Garage organization

What It Means

Garage organization is sorting everything stored in a garage and giving it a place, usually by grouping things into zones such as tools, yard gear, sports equipment and car supplies. It often means moving items off the floor onto shelves, hooks and pegboards. Storing leftover household chemicals safely is part of the job too, since the garage is where many of them end up.

How It Sounds at Home

• "We can finally park in the garage again."
• "Everything's going up on the wall."
• "Where did the hedge trimmer end up?"

The Breakdown

How to do it

1. Pick one wall or one corner at a time. University extension guides from Penn State and Michigan State suggest working on one small area, not the whole space at once.
2. Pull everything out of that area and sort it: keep, donate, recycleRecyclingCollecting used materials such as paper, cardboard, glass and some plastics so they can be processed and made into new products. See more, trash, and household hazardous waste.
3. Group what you keep into zones, for example lawn and garden, tools, sports and outdoor gear, car supplies, and holiday storage (Buhata's suggestion).
4. Give each zone a home near where it's used: yard tools by the door to the yard, car supplies near the car.
5. Get things off the floor with shelving, hooks and a pegboard. Anchor any tall, freestanding shelf unit to the wall, the way CPSC advises for furniture.
6. Set up one shelf for chemicals, out of reach of children and pets and away from food, as the American Cleaning Institute advises.
7. Take the donate, recycle and trash piles out the same day.

Try it today. Clear one shelf, put back only what belongs in one zone, and label it.

Handling leftover chemicals. Leftover household chemicals may need special handling, and the rules vary by place. The EPA says to ask your local environmental, health or solid waste agency what to do, and to look for a collection day if your community has no year-round site.

Good to Know

The EPA's household hazardous waste page says to keep these products in their original containers, never remove the labels, and never store them in food containers. It warns never to mix leftovers, because incompatible products can react, ignite or explode; its example is a product containing ammonia, such as glass cleaner, mixed with chlorine bleachChlorine bleachHousehold bleach made with sodium hypochlorite that whitens, removes stains and disinfects, but can fade colors and damage some fibers. See more, which gives off a deadly gas. Even an empty container can hold hazardous residue, so handle it with care, and read the label for disposal directions. The American Cleaning Institute adds: store cleaning products away from food, out of reach of young children and pets, and close each one right after use.

Related Terms and Categories

• Vertical storage

  Storing things upward on walls, doors and tall shelving instead of spreading them across floors and counters, so a small space holds more.

• Decluttering

  Clearing out what a home no longer needs by sorting belongings into what to keep and what leaves the house, one small area at a time.

• Mixing cleaning products

  Combining two or more cleaners in one bottle, bucket or bowl. Some pairs, such as bleach with ammonia or with an acid, give off toxic gas.

• Recycling

  Collecting used materials such as paper, cardboard, glass and some plastics so they can be processed and made into new products.

• Seasonal home maintenance

  Home upkeep sorted by time of year, so each job lands when the weather suits it and before the system it protects is needed most.

Chores, cleaning and home care