How to Control Garage Clutter

If you're like most homeowners, you also tend to use the garage to store items that don't have a place inside the house. Items such as tools and hardware, gardening equipment, home improvement and maintenance products, storage boxes and other "stuff" are typically assigned to the garage. This assortment of "stuff" makes the garage highly prone to clutter. Fortunately, there are ways to control the mess. Here are several.

Things You'll Need

• Storage solutions
• Recycle bins
• Trash bins and bags

Instructions

1. Map out the garage. Determine what should stay in the garage and what should stay elsewhere, like in the tool shed, the patio, the attic or in extreme cases, a rented storage unit. By having a plan as to what exactly can and should stay in the garage, you can minimize what could build into a huge clutter.

2. Allocate space realistically. Before bringing in any new item to store in the garage, consider the space it will occupy. The car might still fit well in the garage, but will there still be sufficient space around the vehicle for entry and exit, maintenance and access to the rest of the garage? Items become clutter when they get in your way.

3. Provide storage solutions. Cabinets, drawers, bins, racks and other storage solutions help organize the items that accumulate in the garage. Hangers for garden tools, metal drawers for power tools and accessories, jars for nails and screws, racks for sports equipment and cabinets for paints and chemicals are just a few of the many commercially available options.

4. Use the walls for organization. Pegboards are time-tested, space-saving organizers for the garage. Use appropriate hooks to hang tools and accessories to an otherwise empty garage wall. Items look less like clutter when they are "displayed" on a wall organizer.

5. Recycle or discard. Provide recycle bins in the garage for paper, cans, glass and plastic. Instead of stashing recyclable items, toss them in the bins and take them to the recyclers regularly. Donate or give away items that have not been useful, you don't plan to use anymore or may be useful to someone else. Discard items that have expired, deteriorated or turned into hazardous waste. Minimize clutter in the garage by storing only what's essential.

6. Designate weekly or monthly de-cluttering sessions. Like any other room in the house, the garage needs to be cleaned and organized regularly.

Tips & Warnings

• Label your storage solutions--this makes it easy to locate items and return them to their proper places.

• Consider overhead storage racks for lightweight and seldom-used items like holiday decorations, empty luggage or packing materials.

Resources

• Lowes: Garage Storage Solutions