Day 35: Garage

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Day 35: Garage

When we were looking at houses 10 years ago, there were four things that my husband and I would not compromise on.

• No homeowners’ association
• Had to have natural gas to the house so that I could eventually have a gas range (we switched from electric to gas cooking 3 years ago)
• Had to have a basement for storage
• Had to have at least a single car garage

We found the perfect little Cape Cod style home that met all of our requirements in Bucks County.  Our one car garage is small, so small a car doesn’t fit in there, but we have that space for other things … and that’s where the trouble began.

5 Steps to Cleaning Out the Garage

1. Make a donate, sell, trash, and keep pile.  As you work through the clutter in your garage, decide if it is a donate, sell, trash, or keep.  Once its in a pile, it stays there!
2. Once the clutter is gone, find a home for everything that you need to keep.  At this time, items in the keep pile can go into the garage, or into the donate or sell piles if you decide you don’t really need it.
3. Do not, I repeat DO NOT, get rid of tools or items that are not yours.  In our family, the garage is my husband’s domain.  I can do what I want with the storage items, and I can put the tools away, but even if something is a tool that is new in its package with a sales receipt from 5 years ago, I won’t get rid of it because it doesn’t take up much space, and its less of a headache to keep a small item than to realize you now need it and don’t have it.  This is also a great reason to tag team with your partner when it comes to cleaning out the garage since you both have items that are stored in there.
4. Look for any evidence of critters, and address it immediately.  This includes ants and other bugs, but also mice, raccoons, snakes, etc.  There are a lot of options for DIY pest control or you can hire a professional, but either way, address it before it becomes a bigger issue.
5. Sweep out the garage, and you are done!

How have you been doing with the 40 Bags in 40 Days Combat Clutter Challenge?  This is our final week, and we have some big projects on the horizon as we wrap it up.  I hope you are all starting to live with less clutter in your lives.