Organizing Your Garage

• Take stock of everything currently in your garage. There is no way to organize the unknown. The first step is always to know what you're dealing with. Do not shortchange this step; open every box, inspect every shelf, and go through every bag.
• Make a pile for each kind of the item, including a pile of objects to get rid of. Group together items for camping, tools, etc.
• Once everything has been grouped, check for duplicates. Make sure that you only have one of each item and donate or sell repetitions.
• Assess what systems of organization works best for you and your family. Try to avoid a complete overhaul, unless your garage was a total disorganized disaster area. If there was simply no order before you started organizing then a total restructuring may be called for.
• Think about the most logical way to group items in zones. It makes sense, for example, to store all the toys in one place.
• Take measurements and decide which new organizational pieces to buy. For instance, you may want a work bench, storage bins, or need a few more shelves.
• Open floor space is often the goal of garage organization. Keep that in mind as you begin putting away items in their new homes. Shelving can be your best friend when optimizing storage space in the garage.