With entire families spending more time at home, the likes of school work, tech, work at home paraphernalia and general clutter will soon accumulate and start to add to the stress of an already anxious time for us all. Most households have an unofficial ‘dumping ground’ and if yours is the garage, then please read on…
Bite-Size Chunks!
So if you’ve got a merry band of ‘helpers’ waiting in the wings with a bit of time on their hands, your garage could provide the perfect opportunity for developing their skills in the de-cluttering and reorganising arena. Remember you don’t need to sort the whole garage in one go; dividing the project into bite-size chunks is the way to keep motivation high and will mean you deal with each item effectively, rather than having to revisit it later. Hence a more productive time will be had by all.
Well it’s cold out there, so before you start, make sure you’re warm and have the right number of layers on; you can always peel them off later. If you actually keep your car in your garage, chances are your space will be half way tidy already. If you don’t, and the clutter is of avalanche proportions, go for the easy wins first. Put items which have a designated home back in their rightful places; you need space to make sense of what’s to be kept, rehomed and given away, so a general tidy-up is a solid start.
Items For Re-Homing
Your local tip, recycling plant and charity shops are likely to be temporarily closed right now, so bagging unwanted items and allocating a corner of your garage for this purpose will be useful. You can Ebay larger pieces of equipment like outgrown bikes and rarely used gardening gear at a later date, but making the decision to ‘get rid’ is key.
Layout and Storage 
If DIY’s your thing and you’ve been meaning to put up those shelves for the last 6 months, here’s your chance! Think about the general layout of your garage space and what you use it for. You may find, for instance, that disassembling your log store and restacking it floor to head height against a wall is a better use of space.
Smaller items such as paint pots and brushes can be piled up in cardboard boxes or containers, named and stacked on your new shelves. Larger objects like chair cushions, picnic blankets, outdoor toys and bicycle pumps can be stacked as they are, depending on the width of your shelves.
Large industrial hooks are a great idea for hanging bikes, ironing boards, brooms and gardening equipment. If you think these might work for your garage space, then Real Homes Magazine has issued this latest list on DIY stores which are still currently open https://www.realhomes.com/news/are-diy-stores-open-the-latest-on-bandq-wickes-homebase-screwfix-and-wilko.
Whilst we are not specialists in garage interiors at Hartleys, we are good at storage solutions for your home at large, and would be happy to answer any questions you may have. If you would like to request a design visit for fitted furniture when our showroom re-opens, please contact us and we’ll be in touch as soon as we return.
Enjoy your newly ordered garage and stay safe.