It's Time to Clean Out the Garage!
by Marcia Ramsland, "The Organizing
Pro"
One day as I dumped newspapers into the recycle bin I looked around the
garage and sighed. If I keep the inside of the house clean, why can’t my
husband do his part and shape up the garage?
The garage was turning into the second "front door" of our house. The
neighbors came over to chat while we washed cars. People walking by
eyeballed the contents. Overnight guests walked into the house - through
the garage. My husband was fine with it, but it just didn’t meet my
standards.
According to my friend, Cathy, "Outside work in the yard and garage is
his work, and inside work is mine." My husband said the same
thing, but his time schedule (as was true of a lot of men around us)
obviously didn’t reflect the same love of garage or outside work. I
decided it was time to stop nagging and do something. Besides that he
was traveling and it was now my job. I (and you) need a good plan to
successfully tackle it.
How Do You Actually Clean Out a Garage?
You begin by mentally dividing the garage into four parts: the floor and
the three walls (without the garage doors).
The best way to organize a garage is by following these three steps:
Step 1: Clear away any "stuff" on the center of the garage floor
and get the cars back into the garage. Someone asked, "Why do we
house $500 worth of junk in the garage each night and $20,000 worth of
cars out in the driveway?" Though your car value may be different, you
get the point. Driveway and curbside clutter (and cars) should be
placed inside.
Step 2: Set regular recycle containers close to the door to the
house for garbage, bottles, newspapers, etc. Fill them up and empty them weekly.
Step 3: Place items in categories around the garage walls:
* Tools and Yard Equipment: Hang larger items and place smaller ones in
a cabinet.
* Toys and Sports Equipment: Use ceiling hooks and bins. Giveaway
outgrown items.
* Storage "Stuff:" Use closed shelving or rebox items in labeled
containers.
As I sorted categories with one client, we found four of the same saws
owned by a doctor who never cut wood. His wife kept one and gave the
others away. However, when we collected his treasured four sets of golf
clubs, we kept them in a prime location knowing he needed time to decide
whether to part with any of them.
Personally our garage already met the above three-step criteria, but I
upgraded the look of the garage by replacing a set of open shelving with
a white closed cabinet. Together we purchased wind-up reels for cords
and hoses. I made space in my new cabinet for my husband to put his
bench items. As we worked alone and we worked together, things began to
improve.
We are getting the garage shaped up one wall at a time. In a couple
weekends we should be finished, just in time for the sightseeing walkers
to say, "Wow, would you look at that garage!"
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marcia Ramsland,
"The Organizing Pro," is an entertaining speaker, author,
and professional organizer who appears on radio and TV and whose tips
appear in national magazines. She believes anyone can become more
organized and hundreds of clients and audiences across the country agree
with her.
Marcia is the author of the popular book, Simplify Your
Life: Get Organized and Stay that Way! and the Deluxe "One
of Everything" Organizing Package to completely organize your time, your
home, and your paperwork. To learn more about her book,
package, or sign up for her FREE ezine of tips, visit her website at
www.OrganizingPro.com.
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NOTE:
You are welcome to "reprint" this
article as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "About the
Author" info at the end) AND you send a copy of your reprint to
Marcia@OrganizingPro.com.
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