so…this happened today.

{before}

{after}

our garage is by far the messiest room in our house. all the time. i want to run into the house when i get out of the car, except if i did that i would trip over something. there are somethings along every wall and all over the floor and even under the car.

“garage” was on my {our} to do list for this week. we have to be able to fit both cars in and it is getting cold. but it was one of those to do’s that i didn’t really think i would do. it was super overwhelming in my head. last night i told my husband we were doing the garage. he said let’s do it another day. then he said he thought it would be rainy, we didn’t have the time, it could wait a few more weeks. i had the same excuses in my head.

at 9:30 this morning i said, c’mon. let’s do it. it will only take an hour. famous last words. he said ok. i was kinda hoping he would argue. two and a half hours later we reached our goal. it was long and it was dirty and it was hard. we did not get along the whole time. but i have to say most of my best clean-up-and-get-organized projects happen on a whim when i really really don’t want to do them. and we didn’t spend a dime {yet}!

here’s how we did it:

first step, clear everything out. yes. everything. everything off the floor and everything off every shelf. my husband didn’t agree either but it was the only way to start fresh.

next step, sweep. keven and E were in charge of this and it involved a broom, dust pan, and shop vac. i have to say, when keven puts his mind to something he really goes for it. i was not going near those windowsills with a wipe. ew. or the old wasp nest in the corner. ew. keven got out the ladder, cleaned the blinds, the window sills, every nook and cranny, and the wasp nest {which apparently had turned into a spider’s nest}. ew.

now that everything was out, it all had to come back in. i have to say this lover of organization was very overwhelmed. keven kept telling me to get started. i kept telling him i was thinking. what i was thinking was i had no idea how to get all that stuff back in. i just wanted to put a sign out that said “free” and let people come take everything so i could have a nice-all-cleared-out garage. for obviously reasons that was not going to work. one foot in front of the other…

i made an attic pile and keven took care of that. he only almost fell off the ladder once.

i put all the big things in first – cozy coop car, trash cans, lawn mower, trimmer, blower, strollers, bikes, tricycle, babydoll stroller, and ziggle. those were actually easier than the smaller things.

i threw lots of small things away. the kids were happily playing with friends with all the “treasures” in the yard {till about the second hour when they both melted down} so i quickly put things in the trash and goodwill bin. the goodwill bin went right in the car. our trash bin is totally full.

i made a pile of things that were other people’s. i slowly started organizing the smaller things into categories, which was by far the hardest part. how in the world do we have so many small toys and random garage things? categories included balls, cars/trucks, puzzles, little people farm, bubbles, picnic blankets, stroller accessories, old towels, folding chairs, umbrellas, gardening tools, cords, trash bags, bug/insect/cleaning sprays, car cleaning/upkeep, and air pumps. i reused crates and other containers for the items and placed them on existing shelves. one of the best things about our garage are these hooks along the wall. the rubbermaid strip was here when we moved in and we have gradually purchased more hooks. it is hands down our best garage organization tool.

in a perfect world i would go out now and buy 12 of the same size aqua or gray crates to replace the mismatched {but free} storage containers i used today. i would also buy {and pay someone to install} some above our car storage. i would paint the garage. i would lay plywood in the attic for more space. but for now, two cars in + organized for free = mission accomplished. my husband keeps making fun of me because of how happy i am when i pass the garage. anyone have any tricks for keeping your garage organized??

:: before and afters ::

{right side before}

{right side after}

{right corner before}

{right corner after}

{back wall before}

{back wall after}

{left corner before}

{left corner after}

{whole garage before and after}

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