Garage and General Storage Guidelines
June 28, 2023
Co-owners Amber Beltran and Dawn Brooks are committed to helping you become clutter free in 2023. We are excited to introduce June’s Clutter-Free focus: garage and general storage guidelines.
Garage Storage Guidelines
June’s extended day light and drier weather make it an ideal time to reset your garage. In this newsletter, we will provide the shelf life on items commonly stored in a garage, general storage cautions, and some DIY storage options for garages. The application of two organization principles will increase your ability to maintain the order you establish.
Principle 1: Ease of Accessibility
Items must be easy to access and just as easy to return to their appropriate location. For most of us, in order to adhere to this first principle, it is necessary to purge damaged, outdated, unused, or redundant items from the areas we are organizing.
Step 1: Sort carefully. Look at all the items in the space you are organizing to check to see if anything is pilled, damaged or stained. Create piles for keep, donate, repair, consign. If there is something you don’t enjoy as much as you thought you would, you can consider reselling while it’s still in good condition.
Step 2: Categorize and prioritize; divide all remaining keep items into piles. Once you have your piles, organize each one from your favorite item to your least favorites in a category – decide how many of each item you need according to your lifestyle and then again purge the items you like least. Don’t overlook the emotional element. Pay close attention to how items make you feel, and get rid of anything that carries negative emotional baggage. If you truly love it, keep it, even if you aren’t using it right now.
Step 3: Properly store. Label your storage containers before storing. Clearly labeling things in an easy-to-understand way will make it easier to locate those items as you need them.
Principle 2: Proper Garage Storage
Items must be properly stored to ensure “return on investment”. Consider the temperature of a storage space. Before retiring items to a garage, consider if it can withstand (possible) extreme heat or extreme cold, for example candles can melt in high temperatures. Even items that won’t “melt” can be weakened or broken by the heat or cold.
One of our DIY garage recommendations is this ultimate sports organizer storage rack because it screws into the wall for maximum security and the unique design maximizes storage while allowing easy access to every component. This rack can be used to organize all of your summer fun activities like pool noodles, sunscreen, beach bags, etc. Or use it for lawn & garden or sports equipment storage. The possibilities are limitless.
An inexpensive way to create easy access to items is to merely place 1″x 2″ wooden straps in the front of the exiting 2″x 4s” in the wall of your garage. This allows you the freedom to place the slats where they will best store your specific items. The clever use of bungee cords makes an effective balls organizer.
