When you clear the garage clutter, you and your kids can get the bikes out AND you can park your cars in the garage.  And, personally, I think it’s more pleasant to work in the garage when it’s not frigid OR too boiling hot!

I recently worked with a client to organize his garage.  His goals were to park both cars in the garage and make the bikes and garage workspace accessible.  He was certain he was going to have to buy a shed since they had a 2.5 car garage, 2 cars, 5 bikes and 3 boys, not to mention wood working equipment. I told him to hold off on the shed resolution until we sorted through what he had in the garage.

Here’s a few steps we followed while organizing his garage:

1. Sort everything into categories such as donate, trash, recycle, goes somewhere else in the house, toys, lawn care, winter gear, tools, cleaning supplies, gardening, sports equipment, paint and supplies, car care
2. Let go of any items that you haven’t used in a year or two
3. Use shelving to accommodate supplies listed above.  Place the most used items on the easier to access shelves. Lock up dangerous chemicals if you have small kids
4. Make use of vertical space by using hooks or wall systems to hang tools on the walls
5. Store seasonal items on garage ceiling racks
6. Contain like items in bins and label them
7. Consider parking one car head in and one head out to give each driver plenty of door space
8. Dispose of old paint and chemicals responsibly. Latex paint can be dried out and then put out with the regular trash.  Place open, dry cans next to the garbage or they won’t take it. Oil-based paint and chemicals should be taken to a household hazardous waste collection. Most counties have a designated location for HHW drop off or look for events in the spring and summer

The key things we did in his garage were:

• Purged
• Stacked shelves to use the vertical space
• Hung bikes on the wall and ceiling
• Stored long scrap wood in a tall garbage can
• Containerized like items so he can find things when he needs them

Spending time getting organized saved my client time and money because he didn’t have to buy or build a shed!

Can you park both cars in the garage? What’s keeping you from storing your nice car out of the elements?

Jamie Martin, Destination Organization founder, has a passion for helping others simplify their lives.  She specializes in helping over-committed, stay-at-home parents and serial entrepreneurs.

She has been a professional organizer for over 6 years, is a member of The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and NAPO-Chicago.  Jamie has been married to John and living in Glen Ellyn for 18 years.  They have one son, 8-year-old Lucas.

You can find Jamie @ www.destorg.com, Email, Twitter or on Facebook.