Organizing a Neighbor’s Garage

In October 2008, I was contacted by a neighbor that heard about my organizing business. I was happy to help. She was on a small budget, but wanted to get her car in the garage before winter.

I took pictures of the before and after. They are posted below. I think these show how rewarding the process can be to get everything in its place.

With active kids in the house, the garage can become a dumping ground. Her piles were not that bad, she just needed a system for where to put everything. Here’s how we tackled the job:

  • The first day, we pulled everything out of the garage.
  • Made a list of like items and what storage is required.
  • Did a trip to Lowe’s to get white shelves, a garden shelf (for the dangerous chemicals) and a variety pack of garage hooks.
  • The second day, we assembled the shelves and hung up the hooks.
  • Finally, we played the items where they made sense in the garage — most frequently used items such as recycling bins by the door into the house, lesser used items on the shelving.
Using the hooks helps get items up off the floor and a place for them to be put away.
The bikes, wagon and trash can be put away when ready to bring the cars into the garage.
Gardening items including weed killer are placed in the garden shed for safe keeping.