I'll admit, the garage is my final resting place for many items. After removing items from my black hole closets a few weeks ago, several boxes ended up in the garage where they're still waiting to be moved to Goodwill or some other place outside of my home. But many items in my garage have been waiting an awful long time for a new home, making the garage a purgatory for clutter, awaiting the final judgment.
While the clutter is annoying, it's also keeping me from getting my car into the garage.
So while the weather is still not yet freezing, I'm going to take some time to get my garage in shape to park at least one car in it. If your garage could use a little help, too, here are some tips I'm following to organize this space:
- Start by getting rid of the space wasters. Have you touched it in the past two years? If not, then get rid of it immediately. Have you used it in the last year? If so, then take a careful look at it and decide if it's worth the space it occupies.
- Next, get tools and sports equipment off the floor. Think vertical and use your wall space to your advantage. Use tool organizers
and bicycle hooks
to organize equipment and keep your most needed tools easy to reach.- Sort holiday decorations into bins by season and store them on shelves
. Again, think vertical when planning out your space to leave you with the most floor space available for your vehicles!- Finally, clean up the floor. Make sure bags of fertilizer, mulch, and pesticides as well as gas cans are properly sealed and stored away from electrical or heat sources. If a bag is torn, transfer the contents to a plastic container
that can be sealed.Be sure to visit Kelly, Heather and Lisa for more tips this week!
GIVEAWAY!
To help you in your garage clean-up, I've got a $50 gift card to The Container Store to give to one lucky reader.
To enter, leave a comment below sharing what (other than your car) takes up the most space in your garage! (mandatory entry)
For additional entries:
2. Leave a comment here with your favorite organizational tool for keeping your garage and shed neat and tidy. (one entry - separate comment)
3. Follow me on Twitter @mommystory and tweet this contest leaving me a link here in the comments. (one entry)
4. Write a blog post about how you plan to (or already are!) getting your garage organized and ready for winter and link back to this post. (1 entry - leave a comment here with your link)
Giveaway will close on Friday, November 26 at 11:59pm ET. One winner will be selected by random drawing to win the gift card. Winner has three days after being contacted by e-mail to respond or another winner will be chosen in his or her place.
Good luck!
Full disclosure: Gift card to The Container Store is provided fully by myself. I was not approached by the store and received no compensation at all for this giveaway. Links to Amazon do include my affiliate code, meaning if you purchase something at Amazon after clicking that link, they give me a small percentage of that sale. Win-win, everyone.
133 comments:
We don't have a garage but when we do get a house with a garage, it's going to be bicycles that take up all the room!!
cheatingpiggies at hotmail dot com
We don't have a garage, but our "garage" is our office. We are both pack rats. I feel the need to hold onto every piece of paper and my husband is a toy collector who swears that the closet full of toys is going to be worth something some day.
klynnjackson(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I'd have to say outdoor equipment and supplies for lawn and garden.
Dove056 at aol dot com
Its really a toss up between the lawn mower,trimmer and garage sale things.
stanleybilly(at)bellsouth(dot)net
The lawnmower, or snowthrower in the winter, take up the most room in the garage.
abfantom at yahoo dot com
The 4-wheelers take up a lot of room!
My favorite organizational thing we use are the hard totes that you can buy from Walmart.
I would say the garbage cans and recycling!
busymomblog at yahoo dot com
Has to be the family bicycles. There are 4 of us and 4 bikes too..
deeandco3 at gmail dot com
We have very little shelving in our garage so hard plastic totes stacked is the way we keep organized.
deeandco3 at gmail dot com
My husbands tools and riding lawnmower take up a lot of room.
rhoneygtn at yahoo dot com
An organ. It was a gift from a family member who was moving, but no one here plays. It's an electric one that was made in the '70s and I'm not even sure if it works anymore.
Yeah, it really needs to go.
My favorite organizational tool has been the old kitchen cabinet we put against the back wall. It holds a large number of odds and ends that would otherwise end up everywhere.
A lot of old clothes and baby items take up the most space.
diamond42377 at gmail dot com
garden equipment and just this saved over the years
When we had a garage, tools and toolboxes took up the most space!
wilburnnewsome atyahoodotcom
My favorite organizational tool are shelves! They help us store things vertically and out of the way!
wilburnnewsome atyahoodotcom
We don't have a garage but our shed is just covered in junk. Stuff that needs to be packed away.
hebert024 at aol dot com
My husbands tractors and tools
kathypersons@yahoo.com
I like the pegboards
Sadly, empty boxes. Just moved so we have tons of them.
jas8929 at gmail dot com
shoes! can you believe my garage is filled with shoes? lol
vanitizebaby at yahoo dot com
i use a big plastic container for all my stuff, separated by each drawer
following your twitter, tweet
http://twitter.com/MeandBells/status/3939525780836352
The garbage cans take the most room
My husbands motorcycle and the 3 bicycles take up the most room!
jennifercausby at hotmail dot com
My favorite item for keeping our garage organized are the hooks that we hang our bikes on!
jennifercausby at hotmail dot com
I live in a duplex which has a double garage Several years ago, the landlady's son-in-law lived in the unit next to mine. He is a pack rat and completely filled his garage with junk. When that got full he pushed into the other garage-the one that is now mine. When he moved out he had no place to put the junk and it stayed. So I barely enough space to get my car in there and my neighbor has none and has to park in the driveway. Some of that stuff looks like dates to the 50's.
My kids outside toys/bikes/scooters take up a ton of room.
lenz.nicole(at)gmail(dot)com
Overflowing shelves with just stuff on them,,,Soft drinks, paper towels, dog food and much more. semtaylor(at)yahoo(dot)com
My favorite organizational tool is my husband - when he wants to be...He can organize things really well but just does not do it often enough. semtaylor(at)yahoo(dot)com
My craft stuff, I would love to be able to buy storage stuff for all of it!
What takes up a lot of space in my garage is all the boxes of books I have! I read lots of romance book and I collect them :P
Kim Phan kimplovely(@)gmail.com
My kid's bicycles and scooters!
Lawn equipment is what we have the most of.
I hang some tools on the wall of the garage. It's a start!
We have extra household stuff stored out there.
An unassembled king-size waterbed with a huge headboard with mirror and lamps and drawers! ;)
Clownscrytoo@gmail.com
A plastic kiddie pool is taking up WAY too much space in our garage. We inherited a dog this summer and the pool was his bed. Now he sleeps in the basement sans pool, which sits empty and alone in our garage. I need to throw it out...
Is it sad that the house in which I live does not have a garage? So I don't really have that extra storage space in the first place! Sigh.
krtrumpet [at] aol [dot] com
Old clothes, memorabilia, things for which there is no room in the house, and my husband's motorcycle.
dogsrock at insightbb dot com
Plastic totes are my favorite organizational tool. I use both large and small depending on what needs to be stored.
dogsrock at insightbb dot com
-Following you on twitter
-Tweet: http://twitter.com/rogsdock/status/4574096784359425
dogsrock at insightbb dot com
Other than the cars, our bikes take up the most room in the garage
My hubby' truck.
Thanks for the chance.
mogrill@comcast.net
Our boxes of junk take up to much space!
Awesome contest! Thanks for entering me!
Janna Johnson
jannajanna@hotmail.com
Janna@Feedyourpigblog.com
www.feedyourpigblog.com
I currently don't have a garage, but I do have more than enough clutter. All of my Christmas decorations are not organized and currently taking up way to much space in a spare room, so this would help tremendously. I wish I had a garage I could store them in when not in use! Thanks so much for the chance! :)
whitechocolatecherries at gmail.com
I'm following you on twitter (@whitechocolatec) and tweeted: http://twitter.com/whitechocolatec/statuses/4804086981464064
whitechocolatecherries@gmail.com
We don't have a garage, but our basement is our black hole for storage. I have a bunch of giant rubbermaid containers of old clothes that don't fit, and more than likely will never fit again, but I love them so much I can't get rid of them.
jjak2003 at gmail dot com
HI there - what takes up the most space are things like my canning supplies - a huge steel rack had to be installed for me to organize it all! :)
jkrs01 @comcast.net
Organizing tool - I use rubbermaid type totes and copy paper boxes hubby gets at work to sort and store things so they don't get dusty and everything looks neat!
http://twitter.com/ayearwithmomdad/status/5142425878134784
I follow you as @ayearwithmomdad and I tweeted!
Our riding mower and the trailer that goes with it takes up alot of space.
dawns_horizen@yahoo.com
Our favorite organizational items is the shelves we got at target. They hold everything from garden supplies to auto tools.
dawns_horizen@yahoo.com
I don't have a garage but in my house the most cluttered place is the closet. I moved from a 4 bedroom house to a 2 bedroom apartment and the closets are soooo small. Clothing and my Hair Steamer take up so much space I can't put shoes or anything else in there.
dominican757 at gmail dot com
I used those BIG rubbermaid totes and adjustable closet rods to make another rack for clothes
dominican757 at gmail dot com
I followed you on twitter
@va2bama
http://twitter.com/#!/va2bama/status/6146778202112000
dominican757 at gmail dot com
What takes up the most space in our garage is sports equiptment (most that hasn't been touched in years mind you). Would love to organize this.
bakergurl02 @ yahoo.com
My husband's tools take up the most space in our garage after the cars. Thanks.
Besides the cars the lawn tractor, snow blower and buddy scooter take up space but little items are the yard games, bikes, and gardening equipment
rosans4@comcast.net
My husband hung hooks on the ceiling for all the kids bikes
rosans4@comcast.net
Well, I don't have a garage, but I have a basement! I would say the biggest offender down there is my boxes and boxes of craft stuff! It would be great to have some items to help me organize!
Christmas decorations take up the most room!
Our garage has multiple garbage & recycle bins.
Wish we did have a garage.We have a carport though. If we did have a garage, I would have to say our riding lawnmower and other yard tools would take up most of the space.
A work table with various tools on and around it.
cgclynsg0 at gmail dot com
I have a couple of cabinets for smaller tools and materials, and hooks for hanging others.
cgclynsg0 at gmail dot com
random tools scattered everywhere
addictedtorodeo at gmail dot com
the lawn tractor and snow blower take up most of the other room in the garage
nhmoose99 at yahoo dot com
My garage is a mess with tools, bikes, sporting equipment, and misc. junk! honeypie411 at yahoo dot com
My mother in laws fold out couch that she insisted we have. The dog loves to sleep on it
I don't have a grage, but if I did, the bicycles and the bbq would take up most space next to the car.
tinaslists AT gmail DOT com
We keep a spare fridge in the garage. It is nice to have extra fridge & freezer space, but we have a smallish garage and it takes up a big corner of it.
katfam95 at aim dot com
Christmas decorations is what takes up most of the space in my garage
I use lots of plastic bins and label them all in order to stay organized
I make the kids pick up the garage once a week to keep it from turning a corner in to mayhem.
katfam95 at aim dot com
Here in the NorthEast, winter gear (shovels, snow blowers, rock salt barrels) take up the most space in the garage.
ellaetc(at)gmail(dot)com
Chrome racks, you can get them at the hardware store, are great for organizing a garage.
following on twitter. @ellaanachronism
All of our lawn supplies take up the most room in the garage. Besides that, it's pretty empty. :)
kirbycolby at gmail dot com
My favorite organizational tool is the grips that hold the broom/rake/random tool handles. It keeps them from falling over and makes it easy to grab what we need.
kirbycolby at gmail dot com
I follow and tweeted. Thank you!
http://twitter.com/Aerated/status/7549911637692416
kirbycolby at gmail dot com
The riding lawn mower and garden cart take up a lot of space but what takes up the most is the disorganized glut of lawn care, garden care, garden tools, other tools and just plain junk.
i would say 80% junk and tools and the freezer.
tattgiff at centurytel dot net
my thing is rubbermaid tubs.i love them!
tattgiff at centurytel dot net
http://twitter.com/tattgiff/status/7616600614117376
follow and tweet
tattgiff at centurytel dot net
Piles of stuff that are waiting for me to have a garage sale.
txhottie_86 at yahoo dot com
We have holiday decorations coming out our ears!I have no idea how we aquired so much. The clutter is driving me crazy.
The ride on lawn mower takes up the most space, thanks!
Hotsnotty2@hotmail.com
The Kids bikes, skateboards and assorted sports equipment takes up the most space in our garage.
tderosa142 at gmail dot com
I follow you on twitter(terri142) and tweeted.
http://twitter.com/terri142/status/7748120150540288
tderosa142 at gmail dot com
Tools, so many tools! We have a mechanic in the family :)
kaleidoscopequeen at gmail dot com
we have a carport and right now it is full of empty boxes for when we move
My car won't fit in my garage. It's full of miscellaneous tools and yard stuff like a big ladder, shovel, rake, tomato cages, etc.
I have a boat that takes up most of it, with tools and old tv's around that. There is a small path you can take to the back of the garage. Pathetic I know, it just seems so daunting I dont want to attempt it. nickbug2000@gmail.com
Riding lawn mower, snow blower, bicycles and garden tools take up a lot of space in our garage. Okay, they take up too much space.
Shovel, rake, hoe, broom and all those other things on a stick!
All the kiddy toys.
shawnac68@hotmail.com
There are 6 of us so it would have to be our out of season clothing.
hafner611{AT}gmail{DOT}com
We have bikes and motorcycles and a whole lot of tools.
mia at jacobsracing dot com
Currently, the biggest thing taking up space in our garage is an old couch we need to haul to the dump. Thanks for the contest! codisweepstakes2 (@) gmail(dot)com
Right now the only organizational tool being utilized in my garage is labeled boxes, which I guess would make it my favorite. codisweepstakes2 (@) gmail(dot)com
I follow you on twitter (un:codisweepstakes) & tweeted: http://twitter.com/codisweepstakes/status/8098531046850560 codisweepstakes2 (@) gmail(dot)com
Much of our garage is taken up by boxes of old toys, clothes, and miscellaneous memorabilia that we just can't seem to part with! We could definitely use an organizational makeover in there to make it a more functional space. Thanks!
gkaufmanss@yahoo.com
Our favorite organizational tip is to use clear storage bins with labels so that we know exactly what's in each box in the garage - plus, if we can see the contents every day, we're less likely to hold onto things we don't really need anymore!
gkaufmanss@yahoo.com
I'm following you on twitter (@guettel78) and I tweeted: http://twitter.com/guettel78/status/8132926612967424
gkaufmanss@yahoo.com
In a word...Clutter.
flashlight13114 [at] yahoo [dot] com
Our Utility stand/holder, its about 8 feet long and 3 feet wide
All my gardening supplies and tools take up the most room....and the hubby doesn't even complain!
The best thing to keep all my stuff organized are the wire racks/shelving units that line an entire wall of the garage. I can neatly organize all the stuff on those.
The bikes and lawn mower take up a lot of space
s2s2 at comcast dot net
My daughters stuff takes up the most room! suelee1998 @ gmail.com
Boxes of our packed items.
I love those rubbermaid 20 and 30 gallon tubs.
Garbage cans and bicycles.
chrystaljns (at) gmail (dotcom)
Follow you on Twitter- @chryskay
Tweeted-
http://twitter.com/chryskay/status/8316308823216128
chrystaljns (at) gmail (dotcom)
Our freezer takes up a lot of space!
ardy22 at earthlink dot net
We have shelves built around the garage and help to keep things organized
ardy22 at earthlink dot net
Boxes of junk! I really should clean it out. Thanks!
bjerding@live.com
follow you twitter and tweeted
http://twitter.com/Ardy22/status/8324350008631296
ardy22 at earthlink dot net
My husband's many cooking tools and aplliances.
fatmeatloaf1 at gmail dot com
Shelves keep everything orderly.
fatmeatloaf1 at gmail dot com
We have lots of shelves with "stuff" on them, but the largest single item is the queen size matress--still in the box--that we won almost a year ago. We need to find a home for it.
Stuff! Simply.. just our stuff. Anything in boxes from when we moved, that we don't want to get rid of and need, but has no place in our home. :/
THANK YOU! tripsma at gmail dot com
Our bicycles take up the most space, thanks!
Thanks for the giveaway...we have about a dozen file cabinets in our garage full of family records, photos, video recordings, old movies & slides, etc. in addition to vehicles, bicycles, gardening tools,.....you name it !!!
senorpiero [at] yahoo [dot] com
My kids outdoor toys, bikes, power wheels, sports equipment, ect. :)
Currently, there's a spare twin size bed that's taking up a lot of room in the garage.
A big storage bin
Junk on top of more junk. Nuff said.
mightynaynay(at)cs.com
Lawn Mower and yard equipment!
nesta 67 {at} live dot com
Yard stuff takes up most of the room in our garage by far
kimbly at g mail dot com
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