There are fewer things I’m prouder of than being able to park two cars in my two car garage. Not only do I store personal items, I also store supplies for my company, Silver Linings Transitions.
If I’m being honest, I don’t have a choice as it’s a requirement of my HOA. Never in my adult life have I been able to park two cars much like the majority of Americans (25% of people with two-car garages don’t have room to park cars inside them and 32% only have room for one vehicle. (U.S. Department of Energy).
If you live in San Diego where space is limited – we don’t have basements and for some reason many homes lack linen closets. Our garage becomes our “Costco Closet”. If you think of your garage as valuable real estate, you may begin to reconsider some of the purchases you make.
If getting your garage organized is on your “to do” list, here are some tips.
- Remember using vertical space gives you more storage area. I found these great shelves on Amazon. They delivered the next day and I was able to assemble them easily with no tools. (I am also terrible at following directions. These were so easy, I ordered three.)
- Remember using vertical space gives you more storage area. I found these great shelves on Amazon. They delivered the next day and I was able to assemble them easily with no tools. (I am also terrible at following directions. These were so easy, I ordered three.)
- Be realistic about your lifestyle. Are you storing broken items or gear for someday? If you’ve had now nearly nine months of the pandemic and you aren’t using the item, perhaps you need to be honest with yourself and sell or donate the item. Try places like BuyNothing (a Facebook group usually localized to an area), www.FreeCycle.org, Craig’s List Curb Alert – for broken items. You’d be surprised what happens when you drag something to the curb, stick a “FREE” sign on it and post.
- If you think an item is saleable, look up an items’ value, try using Google Lens or check out sold items on ebay. One of the best ways to sell items is Facebook Marketplace.
- This may seem obvious but organize by category keeping in mind what items need to be accessed on a regular basis and which ones are seasonal. If you use an item regularly, store it low – that’s prime real estate.
- For old paints, storing them in your garage will affect the color. If you’ve been storing paint in your garage, find a better place inside or take them to a local paint drop off facility.
- Here are a few things you should not keep in your garage – Paint, Pet Food, Propane, Paper and Photos.
- When I was going through my divorce, I had to open all the old plastic bins and get a true inventory of what I had. Among the things I had to throw away were my older roller blade – the wheels disintegrating in my hands. I had to be realistic with myself – would I really replace the wheels and skate again or given they were packed away for more than 15 years was I better off making space for items I was using regularly? Going through old bins and consolidating will give you more space.
- Break the task down into manageable pieces. Start with one wall or even 10 minutes. Many times clients become so overwhelmed, they freeze and do nothing. Make small tasks your goal and reward yourself for your accomplishments.
- Remember PERFECT IS THE ENEMY OF DONE. Sometimes, good enough is good enough.
- If you live in San Diego and you’d like a little assistance to get you started or to accomplish the whole task, contact the Silver Linings Transitions team. We’ve found in as little as 6 hours, we can do enough to get you motivated to finish.
We also offer gift certificates if you know someone who might like the gift of organization.
