Uncluttering the garage

If it’s hard to walk through your garage, let alone find anything, it’s probably time to clear out the clutter and organize.

Start by taking everything out of your garage, or move as much as possible to the center, and paint the walls a light color. Clean the floor by saturating grease and oil spots with paint thinner, then cover the soiled areas with cat litter or sawdust. Sweep it away the following day, and paint the floor with porch paint, which is much easier to clean.

Then begin throwing things out. If you haven’t used it or missed it lately, out it goes. Or get together with neighbors for a yard sale. Or both.

Put things back in a manner that makes sense to you. Two precautions: (1) flat surfaces tend to attract piles, and (2) never put anything in front of, or atop anything else. Keep everything handy. Use these tips to help you organize:

• Group like items together—sporting equipment, tools, gardening utensils.
• Install utility shelves on one wall for storing things such as gardening supplies, paint, and auto maintenance supplies. Put poisonous products on a high shelf.
• Designate shelves for work boots and sports equipment.
• Put pegboard on walls for hanging tools and other items.
• Use a marker to silhouette your tools on the pegboard so you’ll always know where things go, what you have, and what’s missing.
• Install a rack to hold saws, shovels, rakes, and extension cords.
• Screw towel racks into walls to hold long poles, lumber, and other tall items that might topple.
• Use clear, labeled storage containers so you don’t have to dump the contents each time you need something.
• Clip loose sheets of sandpaper to a clipboard and hang from a wall hook.
• Use an old golf bag and pull cart to haul tools during yard work. The golf bag can double as tool storage, and the pockets are ideal for holding small tools and gloves.
• Think high. Hang bicycles and other sports equipment from the garage ceiling. Put boards across the rafters for a ministorage loft. (This is great for seasonal items — outdoor holiday decorations, snow shovels, or lawn furniture.)
• Use large plastic tubs or trash cans with lids for potting soils, compost materials, fertilizers, etc.
• Keep a trash can on the driver’s side of the garage so you can easily toss car litter.
• Paint parking spaces on your garage floor for tricycles, skateboards, wagons, and scooters.
• Set up a worktable (you can use sawhorses and an old door) or have a fold-down table handy for repair work and other tasks.

Your cleanup efforts won’t last forever but will feel good at the time. And your next cleanup will be easier.

Kathy Peel is president of Family Manager Inc. and the author of 15 books, including her newest, Be Your Best: The Family Manager’s Guide to Personal Success (Ballantine, 2000).

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