Whether you haven’t used your garage in a long time or you’re just used to seeing it as a mess, you’re going to have to clean it out one day. If that day is today, congratulations on building up the effort. The garage, whether or not you have a car in it, needs to be as clean as the rest of the house.
In case you’re ready to get cleaning, here are three steps to help you prep your garage.
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Take out Everything
In this step, we mean absolutely everything. If there are drawers, cabinets, or rugs that need to be washed, make sure they’re out of the garage. This is always the first step of decluttering regardless of which room you’re cleaning.
Pull all your stuff into the driveway so you can empty your garage. With the garage emptied, you can see how much space you have to work with. This will give you a vision of which items go where and which items no longer belong in the garage. If you have a car coming in, you can also estimate where all your stuff should go while still making space for the car.
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Decide on Which Items You Want to Keep
Let’s say you’re done with step one. Now that you have everything in your garage under the broad daylight on the driveway, you can start sorting them out. Set some rules on what kinds of items you can keep avoiding gathering up more unnecessary garbage.
If an item doesn’t fit in any of your criteria, simply throw it out. You can also sell good items, or better yet, donate it. Stop agonizing over things you never needed and will most probably never need anyway. Here are the criteria you may consider when choosing which items you should keep:
- Things that you used more than once just in the past year
- Things that are in good, working condition
- Things that can’t be easily borrowed or rented
- Things that are too expensive for you to buy again
The Konmari method is also another way to help you declutter your garage. It’s a popular way of choosing items to keep and let go. Marie Kondo, who created this method, says you should only keep items that “brings you joy.”
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Deep Clean Before Putting Your Stuff Back
Now that everything has been taken out of the garage, you can start getting rid of the dirt, dust mites, cobwebs and other unpleasant things in your garage.
Start by scrubbing the floor and removing any signs of infestation by creatures you don’t want in your home. Clean from top to bottom so you’re sure that there’s no room for a single dust bunny to develop in the next few days. Dust off the ceiling, the walls and sweep the floor. Then, get a good detergent and mix it with clean water. Use this to wipe down the walls and the cabinets and drawers. You can even mop the floor if you think that’s necessary.
Before you bring all the things back in your garage, make sure everything is working. For example, check if the lights and the sockets are functioning. You should also inspect the doors of your garage. Contact professionals in garage door repair based in Logan, Utah in case there are issues. This allows you to fix such problems before they become more serious.
Keeping every part of your home, including the garage, in top condition not only makes it a safe place to live in but also maintains its price value. A well-maintained home can be more attractive to buyers in case you want to sell it in the future.
