Garage Cleaning Guide: Clear the Space, Clean it Out, and Get Organised!

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For many, garage cleaning is an absolute nightmare! In retrospect, however, no one can be held responsible for the chaotic mess in one’s garage, other than the homeowners themselves. It’s a classic case of: “you’ve made your bed, now lie in it”. Of course, in this case, it means you’ve got to do something about it, not actually lie in it!

A garage typically accumulates miscellaneous items that don’t have alternative storage spaces; this creates clutter that soon gets out of hand because it’s hard to resist storing items in a haphazard manner when you are dealing with a space that is far from organised. Therefore, it’s always best to tackle garage cleaning and organising before it gets to a state where you feel overwhelmed by the mess every time you see it. Nevertheless, if you’ve neglected your garage for long enough and wish to get it cleared, cleaned, and organised without the help of the garage cleaning service, you’ve come to the right place!

In this guide, we will walk you through a couple of systematic steps to efficiently clean and organise your garage.

1. Prepare a Wide Open Space to Accommodate Items from Your Garage

It’s near impossible to organise or clean a garage efficiently without emptying it out first. Particularly in smaller spaces or garages that are cramped from all the stuff inside, attempting to organise within the four walls of the room can be very frustrating. 

To avoid a troublesome process like the one above, clear a wide enough space just outside the garage for everything from inside to be transferred there. The driveway is suitable for this if it isn’t sloping down. Alternatively, any side space near the garage like a lawn can also be used; basically any place that is within a few metres of the garage so that you don’t tire yourself out going back and forth.

How to Empty Your Garage in an Orderly Manner

Dragging stuff out and making a pile of garage items on your lawn is definitely not the right way to go about emptying your garage. In fact, organising a garage starts as soon as things come out of it. To understand what we mean, here are some useful tips to clear your garage efficiently. 

Keep Boxes, Tape, Garbage Bags and Plastic Storage Containers Handy

You will need these items to organise your garage more efficiently. From packing things in boxes and plastic storage containers, to garbage bags for getting rid of junk; it really speeds things along when you are prepared! 

Categorise Items

As you pull things out, organise them by category. For example, separate items to be donated, discarded and kept. You can go one step further to categorise items that you would like to pack in boxes, large items to be placed in the back, and so on. 

Carry Out Large Items First

In order to make space to move around more freely, carry out the big stuff first. If you have family or friends who are willing to help you with this, don’t turn down their offer! For smaller items, a wheelbarrow is handy to transport a bunch of items from your garage to their temporary holding place.

2. Sort Through Garage Items; Fill Up Boxes and Bags

Garage cleaning is the perfect time to re-evaluate the things you’ve been keeping in there. If you’ve got years’ worth of stuff accumulated in the garage, you will surely find a lot of it to be useless or unusable at this point. The average garage holds things like old and worn-out sports gear, broken or old appliances, rusted garden tools, and many more such items that you haven’t touched in years.

Although you have already grouped items by category, there will be some possessions that you haven’t given enough thought to and hence, ended up putting in the ‘keep’ pile. Well, we strongly suggest you re-evaluate belongings that are more than likely to never be used by anyone in your household and put them with your ‘donation’ pile instead.

When you’re satisfied with what stays and what goes, start filling up those donation boxes and garbage bags (for rubbish). Bear in mind that electronics should be disposed of properly and not thrown in the bin. Call a local e-waste company for assistance on how to get rid of old/broken electronics that cannot be used by anyone.   

3. Organise Your ‘Keeps’ in Boxes/Storage Containers

Stuff that is small enough to be stored in boxes or containers should definitely be organised in this manner as it will reduce clutter in your garage. Store similar items and/or things that you use more frequently together. Be sure to label the containers/boxes with their category name, or write out a table of contents to locate items more conveniently.

Fill up as many boxes or containers as possible, leaving only bigger garage items and a few other things to be stored as is. By this time, all the piles or grouped items will be organised and ready to go to their respective destinations, i.e. to be donated, discarded, and put back in the garage. Before that last one, though, you’ll need to clean the space!

4. Deep Clean Your Garage

Though garage cleaning is a tiring affair, it is well worth it in the end! Of course, if you go about cleaning in a systematic manner, it is always easier. The tips below will help you do just that!

Step-by-Step Garage Cleaning Tips

    1. Start from the Top – Remove cobwebs from the ceiling and corners with a long-handled broom; wipe the tops of cabinets or shelves; and quickly sweep the walls with a broom.
    2. Wipe Existing Furniture – Use a damp dust rag to clean cabinet doors, shelves and other furniture pieces that you may have in your garage.
    3. Sweep/Vacuum the Floor – For unfinished garage floors, sweeping is advised while vacuuming is better suited for smooth-finished (epoxy) floors. 
    4. Mop the Floor Mopping is optional; however, it helps to revitalise epoxy garage flooring. Use a mild floor cleaner for this or choose a product as per the type of finish you have. Unfinished cemented floors, on the other hand, are best cleaned by hosing them off. If you do choose to mop or wash your garage floor, you will have to wait for it to dry completely before you move on to the next step.

5. Put Things Back Neatly

After all the trouble you’ve taken, don’t end your garage cleaning on an untidy note! Although you will be tired and tempted to push boxes and containers back inside and deal with them another time, it’s best to finish what you started by placing things in a neat and organised manner. 

Boxes or containers that hold items that are not going to be used very often should be kept in the back or at the bottom while others are stacked on top of them (make sure that all the labels are facing outward). For large items, designate one wall or a corner of the garage to accommodate them. Store them by size; i.e. larger items at the back and smaller ones in front of them. If the donation boxes and garbage bags need to be dealt with later, store them on one side in your garage temporarily. 

With that, we’ve come to the end of our guide to clear, clean, and organise your garage! One important thing to note, however, is that some garages (depending on how much stuff you have) may require to be cleaned out and organised over a couple of days; therefore, if you lack time for this, it is best to call in a garage cleaning service for assistance.

Karen Saunders

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