CONQUER THE GARAGE

April 15, 2010

Expert organizing advice
By Kim Carlton

Remember when you could actually park your car in your garage? Now it’s full of boxes, bikes, sporting equipment, lawnmowers, snow blowers, skis, strollers and all manner of items you are not sure what to do with.

The garage can serve as a convenient “dumping ground” for items we don’t know where to place elsewhere. Organizing it can be overwhelming, but is necessary if the mess gets out of control, or if you actually have to park in your garage. You can approach it yourself, or get the help of experts to get your garage organized quicker than you think!

SAFE AND SOUND Sometimes safety is an issue especially for parents with kids. “A lot of chemicals and pesticides are kept in the garage. They are poisonous. Lock them up or get them away from the kids. It’s important – if it’s accessible, they’ll find it,” says Adam Shearer, president of California Closets. The same is true for garden tools and other sharp objects.
Companies such as Garage Living, Perfect Closets and California Closets offer customized solutions for messy garages. These companies will come into your garage, assess the situation and offer a quote on a customized solution. These can vary from $1,000 for a simple storage solution all the way up to $25,000.
Perfect Closets, for example, creates a 3D model of the garage, then comes in to install its Ultimate Garage Product Line. They use aluminum track systems and create hooks, baskets and cabinets for everything from fishing rods, to hobby tools. “Your garage can become your hobby room at the same time,” says Ned Stanojevic, co-owner.

EVERYTHING IN IT’S PLACE Having a system in place is key to getting a garage organized and keeping it that way. Aaron Cash, general manager of Garage Living suggests a bi-annual cleanout of the garage. This only takes minimal time once your garage is initially organized, and can save you time each day.

“Your shovel, bag of salt – you can bring that to the section that is most used [in the winter],” says Cash. Other seasonally used items such as snow tires can also be stored away for the rest of the year. In the summer, you can move these to the back of the garage and bring out summer-specific items, such as the lawnmower.

City garages can be messier than in the suburbs, says Shearer, because of smaller lots. Suburban garages “have more of a canvas to work with,” says Shearer.

However, a lot of people underestimate the storage available in their garage. There are many possibilities with overhead spaces and wall organizers. “Getting things off the floor and up on to the wall is key,”
says Shearer.

TIPS TO TAME THE CLUTTER

• Create a little space for each of your kids, suggests Shearer, whether it is a basket or hook where they can put their baseball mitt, skates, etc.
• If there are items you are sentimental about, but know you need to part with, why not take pictures of them and put them in a mini-album with notes of your memories.
• Keep things that are used together in one place.
• If you have a backyard area, consider building a shed where you can keep tools, as well as seasonally-used equipment.
• Use storage containers within open shelving units to make loose items seem more
under control.
• Use uniform-looking storage containers for a cleaner look.
• Remember that items are just possessions, they do not have feelings! If it doesn’t fit within your life in the near future, don’t be afraid to let it go.

Filed under: FROM THE EXPERTS