Cut garage clutter

Declutter and reclaim your garage in just four easy steps with these expert tips from professional organizer Helena Alkhas. Alkhas, a military spouse, has moved her family five times in 10 years – her experience will help you make the best use of your garage.

Step 1^

Establish a goal for your garage

Before you do anything, “define your space,” says Alkhas. Determine how you can best utilize the garage for your home and family:

• Do you want it just for parking the cars?
• Do you want to use it to store household and/or seasonal items?
• Do you want to create a living space, such as a play area, a mudroom or a workshop?
• Evaluate the size and layout of your garage to determine whether your plan is doable.

Step 2^

Sort and purge

You have to be willing to part with stuff in order to make space. Give your garage-cleaning efforts a fair chance by answering the following questions as honestly as you can:

• Do I need this?
• Is this something I can inexpensively replace?
• If I keep this, will I have the space to store it?

Take a good hard look at your items and put each in one of four piles:

• Trash: Check with your waste removal company to arrange a large one-time pickup.
• Donate: Make arrangements with the Salvation Army, Goodwill or other charitable organizations.
• Sell: Consider holding a garage/yard sale for sellable items, or list them on an online site such as eBay or Craig’s List.
• Keep: Sort the keepers according to the activity areas you defined in Step 1.

Go through this process a couple of times if necessary.

Step 3^

Use vertical space

It’s easy to create and use vertical storage in the garage!

• Hang large items – such as camping tents and holiday decorations – from the ceiling.
• Create easy-to-access wall storage for items you need more often, such as pet food, bulk groceries and sports equipment.
• Store items in clear bins and totes – you can see what’s inside and they’re easy to stack.
• Color-coordinate your totes for easy identification: red and green lids for Christmas decorations, orange lids for fall decor and white lids for sports items, for example.

Step 4^

Make it pretty

You can go for the workshop look with peg boards and cinderblock walls, but you don’t have to. A few ways to add interest to the garage:

• Paint the walls of the various areas different colors.
• Add carpet tiles or snap-together flooring.
• Install extra lighting to keep the space nice and bright.

It's time to make a plan, roll up your sleeves and get your garage back!

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