A messy garage tends to have many disadvantages to it. The mess sometimes begins to trickle into the house, it's hard to locate something you need, and having an unruly garage can also be a safety hazard. The following 7 tips on cleaning a garage can be used to help you organize your disarray. I'm sure you'll find at least a few of these tips useful.
It's difficult to try and imagine where everything is going to go if you just start shoving things around the garage. Come up with a plan before any moving takes place. Draw out a site map if needed. This can help you visualize where items will go. If you have a general idea of what the garage is supposed to look like when you've finished cleaning, then it will be easier to actually begin moving items to their new places.
Most large items will only fit in a few different places. Pick out where these things are going to be placed and get them moved right away. It will be easier to figure out where the smaller things fit best, once the larger garage items are in place around the room. Moving fixtures, such as shelves, also enables you to have an easier time visualizing where the smaller things can be placed in the garage.
You'd be amazed at how organized you can make a garage with some simple household items. Empty margarine containers are perfect for odd screws or small tools. I find that the best kinds of containers for extremely small items are plastic peanut butter jars. These have wide lids for marking on and the main body of the jar consists of clear plastic. My husband prefers plastic coffee containers with handles on them. These items have lids and hold tons of stuff. I'd much rather use an empty container than to waste money on purchasing special bins for these small items.
If you can get the family or a good friend to help out with the moving, then the cleaning process might be sped up a bit. Sometimes the more people there are to assist you, the quicker the process goes. I think it might also depend on the size of your garage. For instance, a one-car garage might be easier to clean if you are doing it alone. There are times when too many people crammed into a small space is actually more work than it needs to be.
When I'm cleaning the garage out, I try to have various boxes lining the wall. These boxes are for sorting things into. One box is specifically for items I'm going to donate later on. There are plenty of thrift stores willing to take donations for people who need them. Another box is for objects that I'm not sure of. This box tends to become filled with unknown tools and such. I let my husband go through this box. A third container is dedicated to trash.
Extremely messy garages might take a week to completely clean, sometimes even longer than this. Take breaks during cleaning. Rushing around and trying to clean the garage in a single day can be a high-stress situation. Unless you absolutely need to get the entire garage finished in a record-breaking amount of time, it’s good to pace yourself.
It might not sound like a time-saving process, but removing everything from shelves and cabinets within the garage will give you a chance to start from scratch. You'll be able to better see where items should be placed. I always find it much easier to start with a clean slate.
These 7 tips on cleaning a garage are ones I picked up over the years. I find that following them helps with most cleaning tasks I try to tackle. I'm sure you've come across some methods for cleaning large spaces that help you to keep your sanity, no matter how big the job is. What tips would you like to share with others?
Top Photo Credit: Elsie esq.