They hold everything from power tools, hazardous chemicals to childhood memorabilia. Despite this, many of us consider our garages and sheds as dumpsters rather than storage spaces. This is why they usually end up as junk-filled areas that can give us a headache instead of making our lives clutter-free and organized.
Messy garages and sheds are definite eyesores. They can be breeding grounds not only for creepy crawlers but accidents, too. Especially if your garage or shed is disorderly, it is a terrible idea to allow an unsupervised child to enter it. This is why organizing your garage or shed is good not only for your home but also for your family members.
The following are some simple tips to organize your garage and shed.
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Divide your possessions into three
Get started with organizing your garage or shed by dividing their contents into three groups: throw away, donate and keep.
Throw away items that you no longer need in this lifetime and are pretty much useless to others. You can allocate the space they take up to items that you need and intend to keep. Consider donating items you no longer need that are still useful to charities. This allows you to organize your garage or shed as well as bring happiness to others.
Deciding which items to throw away, donate and keep can be harder than it seems. Make sure that you give this part of your organizing endeavor enough thought.
Put everything in the right place
Deciding where every item should go in your garage or shed is important. It will allow you to prevent clutter. It will also enable you to retrieve what you need without delay.
As a general rule of thumb, you should place items that you use very often near the entrance of your garage or shed. This is a smart move as it also helps you save precious time. On the other hand, you should place items that you rarely use in areas that are more difficult to reach. It is a great idea to keep similar items together for a more organized garage or shed.
Careful planning is essential when decluttering and organizing garages and sheds. Divide the area in your garage or shed into different zones for different items.
Make the most of vertical space
You can also save a lot of floor space by making use of available vertical space. This is good for freeing up floor space as well as organizing your garage or shed better.
Using shelves is a great way to do this. You can either build or buy wall-mounted shelves. You can also go for standalone shelves that you can easily move from one area of your garage or shed to the other. Check that you use shelving units wisely by placing rarely used items on the higher shelves, and placing often used ones on the lower shelves.
Other than shelves, you may also take advantage of vertical space in your garage or shed with the help of pegboards. Magnetic strips and hooks are great options, too.
The best sheds that you can find are usually organized, neat and have no clutter at all. Follow the simple tips above if you want to declutter and organize yours without much trouble. Happy organizing!
And a few pertinent tips from our friend DIY PETE:
