Keeping a tidy garage clean and organized is not an easy feat, especially when you just use it once in a while. Almost every house owner dumps their unwanted stuff in their garage, which can increase the clutter and make the space dirtier. Over time, failing to maintain your tidy garage can lead to spoiled food, dead animals, and rotten smell. However, with daily supervision and the implementation of some effective tips, you can keep your garage as neat as the rest of your house and avoid putting in more work in the long run. Follow these tips to keep your garage clean and tidy at all times.
Discard Unwanted Stuff
Your garage is the space with multiple unwanted objects that you removed from your house to declutter your rooms. You do not want to do the same to your tidy garage. Decluttering is crucial to make spaces look bigger and tidier. Instead of holding on to the items with an emotional value, think practically and determine whether or not you need certain objects in your life. If not, you can either hold a garage sale and sell or rent them at a discounted price or donate the items. If your tidy garage is brimming with stuff, create a plan to declutter each area every week and steadily take all items out. If the decision to discard the items gets tough, categorize them based on the frequency of usage and keep the ones that you use every week or month.
Plan and Design the Area
Now that you have discarded most of the stuff from your garage, it is time to replan the space to achieve a tidier look. Measure your garage space and create a rough outline to make a plan. Assign ‘storage homes’ to each item or set of items based on their categories. Do not discard the vertical spaces as they can be used as additional storage. If you have kids, keep sharp or dangerous items hidden in locked drawers or other spaces where they are unreachable. Before you buy the drawers and equipment to make storage spaces, map out the area within your tidy garage and measure the furniture, custom cars or accessories needed to store your items.
Focus on Organization
Organization is key to keep spaces neat and tidy, which is also applicable to garages. Categorize the items on the basis of your usage. For instance, place the items that you use every day within your reach. The items that are rarely used should be moved overhead or farther away. However, you should be able to reach them without cluttering the other items. Overhead cabinets are an integral part of garage storage systems and can be used to store those items. Other storage systems for tidy garages include wall panels, storage racks, and wall hooks that make organizing your items easier. Use wall panels to hide things behind the walls. This will keep the space tidier and decluttered.
Vacuum the Floor on a Regular Basis
Once you have redesigned the garage space and laid out the organization system, it is time to create a daily cleaning routine. Just like you vacuum your house daily to keep it dust-free and hygienic, you should also clean your tidy garage on a regular basis. If you are too busy to clean your huge garage space every day, follow a deep-cleaning session on a weekly basis. With this, you can avoid the need to get started from scratch and keep your garage neat at all times. Your cleaning routine should include dusting the surfaces, keeping the objects clean, vacuuming the floors, cleaning the openings, and mopping the surfaces. If possible, take help from professional cleaners once a month.
Install Proper Lighting and Other Accessories
You need proper lighting and illumination to keep a check on your items and increase visibility. Since garages are already dark, poor lighting can deteriorate your organization and cleaning routine, which can impact the tidiness of the space. To avoid this, install proper overhead lighting that can also enhance the illusion of the space being bigger. Treat your tidy garage like a room inside your house. Add lighting fixtures to the storage cabinets to highlight your tools and other stuff. If possible, repaint your walls to enhance the visual appeal of your garage space. To take it one step further, decorate the space with accessories such as a mirror on a blank wall or showpieces on floating shelves.
Organizing and tidying a huge garage space can undeniably be overwhelming. However, you just need to do it once and then keep a maintenance check on a regular basis to keep it neat. With these tips, you can keep the necessary items in your garage without piling them on each other, which, ultimately will make your garage look tidier.