Monday, November 02, 2009

Ask the organiser about organising garages and sheds


I've got two sheds that need tackling so any outhouse tips would be good :)
Carl Wokingham, Berkshire, United Kingdom

This is some of what I wrote to Carl...


Sheds is where I draw the line – I don’t even go into mine! I told my husband that dirty, outside work is for him :)

But let’s ask the readers and see what they come up with.


So readers, over to you. Today YOU are all the organisers!

Please share your best garage/ shed organising tips with Carl :)

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5 comments:

Anne said...

Start by pulling everything out. EVERYTHING. Examine each item as you remove it. How long has it been in storage? Does it need repair? If repaired, will you use it? Can you donate it?

Clean and repair as you go along. Do not put anything back into the storage unless you will be using it within the next year. Do not put anything back that is broken.

Keep an inventory (pictoral is even better) of what is in storage. Remember, Out of Sight, Out of Mind... so keep reminders of what you have.

Repeat procedure in 6 months. Your opinions may have changed by then.

Good Luck!

Marcia Francois said...

Thanks, Anne – some fabulous advice if I ever felt the need to go into the garage LOL

Nicole said...

I seem to have no issues with the outside storage, mine chaos is all within my home.

For me, I use large shelves and clear containers so that I can view what is inside!

For misc items, I use the color containers so I do not see the chaos within!

I use a peg board with hooks for tools. I use plastic jars that I have mounted the lids to a board. This is where I keep random screws and anything that could get lost easily, sorted by type in different jars. They are clear, so I can see the contents. When I need one, I simply twist the jar from the lid/board support.

Unlike Anne however, I must have a section for items that need to be repaired. At a later time. I have the attention span of a mouse. I would forget to return to organizing if I stopped to repair something.

Good Luck~

Ria said...

When my daughter and grandchildren moved here from another state, I had no choice but to organize the garage.
I did like Anne suggested, I pulled everything out. While it was out on the driveway, I had the opportunity to not only see what was in there, but I was able to put like things together.
I had a set of cabinets that were just laying out there and had been there for a couple of years. I put those up and used them
Once everything was out and sorted together, I used some of Marcia's suggestions on de-clutter, and the map of what I wanted things to look like. That worked for the most part. What I found to be amazing was after all boxes that I emptied were thrown away, and if it was broken, it was out of there was done, the overwhelm went away.
I worked on the garage from 5:30pm until 1:30am Saturday, and started again on Saturday morning at 7:30am and worked until midnight that night. I finalized everything by 4:00pm Sunday. It was a lot of hours and hard work. My end result is that I now have a shop on one side and the other is actually used for the power tool area.
Next summer's goal is the upstairs. It is currently used as a play area for the kids and storage for seasonal things.
I hope this helps.

Marcia Francois said...

Nicole and Ria, thanks for the great tips!

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