As a homeowner, the idea of cleaning clutter around your house can be stressful. The thought of organizing your garage on the other hand - where clutter is infamous for accumulation - can be downright overwhelming. Not only can the task be tedious, but it can also be extremely time consuming, which deters most homeowners from beginning the task in the first place. However, by following these five methods and techniques, you'll find that garage organization isn't just simple, but it can also be quick and efficient. These tips will help you tackle garage clutter in less than two hours.
1. Take Inventory
Set a timer for 20 minutes for garage planning. Use this time to quickly scan your garage, taking inventory of what items need to be stored, what items can be given away, and what items can be thrown away. Be diligent here, as this task can eat away a lot of time if you let it. When the time is up, you'll be left with a portion of the items you started with. Keep in mind, too, that you may only make a small dent in the overall clutter, but by making garage organization a regular on your cleaning agenda, you'll find that before long your garage will be continuously clean and uncluttered.
2. Install a Slat Wall
Getting things off the ground is one of the key elements to achieving a clean garage. One of the best ways to do this is to install a slat wall on one or multiple sides of your garage. When determining the size of your slat wall, take time to determine what needs to be stored on the wall. Woodworking tools, shovels, rakes, brooms, hoses, etc. are all great contenders for hanging wall items. You can also install baskets that can hold things like cleaning supplies, paint, yard tools, etc.
3. Store Bike Off the Floor
With a slat wall now installed, Flow Wall has easy-to-use hooks available to make storing bikes off the floor a breeze. Whether you want to hang the bike horizontally or vertically, Flow Wall has the right hooks for you. They are easy to install and will easily hold the weight of a bike. If you are running short on space for hooks on your slat wall, consider hanging the bikes from the ceiling of your garage as an alternative. Collect the following tools from your local hardware store and make hooks to hang your bikes from the ceiling of your garage:\
- Long screws
- Sheet rocks anchors
- Bike hooks (2 per bike)
- Scrap plywood pieces (2 per bike)
Search for studs in the ceiling, as this will allow you to anchor both tires into a secure stud. If the garage layout prevents you from anchoring both hooks into a stud, use the sheet rock anchors to secure hooks safely into the ceiling. Measure the space between the tires on your bike - this is the amount of space you'll want between hooks. Using a drill, pre-drill holes into the plywood pieces for the bike hook and attach the wood to the ceilings/studs. You'll be amazed at the amount of space you'll have after bikes are no longer on the ground.
4. Group Like Items Together
Creating a garage plan and storing similar items together will help you find things easier when you need them. Bring in a tall metal shelving unit and dedicate each self to a particular group. For example, sporting gear, outdoor gear, and decorations might each have dedicated shelves. When placing these items in their particular place, keep in mind that household items like drinks, paper towels, toilet paper, and cleaning materials are used much more frequently than paint or seasonal decorations. Group and place items depending on use as well.
5. Label Everything
Before you begin putting things back into the garage, make sure you're armed with plenty of labels and permanent markers - you're going to need them. Labeling is perhaps the key to achieving garage organization. Taking the time to label things as you put them away will save you tons of time when you go to locate something in the future. In order to keep this chore under two hours, consider recruiting family members to help with the labeling when it comes time. You'll thank yourself for labeling later. By heeding these five tips, you'll achieve quick garage organization. For even more tips on how to achieve a clean garage, or for information on how to make the best of garage organization check out Flow Wall, today.
