*** Cleaning and Organizing a Garage

Cleaning a garage is one of the more arduous tasks that home owners need to tackle. Therefore, it should be treated with the proper level of preparation. Most likely, this task will take an entire day, if not a weekend at least. Unfortunately, garages have a tendency to become the messiest parts of our homes due to the amount of “stuff” that gets attracted to it, and the lack of people that see it. However, it is still a bother to have an entire room in shambles, and it becomes especially troublesome when we actually have to use something that is stored in the depths of our garage.

We are all guilty in saying that we will clean and maintain our garage one of these days. The truth is your garage will most likely never stay completely clean because it is so close to the outdoors, and while it may stay tidy and organized, the close proximity to nature is really what makes cleaning out a garage so difficult and time consuming.

Over the course of time, your garage will most likely become the home to many different kinds of insects as well as intolerable amounts of dust, leaves and other wind blown foliage, and perhaps even some small animals that are not your pets. This can create quite the mess, and cleaning this problem up will require some hard work and determination. Your first order of business should be allocating the proper amount of space for the task. Therefore, everything in your garage will need to be cleared out. While taking all of the items out of your garage, split into piles trash items, and items you want to keep.

Your next step is to get a broom and sweep the floor of your garage. During this process you may want to cover your head or even wear a basic respirator if your garage is especially dusty. Make sure to explore all of the nooks and crannies of your ceiling, especially if you have rafters, and get deep into the corners. It may be a good idea to open up any windows or doors to the outside that your garage has as well, allowing for necessary ventilation. After this has been completed, all of the dirt, dust, animal nests and cobwebs should be scattered throughout your garage floor can be swept up and thrown away, giving you a clean slate to work with. You may want to fill a bucket with hot, soapy water and douse the floor with it. Grab a mop and clean the entire space, and think about having a sponge handy to scrub down any dirt or debris that is stuck. Keep in mind if you use your garage for cat litter, then you should first check you soap’s label to make sure it does not react negatively to the chemicals in soap, possible damaging your floor. You also want to make sure to ventilate the garage well after cleaning, so that the water can dry quickly.

Once your garage has dried out thoroughly, it is time to bring your items back inside and begin storing them. If your garage was cluttered before cleaning, you should be sure to invest in a few products to make the process of replacing those items in the garage easier. Try getting a pegboard for all of your tools and gardening implements. A pegboard has infinite potential for organization as it can easily serve to hang up just about anything, and be used to create some improvisational shelving. Try buying a storage container for above the garage door. That unused space can be especially useful for storing seasonal items that you do not need to access with great frequency.

Cleaning and organizing your garage can be a long, arduous process. However, when you are finished, the difference in appearance from before to after can be drastic and necessary. This makes the day’s work very fulfilling, and a chore that is well worth undertaking. The final challenge, when all of the cleaning has been done, is to deal with the trash. Try investing in recycling and trash containers for the garage to keep trash more organized throughout the year. It is also a great idea to donate any usable items to charities in your area, as there are always people in need that can use old clothing, toys, and other items. By the time you have finished this process, you will be left feeling very well rewarded with a garage that looks magnificent.