The Eightfold Path to Garage Nirvana

Is your garage messy? Do you need a compass and a map to find the weed whacker? Have your cars been sleeping outside? Follow these eight steps and finally have the Zen garage you’ve always wanted.

1. SORT

If a clean and decluttered garage is something you really want, you’re gonna have to work for it. Start by taking everything (and we mean everything) out and sorting it into categories. Tools, automotive, sports, garden, toys, cleaning, etc.

2. DONATE

After your initial sorting, skim off everything unnecessary, broken, or just unused. Broken junk should be recycled or thrown away. Everything else should be donated to shelters, charities, family, or friends (you can’t achieve garage enlightenment without a few good deeds).

3. CLEAN

The garage doesn’t have to be a dirty place. With everything out of the way from steps one and two, the cleaning process will be a breeze. Take this chance to wash hard to reach places, and get stains off the walls and floor.

4. REPAINT

An optional, though highly recommended step. Your garage is decluttered and clean now. Will there ever be a better time to paint? No. Don’t be afraid to add a little color. By making your garage aesthetically pleasing, you’ll be more inclined to keep it that way.

5. PLAN

Now that you’ve sorted, donated, cleaned, and repainted, it’s time to start organizing. As with all of life’s great quests, a little planning goes a long way. We recommend using graph paper to map out your garage to scale, or even using (paint-friendly) tape to chart a new layout right on the floor and walls.

6. ADD STORAGE

Armed with your new layout, start placing all the bins, shelves, benches, drawers, cabinets, racks, and cubbies you desire. We recommend getting vertical with wall and ceiling hooks, as well as hanging baskets or shelves.

7. LABEL

With your new storage facilities in place, break out the label maker and start going to town. Label everything. Label where the screwdrivers go. Label where the screws go. Use chalk paint to create changeable labels. Label your dog. There is really no overkill when it comes to this step (although your dog may beg to differ).

8. PLACE

Now that your garage has been sorted, cleaned, and repainted. Now that you’ve donated excess items, planned and added storage. Now that everything is labeled. It is time to put it all back in its rightful place. If you have diligently completed steps one through seven, this is a cake walk. If not, maybe a clean garage isn’t for you. Remember to organize pragmatically with high-use items easily accessible, and seasonal/low-use items out of the way.

If a great garage is all you want in life, check out the beautiful and bountiful garage spaces of our Bielinski floorplans and Redihomes.