In Garage Clean Out Part 1 I told you I joined the Great Garage Clean-Out Challenge and showed you how I followed the first 3 steps of Laura from OrgJunkie's PROCESS. Today I'll show you the last 4 steps and reveal what the garage looks like now. Here's a before and after shot of the whole garage:
Now for the steps: Step 4 is Containerize, which involves finding storage solutions (containers establish limits and boundaries), designating a space for items to be kept, and consolidating where possible. I already had plastic bins for our Christmas things and our camping equipment so those items were fine. Keeping with my goal of not spending any money, I looked for containers from other parts of my house that I could repurpose for the various piles of like items I'd made in the garage.
I found 2 old refrigerator drawers that were perfect for garage storage. And I had 2 small clear plastic bins that I bought at the dollar store for another project but didn't use. I had a fruit basket and a small foldable bin in the garage already and I had a small clear backpack that was previously in the backyard deckbox. I broke down and spent $1 on a cute pink plastic basket for my daughter's sidewalk chalk (it was too cute to pass up and I wanted a bit of colour in the garage!). You can see some of our containers here:
I made labels for each of the containers so we'd be able to see what's inside (and put things back where they belong!).
Next I designated areas in the garage for various purposes rather than having things all over the place like before. One of my goals was to have as little as possible on the floor on either side of the garage so it would be easier to get in and out of the van without knocking things over, so I utilized the space on the wall to hold things up and added some nails to hold the big gardening tools up. I also had more space on the shelves after purging so more items were able to be stored on them. Here's a picture of the side of the garage now:
There's nothing left on the floor on that side except a few hockey sticks in the corner beside the garage door! The other side of the garage just has the green organics recycling bin in the corner beside the garage door (the angle is slightly different on some of my pictures so it doesn't actually show up in any of them).
I'm excited about how the shelves turned out...I can see everything on them and if I want to take something off the shelf I don't have to move 3 things first or worry about things falling off! On the shelves I designated zones for sports/activities (on the left), gardening (in the middle), and car/van (on the right).
Yes, there's a big extension cord in the car/van section (didn't really have anywhere else to put it!) & the items flow into other sections a little bit, but overall it so much better! Here's the other section of the shelves which is designated for camping items:
Underneath this big shelf I designated a zone for seasonal things that we are currently using (golf clubs, bikes, and the hose reel). Check it out now:
The last steps in the process are Evaluate, Solve/Simplify any remaining issues, and Smile. I pretty much evaluated and solved & simplified all the way through this project so there's not much to say about these steps. So all that's left is to smile... and I definitely am smiling when I see these before and after pictures!
What a difference. I'm so glad we tackled the garage! It was so overwhelming before but it is much more usable now that it's organized. And I met all my goals (except for the $1 I spent on that pink basket but I think it was worth it!). From these pictures I can see we really need to paint the shelves and walls but I think we'll tackle that project after some of the other overwheming areas of our house are organized :)
Thanks OrgJunkie & Mom of 6 for hosting the Great Garage Clean-Out Challenge!
Has anyone else turned their overwhelming garage into an organized space? I'd love to see your pictures!
Happy organizing!
looks amazing!
ReplyDelete- Leanne :)
Thanks Leanne!
DeleteI will write a 'grabbing the button' tutorial, but adding a link back to their post from your post is much the same and much easier. Buttons advertise their blog on your blog. Most linky bloggers seem to be ok with a clear link back to their post. I also suspect that 'buttons' are not as popular as they once were (and this is AFTER I finally learned how to make one !! ). Thanks for visiting my blog and I will see if I can come up with a tutorial that can be useful.
ReplyDeleteThanks for getting back to me Joy! I look forward to your tutorial and thanks again!
DeleteI SOOOOOO need to do this to my garage. Yours looks great. That took a lot of time and effort but it so looks worth it now. I'd love to have you link this up to Titus 2 Tuesday on Cornerstone Confessions.
ReplyDeleteHopping over from Simply Sensational Tuesday.
Kathy
Thanks Kathy! It was a big job but thankfully my hubby helped & our kids entertained themselves most of the time.
DeleteYour blog looks great (I've subscribed!) & I will be checking out some of your blog tips & organizational ideas.
I just linked up to your Titus 2 Tuesday party. Thanks for the invite!
Hilda
Wow! This looks great! Now I just need a garage to organize. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Brandi! You may not want a garage once you get one though... they are a LOT of work to keep clean and organized :)
DeleteI love it! You did a great job.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ginny! Now to see if I can keep it this way :)
DeleteLove how you used the containers!
ReplyDeleteThanks Teri! I know some people like them to be all matching but I worked with what I had. I think it adds character :)
DeleteGreat job, I love doing the orgjunkie chanllenges. They really help you get organized. Stopping by from delightful order link party
ReplyDeleteThanks Motivated Mommy! This was my first challenge but I look forward to more of them.
DeleteI just looked at your blog. I love the link party post! I will be checking that out soon. Thanks:)
Thanks for stopping by & commenting.
Good job on the clean up, it looks great!
ReplyDeleteAnna
www.askannamoseley.com
Thanks Anna! That means a lot coming from you :) Your blog was one of the first I started reading & always inspires me. Thanks for commenting!
DeleteYour garage looks great!! :) Found your blog via org junkies site.
ReplyDeleteThanks Helen! I'm so glad OrgJunkie offered this challenge. It really helped me get motivated to tackle the garage knowing others were doing it too :)
ReplyDeleteThe garage looks amazing! It's one of my favorite areas to clean and organize. Thanks for linking to the Home Decor and Organizing Link Party. I'm featuring this today.
ReplyDeleteThanks Leanne! Other than all the dust in our garage, I agree it might be one of my favourites too (some people would call us crazy for saying we like organizing garages but that's OK!).
DeleteThanks for featuring me on your blog!
Hi Hilda! Just wanted to let you know I featured you on Simply Sensational Tuesday this week! Feel free to grab a "featured" button in the footer of my blog. Have a great week and thanks for linking up your great post. :D
ReplyDeletehttp://www.organizinghomelife.com/archives/3274
Thanks for featuring my garage post Ginny! Such an honour! You have a great week too :)
DeleteThat looks great! I would love for you to share this (and any other creations) at Pin It and Win It Wednesday @ www.cheapcraftymama.com!
ReplyDeleteThanks cheapcraftymama! I've shared it and followed your blog. Thanks for the invite!
DeleteWow...that is a good loking garage!! :) So need to do this! Thank you for linking up at Uncommon! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Bonnie & Trish! It's really worth putting the effort in. Good luck doing yours! And thanks for hosting the link party at Uncommon :)
DeleteLooks Great!! Thanks for inspiring me. I really need to organize our garage - it's a mess. Thanks for sharing at Terrific Tuesdays!
ReplyDeleteRachel
adventuresofadiymom.blogspot.com
Thanks Rachel! Garages always seem to be messy somehow :) Good luck when you organize yours & thanks for hosting Terrific Tuesdays!
DeleteI LOVE seeing garage clean-ups! We are in working on ours soon - very soon :) Thanks so much for sharing at Mom On Timeout!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting the Mom On Timeout link party Trish! Good luck with your garage :)
DeleteWant to come do my garage next?? Just kidding. I'd have to organize it first before I showed anyone! Thank you so much for linking up to my party! Your post is being featured on my blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.maidendshade.com/2012/06/youve-got-it-maiden-dshade-5.html
Take care,
Kim
Thanks for featuring me Kim!
DeleteI know exactly what you mean about having to clean/organize before showing spaces to anyone... a lot of my house is like that! It's a work in progress :)
Thanks again!
Very impressive. I wish we had a garage :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Melting Moments! You may not want one with how much work they are to organize, but it definitely helps to have a place to store things! Thanks for stopping by :)
DeleteIt's party time over at Debt Free Mommy Blog and you're invited! Please come by and link up any post(s) related to making your home a better space. I hope you'll join us for Making Space Mondays. Hope to see you there! -Tabitha
ReplyDeleteLinking up now Tabitha! Thanks for the invitation.
DeleteSo everyone who is trying to direct traffic to their own blog thinks you did a simply terrific job. I am not trying to direct traffic anywhere, and I think your garage is STILL a mess. Some of your before and after pictures are virtually indistinguishable.
ReplyDelete