Clutter Free Feb

How to declutter your garage and shed for Clutter-Free Feb

Article by Your Home and Garden

Transform your garage from a dumping ground for junk with these helpful decluttering tips from our resident expert Natalie Jane of Be Organised

de-clutter garage

Garages are often spaces where items that have no home get dumped. They tend to be full of clutter and stuff that is broken, tired and obsolete. Your garage is a very expensive storage area if all it is storing is junk!

The first step here is to determine your vision for your garage. Do you want to get your car in there? Maybe you just want to use the space for storage? Whatever you decide will determine how much stuff you can keep and what storage solutions you will use. You will need lots of banana boxes and rubbish bags when working in this area along with your cleaning tools, so set these up. Get the family or a friend on-board to help. Start in one area of your garage – work top to bottom, left to right, box by box, item by item, in a logical, orderly way. Whichever way you choose to work, everything in the garage will have to be opened, looked at and decided upon. That is where the boxes come in handy. Use these to sort your items into categories, grouping items that are in the same family together.

Once you have sorted items into boxes, it’s decision time! As most garages store functional items, keep only the items that you and your family use. Don’t keep items you think you might need or use “one day”. Move on outgrown bikes, toys, outdoor games and broken, tired and worn items. Be honest with your decisions – it’s time to tame your garage clutter and let those items go. Use boxes for items to give away, sell, relocate, repair and recycle and use rubbish bags for any non-recyclables. Now action these boxes, taking items to their necessary places. Clean down any shelving and give your garage a good sweep out.

Now you’ve decluttered, it’s time to re-organise your garage and shed.

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