organizing garage
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You found the perfect new home; you packed up most of your rooms and held off entering the garage. You know as you enter, that this is going to be a challenge you do not want to face. Although packing may seem easy, it is a challenge. You need to decide what to keep and what to be rid of. Many of the items in your garage could be hazardous, which will call for special disposal. Many others could be scattered throughout the area. The biggest chore will be decision-making.

What will you need at your new place, what can you afford to dispose of, and what items are you able to sell? The other area of concern in packing is the storage closet. So many items are just placed in the storage closet, for a later time. Like so many of us, that later time never comes around until we have to pack and move all our belongings.

Garage

Let’s deal with the garage first. This will make the storage closet seem easy afterward. The first items to worry about are all the gas-powered equipment that you plan on moving with you. All this equipment must be drained to be moved. Remove all attachments and pack them in one box, clearly marked. Place a protective covering on the items. Secure all long tools together with a sturdy cord or binding. Small tools can be placed in a labeled box. This way, all tools are organized and together. The smallest items can be placed in toolboxes with drawers taped shut.

Patio

Your patio furniture should be cleaned, and the padding placed in large boxes or mattress bags, which can help cushion other items during the move. Keep all table legs, chair frames, and the table umbrella together.

Pack other items of the same size together, such as outdoor game equipment. You can place all game equipment into a large box to ensure you do not lose any pieces.

Storage

The storage closet can be the second-biggest headache when packing and organizing. I was lucky enough to have a large box to place games and puzzles. We taped the boxes shut to ensure they would not open and spill the game pieces out. We found that putting all our winter gear, such as hats, mittens, scarves, and boots into the vacuum bags, took less room, and all items remained together. Other items, such as extra kitchen items, linens, and boxes of necessary papers placed in well-marked boxes, made the move easier.

Shelves

Upon moving into our new location, I purchased tubs and plastic cabinets with drawers. I adjusted the shelving in our storage closet so that the cabinets would fit together in one area. I now had drawers for the winter items such as gloves, hats, and scarves. Our games fit on the shelves above the rolling cabinets. The boxes containing our necessary paperwork and important items were placed into a lockbox on the top shelf. Seasonal gear can be rotated upfront when appropriate. All items that I do not use, such as memorabilia and spare dishes and dishes that I only use at certain times, were placed in sturdy boxes or plastic tubs and labeled clearly.

For garden tools like shovels and rakes, racks can be constructed. If necessary, increase the amount of shelving you can fit on the wall, but don’t stop there. Additionally, tracks with hooks can be added to the walls for storing anything and everything. Your car now has a place to call home once more, for sure.

Consider a Shed

For large outside goods, think about getting a shed. The lawnmower, wheelbarrow, and other yard equipment might take up the majority of a single-car garage’s area or a sizable portion of one side of a two-car garage. Making the switch to a shed for these goods can significantly improve your storage situation. With a workbench, pegboard wall, loft, and other imaginative additions, you could even transform a shed into a workshop area.

The garage was another issue. I used pegboard and hooks to hang all tools up, that could be hung. The toolboxes were placed under the pegboard next to the wall. One corner of the garage held the lawnmowers, chainsaws, and trimmers. The bicycles were hung from the ceiling, by large hooks.

I have managed to find organization and more storage room easily by using tubs, vacuum bags and pegboard with hooks. I realized that it may be extra work once in a while, but the organization in both the garage and storage closet of my home, makes my life easier.

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Written by Margarita Hakobyan
Margarita Hakobyan is the founder and CEO of MoversCorp.com. She has published more than 300 articles about moving, storage, and home organizing, making her a moving specialist since she began writing about the moving industry in 2005. Follow her on LinkedIn and Twitter.