April 29, 2020 | Buying

A garage is a great addition of space in any household but most of us are guilty of not utilizing the space to its fullest potential, as a result, it usually becomes a dumping ground that we might be lucky enough to park our car around.

As the weather begins to get warmer and we’re still on lockdown due to COVID-19 at home, what better time than now to get things organized in your garage? If you get a plan in place and you can give your garage a full day of attention, you’ll find the job isn’t as daunting or as time-consuming as you might have expected. Here are 5 tips to remember when organizing your garage:

  1. 3 Zones
    Begin by emptying your entire garage and dividing everything into 3 sections:

    • Trash/Recycle
    • Donate
    • Keep and organize back in the garage

  2. Be Prepared 
    It is important to ensure you are prepared with enough ‘storage items’ for the job such as:

    • Empty boxes/bags for donation items
    • Trash cans
    • Plastic containers in a variety of sizes for storage
    • Shelving (if desired) for storage
    • Basic cleaning suppliesIf you begin to find that you have more trash/donations in your garage than anything else, calling a junk removal company can be quick and efficient. It’s pricier than doing a run to your local dump yourself, but it gets the job done and they can sometimes even do same-day pick up. Just keep in mind, things like paint cans, tires and machinery need to be properly disposed of at a toxic/machine waste disposal centre.

  3. Think Vertically
    A lot of us undervalue the wall space in our garage- or in any space for that matter. Usually, we chose to store things in ways that take up floor space rather than keeping things up and out of our floor plans. Some great wall storage items include:

    • Pegboards
    • Stackable shelving units
    • Cabinets
    • Overhead Storage
    • Bike Racks
    • Shovel/Tool holders
  4. Store Smart
    Utilizing your storage cabinets or shelves properly is an easy mistake that most of us make when doing our best to organize. it’s important to think about how frequently we use the items that we’re storing away, for example, place the least used items on the top and bottom shelves and store the items you access more frequently on the middle shelves.
  5. Think Ahead
    Depending on when you choose to organize your garage, think about the seasons ahead and what you might need to access. We are fortunate enough to experience all 4 seasons here, so there are times when we need our snowblower, and times when we need our bicycles. Think about what time of year it is and ensure that the items you’ll need are easy to access. Since we’re in the spring, now might be a good time to get that summer patio furniture out of the way and set-up, and store your winter gear [far] away!

We feel these 5 things can be the foundations to a successful garage clean-up but it’s important to remember to put your spin on things, your storage items and organizational needs are personal to you- so get creative!  Who knows, you might just be able to fit that second car in the garage this winter!

Is storage space an issue for you? Are you in search of a home with more space or maybe a garage, if you don’t already have one? No problem! Contact us today and we can help find you the perfect home that checks all of your boxes!