Organize + Energize: Kick Off Your Spring Cleaning in the Garage

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Kristin MacRae, GoLocalWorcester Organizing Expert

Spring has sprung! We had a rough winter. How many times did you kick yourself because you didn’t clean out and organize your garage before winter arrived? How did it feel to wake up after a snow storm and have to clean off your car?

How many times have you driven through a neighborhood and seen a garage stuffed full of items without any space for a car? Not all of us have the luxury of having a garage, and believe it or not, it is a luxury. Many people who have that luxury usually end up filling their garages to the brim with clutter and never even park their car(s) in them. I wonder where all the stuff would go if they never had a garage in the first place?

Why does the garage always seem to get cluttered? It’s another empty spot just waiting to get filled with stuff. You may be organizing the house and don’t know where to put something, so it gets thrown in the garage. Before you know it, the place where you used to park your car is now filled with clutter.

Spring is a great time of year to tackle this project. Do it now and you will be ready for next winter. Wouldn't it be wonderful to park your car in the garage? If there are other people who utilize the garage, enlist everybody that has contributed to the clutter and have them help on the day of this project.

Here are 5 tips to get your garage organized:

1. Everything, yes EVERYTHING, must come out of the garage!

You will not know what you have if you just shift items around. There are probably items in the corner of the garage that you forgot you had!

2. As you take items out, decide what you are tossing, selling, keeping or moving to a new spot.

Do not move out of the area you are working in. If you move out of the garage back into the house, I guarantee you will not go back outside. Stay in the garage area and just make a pile for things that need to go in other areas. Move those items to the other areas after you have completed this project. Keep in mind, if you have items that were borrowed, make a pile and return them to their owner.

3. As you empty the garage, place the items you are keeping in categories on the lawn.

This will help to get you ready to create your organized systems.

4. Once you have your empty space, take a step back and think about how you want to function going forward.

Maximize your space. Get creative. Can you utilize overhead space for seasonal items? Figure out if you need to contain smaller items in bins. Be sure to label.

5. Organize items back into garage according to the frequency of use.

Organize everything, even lawn tools. Utilize wall space for hanging items Think about how frequently you grab certain items.

It’s going to be a wonderful feeling once you have your garage back! You have this brand new empty space. What are you going to do with this empty space? Park your cars!

Did you know it’s against the law in San Francisco to park anything but your car in the garage? You could get fined up to $500. How many of you would have broken that law?

 

Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, the founder and owner of Organizing in RI, has always enjoyed finding creative ways to streamline the environment around her. She has appeared on air on Patricia Raskin's Positive Business Radio and her articles have been published in the Rhode Island Small Business Journal and New England Home Life. Kristin's CD, Organizing Basics, is a 1-hour guide for the person who wants to get organized but doesn't know where to start. She is also available for organizing workshops. Tune into her weekly radio show, Organize, Energize! on Mondays at 8:30am on www.talkstreamradio.com.

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