Garage Organization: Four Steps to Creating a Cleaner Garage

Garage organization is an extremely important task to undertake. The overall functionality depends on how well the items are organized. Its primary purpose is to house your vehicle and in many cases this cannot be accomplished due to disorganization. This issue often leaves cars in the driveway, exposed to the outside elements. Today these important areas of the house have been designed to fit both a car and act as a storage area. Unfortunately due to poor planning, it becomes cluttered and almost useless. Luckily there are four primary steps to take to create this plan of organization including:

1. Devise a plan
2. Get to work
3. Sort items
4. Maintain

Devise a Plan

The first step is formulating a plan which involves discovering how you actually want to use your garage. The garage can serve many different functions including a small workshop, storage of tools or housing supplies and can just be a place for your automobile. With a well-devised plan, these ideas can become a reality. One method for remaining organized is to sketch a few drawings or blueprints for each area of the room. Make sure to thoroughly measure the amount of space available. Once this is within the proper specification including doors and windows, draw different objects and where they will be placed.

Get to Work

This step is the most physical aspect of the process as it’s the improvement stage. Painting, cleaning, rearranging and building are all aspects of this step. Depending on the type of the job, it can take as little as a day or as much as a few weeks. If painting, adding protective sealant or building, make sure to purchase or rent a weatherproof canvas or storage bin as everything must be temporarily moved out. Set up shelves or cabinets once the paint and sealant have dried.

Sort Items

After painting, sealing and building are complete; it’s time to bring in items you plan to store in the garage like tools and shop equipment. This is an excellent opportunity to sort what will be kept and what can be thrown away. Once sorted take the proper steps to organize or dispose of these items. Hang tools neatly with plenty of labels on drawers. Following a sorting system will be greatly advantageous.

Maintain

The final step is to follow proper maintenance such as ensuring overfilling doesn’t occur in the future. If this does occur, it might be time to rent a storage unit or build a shed. The most important idea to remember is keep only what is needed to minimize clutter and maximize space.

Since your vehicle is likely the most expensive item in your garage, that should have number one priority for storage. By devising a plan, getting to work, sorting items and following proper maintenance procedures, your garage can be a great place to not only store an automobile, but also tools and many other types of equipment.