The changing of the seasons is a great time to get reorganized.  Fall is the perfect time to clean up your garage because it’s probably seen a lot of use throughout the summer and you’ll find it hard to motivate yourself to spend time out there once the snow and cold weather hits.  Although you can drag out a garage cleaning for several weeks, it’s in your best interest to concentrate it into a single weekend. Use these Garage Cleaning Tips to coordinate a quick and efficient cleaning of your garage.

Plan According To Others’ Schedules

Check the schedules of your local recycling centers, charity shops, and garbage dumps and use their opening hours to plan your itinerary.  The last thing you want is for a pile of garbage and donatable items to be sitting around for yet another season. If you know you won’t be able to drop off recyclables on a Sunday, plan your cleanup to ensure you can cart them all off while the center is still open.  

Divide The Piles

When sorting through the various items contained in your garage, sort them into piles according to what you want to keep, what you want to sell or give away, what needs to be recycled, and what needs to be thrown away.  This process will allow you to assess the contents of the garage and give you a clear idea of what to do with everything once it’s sorted. Get rid of your recyclables, donatable, and garbage as the various opening times allow, and worry about the keepers and sellers outside these open-for-business times.

Clean The Floor

Once you’ve gotten rid of the majority of the stuff you’re no longer keeping. You probably have a lot more room to clean the floor.  Give it a good sweep and/or vacuum. If you want to treat your floor with more care such as painting it, getting rid of stains, or going for a full resurface, now is the time to do it.  It is unlikely you will have access to the entire floor surface until the next time you undertake a full garage cleaning.

Storage Solutions

Now is the time to come up with storage solutions for the items you’re planning on keeping.  You may already have spaces to place everything or you may need to come up with new storage areas.  Just ensure everything has a home so in the future you know exactly where to find it and where to put it back.

For Sale

For the things you think you can sell, it is in your best interest to immediately take pictures and post online ads.  By storing these items, you significantly decrease the chance you’ll pull them out again in the hopes of selling them on.  Take advantage of having them out in the light of day to take good photos. Spend your Sunday evening posting the ads and hope for money to roll in the following week!