Spring Cleaning: 6 Steps to a Complete Garage Refresh
Photo Source: The Container Store - Elfa System
As a certified KonMari® Consultant, my professional organizing business is a little non-traditional. Rather than being purely service-based, I instead offer coaching and guidance via a process that helps my clients get to the root cause of clutter. When working together through a series of lessons, we take a category approach to whole-home organizing in order to simplify and create order once and for all.
That being said, I do occasionally get hired for more traditional professional organizing projects and lately, garage spring cleaning has kept me busy!
If the sunshine and warming weather have you inspired to tackle your own garage space, here are some tips to walk you through the process.
Step One: Plan
Make a commitment to yourself and stick to it.
This can be a big project, so it’s important to start and finish it in a relatively short period of time. So grab your calendar and pick 2-3 consecutive days to realistically devote to your project. Don’t forget to snap some BEFORE pictures!
NOTE: If it’s a busy time in life, wait until things slow down before you begin. You want to be sure you can finish what you start. Attempting to tidy even a little at a time guarantees you’ll be tidying forever.
Step Two: Vision
Think about how you want to use this space.
Some questions for reflection: What activities do you enjoy? If you have a family, what do you like to do together? What do you want to see and how do you want to feel when you enter the garage after a day away from home? Do you enjoy outdoor activities, sports, recreation, etc? Do you enjoy yard work or do you prefer to hire out these services? Think about how you want to use this space: for parking cars or for storage?
Your vision for your space is an important step and it becomes your north star as you work through your project. For example: a cycling enthusiast who prefers family outings to yard work may decide to sell the mower and hire a lawn service - freeing up space in garage and time in the schedule for more family bike rides. Having an awareness of your own values and priorities will help you make decisions as you declutter.
Step Three: Reduce
Always declutter your belongings before ever thinking about storage + organizing.
To keep from falling into the trap of buying more stuff to put our stuff in, think only about what you want to keep in the first place. ASK: "Is this item truly worth the valuable real estate it occupies in my home?"
An easy approach:
Remove: Take all items off the shelves and get everything out of the garage. Give the garage a good sweeping to remove the dust, dirt, leaves, etc. that have accumulated. Starting with a clean slate will ensure you are more mindful about what's allowed to come back in.
Subcategorize: Gather and group similar items together. This allows you to see if you have duplicate items. Some categories you might find in your garage are: tools, equipment, lawn + garden, painting supplies, auto, sports, recreation, etc.
Discard: Donate, recycle, sell, or throw away any items you no longer wish to keep. Low hanging fruit: damaged items and duplicates. For everything else, look back at your vision and determine if the item is worth taking the time, energy, physical space, and expense to store.
Step Four: Replenish
Replace or repair any damaged or broken items you’d like to keep.
Some items may need to be replaced (expired product, broken items you actually use) or repaired (bike tire needs air). If a damaged item is worth keeping, prioritize the maintenance. Set a date on the calendar to make sure these tasks get done.
Step Five: Organize
Store like-items together and in a manner that allows you to see all you have at a glance.
Photo Source: The Container Store
This is the fun part! Give your items as home.
Classification: Store like-with-like. Keep similar items together so you always know what and how much you have on hand. If sunscreen is scattered throughout the home - a bottle in the car, another in a beach bag, and some in a hall closet, it's hard to grasp just how much is on-hand. In this scenario, gather all the sunscreen together and designate one spot for it to be stored.
Visibility: Organize your items so you can see all you have at once. Open shelves, peg boards, or clear bins work well! With the exception of bikes and large equipment, try to keep items off the floor as much as possible.
Accessibility: Make it easy on yourself to retrieve what you need when you need it. Reserve eye-level shelving for the items you use most often.
Efficiency: Even more important than accessibility is return-ability. Store your belongings in a manner that's super easy + efficient to put away. Clutter occurs when we fail to return our items to their proper homes. For example: if we want to have a backyard bbq, we will hunt down our grilling supplies even if they're scattered throughout our house or garage. What we often fail to do is put them away properly after we've used them. Make this part easy on yourself.
Step Six: Style
Bring a little JOY into your space!
(Who says art has to stay indoors?)
If the garage is where you first enter your home, think about how it welcomes you. What would you like to see when you return home after a day away? Try hanging up some framed art that makes you smile!
Disclaimer: Aesthetics are wonderful; however, pretty bins are never what makes a space organized. Which is why this step is optional and always saved for last. If you’ve truly decluttered and believe that a cohesive storage solution is the missing piece to creating a space that truly brings you joy, check out these clear IRIS Weathertight Storage Totes from The Container Store. Investing in shelving, cabinets, or a wall track system can also be game-changing and each are inexpensive ways to transform a garage space.
*NOTE: The above links are non-affiliate. I’ve used these products in my own space as well as with clients; therefore, I highly recommend.
My sincerest wishes to you as you embark on your garage Spring Cleaning project. It is my hope that these tips inspire and help you complete a ONE TIME refresh that is easily sustainable moving forward.
The more stuff we have, the more we’re required to pour our time and energy into managing and storing it. Only once our home is truly in order, can we put our precious, non-renewable resources toward the people, pursuits, and passions that matter most.
Happy Tidying!