the garage and make it easier to clean it. It is always a good idea to consider buying space-friendly storage containers, shelving systems, cabinet systems, tool chests, peg boards, hanging ceiling systems, bicycle hanging shelves, etc to make the garage look neat and clean.

3. It goes without saying that you need to clean the garage regularly. The moment you have emptied your garage of all the items you stored in it, its time to clean and sweep or mop the garage floor. You will therefore need to throw out all the loose trash, get rid of cobwebs and scrape layers of dirt from the floor or walls. While it will be hard work, the end result will be worth it. You will take pride in being your garage clean and neat. Cleanliness of the garage should be you ultimate quest. Clean the area regularly to keep it neat and organized.

4. A fresh coat of paint goes a long way to create a great feeling of order. Put a fresh coat of paint on the walls in your garage. It goes a long way in making your garage look organized and clean. However guys, please do not go overboard. While it would be nice, you really do not want your garage to look like a pseudo-living area. Remember, the garage's function is to park you car or cars in a clean and protected environment. Another good thing to consider while you are at it is the flooring. It certainly fare well to seal the paint and flooring to protect it from possible spills. It also eases cleaning up in the future. Believe me guys, painting the wall and flooring surfaces can have an enormous effect to the atmosphere of your garage.

5. It is therefore important to properly organize your garage. Once the garage is cleaned, put every items you removed and decided to keep, back to their rightful place. It is always best to place within easy access the items that you or your family members use all the time. Whatever items that are seldom used, shelved them further back in the garage, higher up on shelves or within cupboards at the back of the garage. Do not forget to tag the outside of containers with labels. It is always helpful to label compartments, shelves and cupboards. These actions can, in the future, save you the hassle of trying to locate an item you need to use. Proper labeling will not only help you search for things easily but so help someone who is not familiar with your garage to find things when you ask them to look for in your garage.

6. Create simple rules and follow them strictly. Generate rules that everyone can follow to keep the garage space clean, organized and neat. It is a good idea to include to your set of simple rules, "Always return items used to labeled the area", to help sustain the organization of your garage.

Believe me guys, if you stick to these simple guidelines, you will attain a clean and organized garage. You will be a proud owner of a garage that is clean, neat and organized. Good luck!