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Top tips for organising your garage

When was the last time you organised your garage?

Often, we use our garages for storing more than cars. Whether you use it to store the lawnmower, Christmas decorations, or tools, your garage can become a black hole for bits and bobs.

And it’s rarely organised chaos. Studies have found that the UK stores over 5 times as much clutter as the rest of Europe! 1 in 2 of us admit to holding on to things for longer than we should, and 1 in 3 say don’t like the idea of getting rid of our possessions.

One thing is clear – the UK could use a good de-cluttering. In the past, we’ve discussed some tips for de-cluttering your home. But it’s time to get specific and flesh out some of our previous advice so your garage can become more than a utility catch-all.

No matter the state of your garage, Merry Maids is here to help you start making some impactful changes to your garage today.

Start with Cleaning

Before you can organise your garage, you need to clean and declutter so that you can determine what can stay and what needs to go. This part might seem overwhelming, which is why we have some ideas to help the process go faster.

Setting aside an allotted day or (even a whole weekend) will allow you the optimal time to sort through your items and better understand your situation. After all, it took you more than a day to accumulate everything, so it’s going to take some time to clean and organise it all. It will also help you to get help from others.

We love to use the phrase, “teamwork makes the dream work,” and in this case – it applies well. When it comes to a major undertaking like cleaning your garage, recruiting friends and family to help will make all the difference.

Items to Avoid Storing in Your Garage

Garages don’t usually come with instructions or dos and don’ts for garage maintenance. Most of us just emulate the habits we picked up as children once we have a garage of our own.

However, several hazardous items are not suitable for storing inside your garage. Such as:

  • Cardboard boxes
  • Alcohol or wine
  • Vintage photos
  • Paintings
  • Irreplaceable documents
  • Delicate clothing

A good rule of thumb is to avoid storing materials that temperature fluctuations could damage, solutions that could be flammable, and belongings that moisture and humidity might destroy.

Organising your garage on a budget

If you want your garage to be more efficient and useful for your lifestyle, we have a few organisational ideas that are easy to do and won’t break the bank.

  1. Incorporate Open Shelving – Knowing what’s in your garage is one of the first things to help maintain your garage organisation. Items on open shelving will keep you from storing things without a designated home inside a cabinet and hoping it doesn’t all spill out later.

Some open shelving options you can incorporate into your garage could include:

  • An overhead storage rack to utilise ceiling space
  • 3- to 4-shelf plastic units to get items off the ground
  • Wall-mounted ball storage to house sporting equipment
  1. Keep Items off the Floor – Your garage floors are never a good place to store things. There’s always the potential that valuable equipment could be damaged or broken. When you start planning out your garage layout (after the tedious cleaning is done), pick up items previously kept on the floor and put them somewhere safe and out of the way.
  2. Use Pegboards for Vertical Storage – Many homeowners have already jumped on this versatile wall organising hack. When you have oddly shaped items that won’t fit in a draw or storage bin, mounting them to the wall keeps them off the floor and easily accessible. You can use pegboards for various things, including power tools, sporting equipment, bikes, lawn care equipment, and more.
  3. Add Labels to Plastic Bins – While clear plastic bins are an ideal storage option for things you don’t use daily, sometimes, being able to see what’s inside a bin isn’t enough. Labelling boxes, bins, or buckets is a sure-fire way to help your entire family prevent cluttering up the garage again. Before you start, make sure to label containers with items you or your family use often. For instance, sports equipment or tools are great for labelled storage containers because they’re used often and have a designated spot in your garage that everyone is privy to.
  4. Purchase a Small Drawer System for Loose Items – Your garage tends to be the space for large tools and tiny objects like nails, washers, and screws. Home improvement and craft stores sell mini drawer units to store these small yet easily misplaced objects. When you invest time in organising these loose items, you make finding them easier and losing them virtually impossible.

Organising your garage will take some planning, but when it’s all said and done, you’ll be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy your newly organised space.

For the rest of your home, your nearest Merry Maids business is here to help you clean up and declutter to make your home the pristine and well-kept sanctuary you deserve.