The garage shouldn't be a place to store your good intentions - equipment for some future self who may one day have time to tinker with the family cars or learn to reupholster the living room furniture. Instead, it should reflect your current life
Store Smart
Nothing should be kept on the garage floor (this allows for easy sweeping and prevents the slow creep of stuff across the space). Create vertical storage organized by one simple rule: The less often a category of stuff is used, the higher up it goes. Have a wooden mezzanine built into the rafters of the garage, which is perfect for childhood toys and other items that will go into deep storage, as well as packed plastic bins.
Anything currently stored in cardboard boxes (a favorite nesting material for rodents) also be transferred to plastic. The bins should then be grouped together—a different color for each category—and marked with a labelmaker. Finally, organize everything with labels conveniently visible.
Convert walls of various zones into vertical storage. Hammer in nails to hold saws and shears, hang a rack for rakes and brooms, and erect heavy-duty plastic shelving to store small plastic bins filled with frequently used items like gardening gloves and spades.
Basic Principles of De-Cluttering
Establish a vision for a room and agree on it.
Decide what will help you achieve that vision and what will not.
Purge your extra stuff.
Sort F.A.S.T.:
A. Fix a time and stick to it. Haul out any item that fits in one of the following categories:
B. Anything you haven't used in a year
C. Stuff that doesn't belong
D. Trash
Next, sort what's left into broad categories like bicycles or tools. Then organize them in separate zones in the room.
When you are finished de-cluttering
After you are clutter-free, create new routines to stay that way. Maintenance is the main key. Try the 10-Minute-Whirlwind-Morning-Routine: Before going out that door in the morning, have each family member zip through their own space and put things away. Set a timer if you have to. "No discussions - this is what we do!"
In the future, develop routines. When you take an item, put it away. If it's dirty, clean it. If you open it, close it. Finish things.
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