Cleaning Tips for a Cluttered Garage

When you look into your garage, do you see tools, bikes, lumber, fishing equipment, sports equipment, and other miscellaneous items or do you see your car? If your garage has become more of a storage facility than a parking area, we have some great suggestions for making the most of your space. With these tips, you can organize your garage so it helps, not hinders, your day-to-day activities. And what better time of year-right before inclement winter weather begins. If you don't have a garage, never fear-these ideas apply to other spaces that have become cluttered.

Divide, sort, and conquer: First, try to divide and group your belongings into different categories: sports equipment, lawn and driveway tools, electric equipment, manual labor tools, etc. This will give you a better idea on what exactly you have. You can then throw away old or useless equipment (one half of a pair of ice skates, anyone?) and return items that may have made their way to the garage by mistake to their proper place inside the home. Use this time to get rid of items you will never use again, such as those nearly empty, 3-year-old paint cans and broken flowerpots. But remember to properly dispose of any hazardous materials in accordance with your local laws.

Store the semi-small: Purchase storage bins and put all your smaller equipment inside them. Don't forget to label them before stacking them in an inconspicuous corner. You can even stack the bins from least to most used to allow easier access to your hammers, which you might use often, rather than your Christmas lights, which you only need access to once or twice a year.

Attach shelving: Shelving units for garages can be inexpensive and pretty simple to install. You can then store even smaller things on these shelves, such as car supplies. Buy small plastic containers to store tiny items that would get lost in a larger bin and store these containers on the shelves.

Bicycle, bicycle: If you've ever gotten your car door a little too close to bike handlebars (scrape!), or if you've gotten your car a bit too close to a bike that's not properly put away (crunch!), then you know just how much damage can be caused to and from bikes that aren't properly put away. A popular option that frees up quite a bit of space and gets bike handlebars out of the way of your car door is overhead bike storage, whether it be a hanging bike rack, lift, or hoist. Of course, young children may not be able to lift and hoist their bikes, so another viable option is regular floor bike racks. These are now available in many different configurations to minimize space used, and even young children are more likely to use them.

Hang time: You can buy relatively inexpensive wall hangers for such items as rakes, shovels, and garden tools. Give them the space they deserve and avoid possible future damage pulling your equipment out of the pile in the corner.

Look out overhead: Look into purchasing overhead, industrial-strength metal hangers for storage of bigger items such as lumber or camping equipment. You can find metal hangers at your local hardware store, but be sure to take the proper precautions when installing them to ensure they are secure.

Time for a shed: If you simply have a lot of items you need to store, or a few larger items such as a riding lawnmower, look to purchasing a shed or some other alternate storage facility so you can keep your car inside the garage when inclement weather arises. If you can park your car in your garage, it will help keep it running and looking good.

Garage Floor Painting: Once you have the space, make the garage a special place for the car enthusiast in your family. Look into etching, painting and adding an anti-skid additive to your garage floors. Many of these techniques are fairly simple with products such as Epoxy paint that are formulated specifically for garage floors. Painting your garage floors also helps keep them clean and protected.