http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82q6m3MRc1w

This weekend I found myself unmucking a garage so that yet another poor car could have a home. This type of project is always exciting to me. I find myself up to my ears in muck half way through the day and by the end, the car sails inside to it’s new home free and clear! It is very rewarding work and saves me a trip to the gym!

When people try to clear out their garage and make room for their car without  professional help it frequently turns into a 2 -3 month project. And sometimes it simply never gets finished. The stuff comes out, no decisions get made, it turns dark and the muck goes right back in again. I have heard of this happening several weekends n a row. Profesional Organizers keep huge projects like this one focused and moving so that at the end of the day, the project is done!

As project ring leaders, Professional Organizers mediate the blame game and end the finger pointing to get everyone working towards the end goal. We also help you make tough decisions quickly to help expedite the process.

I am still surprised that it is often just me and the Mrs. tackling a garage project like this one. Girl power! In this case study, I was blessed to work with mom, 2 daughters and 1 son in law with muscles!

If you need a home for your car and the garage is too packed to accomodate, give us a call. This is what I do!

Situation:

This garage was used for watching tv, working on crafts, and an extra playroom. At the same time, it had to be used to store the usual garage items including holiday décor, extra entertaining supplies, etc.

Challenge:

In the beginning there was no storage in this garage, only some assorted furniture, TV and a desk. As with many garage conversions, this space had to accommodate many different types of activities and serve as a comfortable retreat /playroom for the two boys and a space for mom and sons to create craft projects and read.

Solution:

My client had wall-to-wall cabinets installed along the longest side of the garage without windows. The cabinets made it possible to create order with the deep freeze storage items like holiday décor and also made a place for sporting equipment and extra entertaining items to live while not in use.

I shifted furniture around to create zones for each type of activity. The desk was moved to the back wall so that all craft supplies were in the same zone with small table and chairs positioned for action.

The lateral file cabinet was moved next to the door into the house as this contained the permanent family records.

The large cube shelf was moved behind the couch to create division between storage and TV zone. All extra toys were grouped together ‘like with like’ and stored in baskets behind the couch. As the boys decided to play with different activities, they brought out one basket at a time and learned to put the first one away between activities to keep chaos at bay.

Situation: This garage had plenty of built-in storage but a mess was created when we decided to get rid of the off-site storage unit and consolidate everything into the garage. As with most organizing projects, there is usually temporary chaos before there is order.

Challenge: The back wall of this garage had built-in floor to ceiling, wall-to-wall shelves but they were completely full of childhood memories consisting of one large plastic bin per child per year.With three kids all of them at least in middle school, that meant a lot of bins!

Solution: We went through all of the kid’s  memory boxes. At first it was very hard for my client to get rid of childhood papers. She eventually became a champ at making decisions and letting go of enough memories so that each child’s memory items could fit into only one to two bins each. This reduced the storage bins from about 6-8 per child to 2 which gave us a lot more space to store items brought from the off-site storage unit. My client did an amazing job learning how to let go. Her kids still have plenty of great memorabilia to discover and uncover later!

Situation: A two-car garage that held a motorcycle and everything else but the cars! I love this case study because it is very typical of the most common garage challenges. There were fabulous built in cabinets, shelves and overhead storage available but they were difficult to access because of everything piled around and in front of them.

Challenge: The garage had served as a work-out room for awhile and then feel into disuse when the owners moved onto other fitness routines. So what to do with the equipment? There was a treadmill, step machine, free weights with incline bench and a punching bag.

Additionally, there were multiple bicycles and surfboards without a specific place to live.

Solution: We created a work-out room upstairs in a spare bedroom and the free weight and bench which are still useful for the new work-out routine will be moved up to that area. The stepper, treadmill and punching bag were donated to the San Pasqual Foster Academy which really needed the equipment to keep the boys happy. This created a lot more space.

We then took it one step further and hung up all of the grown-up bicycles from the ceiling keeping the daughter’s bicycle, mini-car and wagon accessible on the floor. The motorcycle will be sold in the near future to create even more space.

Once the main floor was cleared, we were able to get inside the storage units. We sorted, boxed and rearranged memories and holiday items and put them in the overhead storage area which opened up space in the easy-to-access cabinets.

With the open space, we were able to bring out entertaining supplies to the garage which helped to create more space in the pantry. We also created holding zones for various sports and activities including camping, triathalon, beach etc.

Another cabinet is now dedicated to household supplies bought in bulk.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of showing FOX 5 news viewers how to organize their garage. We used the actual supplies cabinet in the news studio as an example of a disorderly space.

Anchorwoman Arthel Nevile hosted the segment and covered the basics on how to master the muck in your garage based on the principals explained in my new book How to Master Your Muck.

At 7:40 we featured the cabinet as it was and during the break I worked quickly, sorting, reorganizing and containing and labeling. At 8:15 sharp, we showcased the new improved and organized cabinet. After the show, the staff told me they loved the changes and vowed to keep it organized from now on!

The Steps to Mastering The Muck in Your Garage include:

1. Group
2. Sort
3. Purge
4. Classify
5. Containerize
6. Label

Click here to watch the news segment video

Here are a few answers to my most frequently asked questions:

Q) What Tools Do I Need To Organize a Garage?

Gather boxes, in all shapes and sizes along with a box of large trash bags.

Q) When Should I Begin?

The day after trash is emptied if possible.

Q) How Should I Begin?

To begin, remove everything from your garage. I know this sounds intimidating, but this is the only way you will clearly see what you are holding onto.

Start 3 piles outside on the lawn and separate into:

Throw away

Donate

Keep

Q) How Long Will It Take?

Without a good support system, it could be overwhelming task abandoned part way through

With a Pro Organizer, one full day

With Friends or family, possibly a weekend

Hire an expert or get a team of people to work on this project.

While friends and family may be willing to help, be sure you have a plan in place so the process has specific direction from start to finish.

Q) What Things Should I Store in My Garage?

Follow this rule: keep only what you’ve used in the past year or plan on using in the near future, i.e. within six months!

Q) What Do you Mean by Garage Zones?

Consider what categories of items you wish to store in your garage.

Laundry

Gardening

Exercise

Automobile

Memories

Holiday Decor

Camp Gear

Does luggage really have to live there, or can it live in the attic or an indoor closet?

Once you have determined what categories of items will “live” in your garage, begin pulling everything out of your garage, and grouping into these categories in the driveway.

Q) Any Secret Pro Tips?

Sentimental value, consider whether it’s the item that holds the good memories or simply the memory itself that is good. Remember that memories take up a lot less space than the items associated with them.

Do you have a shed? Maybe your paints and chemicals could live there instead of the garage.

Use a lot of boxes during this process. Relegate loose objects to small boxes within each grouping.

Purge any excess, broken, or unnecessary items. Reconsider, donate or trash items that do not fit your categories.

If you discover random parts or singular items that you need to keep, group and store them with the closest similar category. If this is too much of a memory stretch, store them in a visible place so you will remember you have them.

Once items have been consolidated like with like, you are ready to begin planning where each category should live within your garage.

Determine where you want each type of item to live by frequency of use and available space. Parking is probably your most frequent garage activity. Make certain that the area around your car is open and easy to get in and out of the car and the garage.

The recycling bin can live near the inside door to your home for quick access. Tools should live near the workbench, shovels by the fertilizers and so on. Shelves at eye level should hold the most frequently used items. A large shelf near the inside door is a great location for the extra rolls of toilet paper from the last warehouse purchase.

Plan for an entire weekend if you are not working with a Professional Organizer. Set aside enough time to work on your project. Back-to-back days are recommended so items that are being sorted do not have to sit outside in piles for long. Plan for an entire weekend unless you are working with a Professional Organizer. A seasoned professional will usually reduce your time by half because they have been through this drill many times.

After your garage is put back into order, commit to a regular schedule of maintenance. Promptly put things away after using them and schedule a couple of hours of maintenance every season. Follow this strategy and your next summer party will be a breeze!

You can read more specific advice about garage “zones” in this article

Get inspired and take a look at a real life ‘before and after’ garage job

Before / After Case Study:

( Move mouse over picture for after )

The car had not seen the inside of the garage for quite some time (a few years) when I was called in to help. There was already built-in storage but simply too much stuff. For starters, everything had to come out of the garage. We purged and repacked the Holiday décor into large plastic bins. We arranged all Costco items on a shelf just inside the door for easy access. Many items were moved into the overhead storage area, some were donated.

We hauled a few to a consignment shop during our lunch break. As you can see, we still had a few rogue chairs which we moved to the front of garage. We scheduled a pick-up for upholstering the next working day. The holiday items were left lined up along the side of the garage since it was time to decorate the house the following weekend. After the holidays, the bins will be moved onto overhead storage.

The beautiful result at the end of the day was that one of the cars can now live comfortably in the garage!

What Our Clients Say:

“Your enthusiasm and energy made this project very enjoyable. You were
really good with creating systems and finding the space for all of my
clothes. I love my new closets.”

Ruth Rinek, La Jolla

( Move mouse over picture for after )

( Move mouse over picture for after )

What Our Clients Say:

“Your enthusiasm and energy made this project very enjoyable. You were
really good with creating systems and finding the space for all of my
clothes. I love my new closets.”

Ruth Rinek, La Jolla

( Move mouse over picture for after )

( Move mouse over picture for after )

What Our Clients Say:

“Your enthusiasm and energy made this project very enjoyable. You were
really good with creating systems and finding the space for all of my
clothes. I love my new closets.”

Ruth Rinek, La Jolla