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We don’t have a garage anymore, thankfully, but I remember growing up with one. And I remember being bribed to clean it. But even my attempts to organize the space weren’t the greatest successes. It was the one space in the house that everyone dreaded stepping into.
At one point it was so cramped in the space a car couldn’t even fit in it, and the small popup camper inside was used as a flat surface to hold clothing, boxes, and decorations. When the family moved out of the house, the garage (of course) needed to be emptied.
This is just one of those spaces you can’t expect to tackle in one day (unless you were fortunate enough to keep it relatively organized to begin with). But if you’re among the many that turned this space into a giant storage locker, just know you’re not alone, and there are a few things you can do to make the space more useable (wouldn’t it be nice to be able to park your car inside again?).
Let’s start with boxes in this space. How many boxes have gone untouched and unused since you moved in (assuming you’ve lived in the space for more than a year)? How many of the boxes have a blanket of dust on them? How many boxes have gone unopened so long you’re afraid to open them out of fear of what may be inhabiting them now? All boxes that fit these descriptions are perfect candidates to go ahead and just toss/donate/recycle. Unless you really feel that something important may lie in the box (although if they’ve gone untouched for so long, what is the likelihood you’ll miss it?) or if the box contains important paperwork or legal documents, let’s avoid the urge to even open these boxes.
Just removing these boxes should already have you breathing a huge sigh of relief. If your garage is anything like ours used to be, there’s probably plenty you just eliminated.
Do the same thing with clothing, toys, decorations, etc., eliminating items that have gone unused for longer than a year. Drop the time frame to three months if you’re feeling up to it. By now your space should only hold items that have been used within the last year or are important items. Hopefully you’ll have limited what you have down to only a few items, small enough to fit in a corner.
Let’s take this a step further: Any items you have deemed worthy of keeping, place them in their rightful place within your home. If you have decided the items are useful, fill a need, or bring beauty, then you should have no problem finding them a rightful place within your home. If the item is just going to continue to remain in a box, in your garage, then what’s forcing you to keep the item? The only exception here should be seasonal items but even these should hopefully have space to fit within your home.
Bicycles, scooters, tools, etc. (items that have a spot in the garage) can remain but should also be limited to how many you keep. There are exceptions here based on what your need is for the garage. If you use the garage as a workshop or studio, determine what you feel belongs in the space.
Once your garage is empty of “things,” do a thorough scrub of the space. Take the camper out to sweep and mop the floor. Move the washer and dryer off of the wall to clean behind. Wash the windows to allow more light in. Dust the walls and corners to eliminate cobwebs and spiderwebs. You’ll feel better knowing the space is clean, organized, and simplified.
For tips on how to begin your decluttering journey, you can Start Here, or snag a copy of the 30 Day Challenge (our Minimalism and Decluttering eBook).
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