For the Home
Guard the Garage
When we begin organizing our homes there is usually a fair amount of clutter that has to be dealt with. Our boxes of clothes, old toys, blenders and craft supplies have to go somewhere. If we're not purposeful in our organizing strategies we'll end up decluttering one area only to have moved the clutter to another area. And oftentimes that area is the garage.
Rather than having your garage become a dumping ground for what comes out of your home, apply organizing strategies in your garage the same way you do your home and your garage will stay organized and functional.
Before you ever store an item in the garage make sure the garage is a practical place for the item. Many items such as scrapbooks or family treasures are best kept out of the garage as moisture can damage these items. For the items you do store in the garage make sure to use airtight containers.
The rule here is to have a designated areas in the garage for specific items to avoid turning your garage into a dumping ground.
For instance...
Designate an area to store plastic containers (that you have labeled) and keep them all together in one place. One key in stacking containers is to use containers that are a size you can lift and move when filled. Extra large containers may seem convenient but can you move them once they're filled? When you have containers filled, store the categories of containers together - decorations together, winter clothes together, craft supplies together, etc.
Designate an area of the garage to store gardening tools. You may wish to organize your supplies on a wheeled cart or hang them on a rack or pegboard. The most convenient place for the gardening tools is near the door closest to your yard work.
Designate an area for sporting goods. Be sure that any organizational system you put in place is one that is easy for children to access -- unless you want to be retrieving roller blades for the kiddos all day. Group the balls and pads together in a bin, hang rackets on hooks or a pegboard etc. When winter is over the winter toys can moved to higher ground and the summer toys brought down.
Designate an area for tools and have adequate workspace if possible. Investing in some type of organizational system for tools will save you money. Because what do we do when we can't find a hammer? We go buy another one. Invest in a work-bench, tool box, pegboard, containers for small parts, etc. The system doesn't have to be expensive. It can be boxes and glass jars. But whatever it is, it needs to be specific. Every tool or part needs to have a home to avoid everything being dumped into one common area.
Your garage is an extension of your home so you want to keep it decluttered an organized just like you do your home. If you think twice before storing things in your garage and store things in designated areas, your garage will stay functional and avoid becoming a dumping ground.
When we begin organizing our homes there is usually a fair amount of clutter that has to be dealt with. Our boxes of clothes, old toys, blenders and craft supplies have to go somewhere. If we're not purposeful in our organizing strategies we'll end up decluttering one area only to have moved the clutter to another area. And oftentimes that area is the garage.
Rather than having your garage become a dumping ground for what comes out of your home, apply organizing strategies in your garage the same way you do your home and your garage will stay organized and functional.
Before you ever store an item in the garage make sure the garage is a practical place for the item. Many items such as scrapbooks or family treasures are best kept out of the garage as moisture can damage these items. For the items you do store in the garage make sure to use airtight containers.
The rule here is to have a designated areas in the garage for specific items to avoid turning your garage into a dumping ground.
For instance...
Designate an area to store plastic containers (that you have labeled) and keep them all together in one place. One key in stacking containers is to use containers that are a size you can lift and move when filled. Extra large containers may seem convenient but can you move them once they're filled? When you have containers filled, store the categories of containers together - decorations together, winter clothes together, craft supplies together, etc.
Designate an area of the garage to store gardening tools. You may wish to organize your supplies on a wheeled cart or hang them on a rack or pegboard. The most convenient place for the gardening tools is near the door closest to your yard work.
Designate an area for sporting goods. Be sure that any organizational system you put in place is one that is easy for children to access -- unless you want to be retrieving roller blades for the kiddos all day. Group the balls and pads together in a bin, hang rackets on hooks or a pegboard etc. When winter is over the winter toys can moved to higher ground and the summer toys brought down.
Designate an area for tools and have adequate workspace if possible. Investing in some type of organizational system for tools will save you money. Because what do we do when we can't find a hammer? We go buy another one. Invest in a work-bench, tool box, pegboard, containers for small parts, etc. The system doesn't have to be expensive. It can be boxes and glass jars. But whatever it is, it needs to be specific. Every tool or part needs to have a home to avoid everything being dumped into one common area.
Your garage is an extension of your home so you want to keep it decluttered an organized just like you do your home. If you think twice before storing things in your garage and store things in designated areas, your garage will stay functional and avoid becoming a dumping ground.