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Winter is quickly approaching and it is time to start thinking about turning over your gardening gear to your snow gear. I know, you must think I am crazy because it is 20 degrees outside but you really need to consider that we are now officially in October. It time to tackle that larger the life project…you know the one… Yes, you know what am I referring to: THE GARAGE!
Here are a few tips to get you started.
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Pick a day. Mark it on your calendar, say Saturday, October 12, 2013 (or whatever day suits your calendar). That will be the day that you will tackle the mess that is your garage. Stop putting off what you know you have to do before the end of fall.
Empty everything from your garage. Yes, you heard me… empty the entire space.Take everything out and put like items in piles. For example all your sports gear in one pile, gardening tools in another, car products in another.
If you are having a garage sale make a commitment to have it the next weekend and plan a rain date if the original date falls through. Don’t put this off and wait until the spring. This appointment will give you a clear time frame that you must work within. If you have called the paper and put up the signs advertising your event, you are less likely to back out.
Call a charity to have them pick up your big ticket items. If you decide that having a garage sale is too much, then you need to make an appointment to have someone pick up your stuff! Don’t put it back into the garage or cover it with a tarp… get rid of your stuff. Make sure to call around as some charities only pick up clothes and small appliances.
Use Freecycle, Kijiji or Craigslist to give away or sell your stuff. 
Using Freeclycle, you will be providing your unwanted items – for free. You are giving it away.
Using Kijiji or Craiglist or EBay, you will be selling your items. It will be time consuming but if you insist on making money on the stuff that you have not used for years, knock yourself out. Remember, take good, clear pictures of your items and upload them to your website of choice. Wait for a response. The only caveat is you must give away or sell these items by a specific date. Pick November 2, 2013 . This is key to the success of your organizing project.
Install a system (wall track, wall organizers, bins, shelving) that will help you find a place for everything and everything in its place. A system gets some getting use to but if you consistently repeat a good behaviour, you will create a ‘good habit’ of putting things away. If you do not set up a system, you will be doing this all over again next year.
If you are still stuck and cannot seem to motivate yourself to do this task, call me I can help… this is what I do for a living… helping people DOWNSHIFT (or voluntarily simplify their lives). Whatever you do…don’t put all that stuff back into your garage. I can also help you find a professional organizer in your neck of the woods. I have lots of organizing friends… I mean lots and lots…
Take the time to tackle the garage because your car deserves to be sheltered in the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Seriously, you spend tens of thousand of dollars on your vehicle. Don’t you think it deserves to be treated better then the junk that is currently occupying your garage?
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Good tips, having the car in the garage is especially important in the climate I live in (Calgary) where it gets extremely cold ~ nobody wants to climb into a freezing car either.
I have no garage but I do this exact thing with my storage room each year and all our bedrooms and always donate. Apartment life keeps me away from any independent yard sales. Sometimes neighbors and stuff will all pool our stuff each year.
Love #7, Margarita…if all else fails, enlist help. Brilliant! Just love your list. You make it sound so easy.
I am always amazed at the number of people who use their garage for everything BUT their cars. I was without one for several years and I didn’t miss the storage space; I missed being able to protect my car from not only the weather, but vandals. Never again!