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9 Step Plan to Start Off Fall With an Organized Garage

A woman sits on a box in a garage

The temperature starting to fall means now is the perfect time to get your garage organized. Depending on the number of items you have accumulated over the years, you may need to dedicate a whole day to this task or even an entire weekend. Of course, the more family members or friends you can get to help you with this task, the faster it will go. Let’s open those garage doors wide, let the autumn sunshine in, and get to organizing with the tips below.

  1. Wrap your head around the idea of decluttering every single section of your garage once and for all. This means going through every box and every item, even the boxes that have sat unopened since moving into your home. Leave nothing left unturned.
  2. Remove everything from your garage to start with a clean slate. It is helpful to begin the decluttering process by tossing anything you know at first glance that should be in the trash.
  3. Take advantage of an empty garage by tackling deep cleaning, maintenance, or upgrades that need to happen in the space. Sweep the floors, clean up stains, get rid of cobwebs, update the insulation, add some extra lighting or extra electrical outlets, and maybe give the floor some love by installing a protective epoxy floor coating.
  4. Now comes the challenging task of sorting through all your belongings. It is recommended to set up three areas to sort into piles to keep, to donate, and a pile to toss. Sorting everything into piles will allow you to see what is broken or outgrown and where you have duplicates. Take care of the trash and donation piles as soon as the sorting process is complete. The longer these items sit around, the more likely you will change your mind about getting rid of them. Plus, eliminating these piles first will allow for more room to organize all the keepers.
  5. The time has come to categorize and group like items. Storing these items together in the garage will save you frustration down the road when you are searching for a particular item.
  6. When thinking about garage storage systems, your goal is to keep the floor of your garage clear as much as possible. This will leave room to park your cars and also keep piles to a minimum—plan garage storage in a way that makes sense to you. Make sure you can get to your most-used gear with the least amount of effort.
  7. Take advantage of the available wall space. Pegboards, cabinets, wire grids, and shelving are all options for getting your gear up and off the ground. Open shelves tend to keep the garage tidier than closed cabinets, and they are easier to access and don’t allow for hidden messes like cabinets.
  8. The ceiling in your garage is also valuable square footage. A garage ceiling is a perfect place to hang bikes or suspend a hanging platform to place boxes of seasonal decorations or rarely used outdoor equipment.
  9. When all is said and done, stand back to admire your work. Then add reminders to your calendar for bi-monthly mini garage clean-out sessions to keep everything clean and organized.

Suppose you are working on a big reorganization project in your garage or any other area of your home and need temporary storage. In that case, a portable storage container can be a tremendous help. Give Zippy Shell a call or go online to see how we can make storage simple for you, no matter what your needs might be!

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How to Maximize the Space in Your Bathroom

bathroom

Is your bathroom feeling a little cramped? Small bathrooms can be a challenge and adding square footage through a renovation isn’t always an option. But you can use these tips to make your cozy space feel larger and stay more organized.

Give the Illusion of Space

There are several tips and techniques you can use to provide an expansive feeling in a small bathroom or any small space:

  • A monochromatic color scheme or even varying shades of the same color can make your bathroom feel larger. Soft, pale, neutral colors on the walls and floor will give the biggest illusion of space.
  • Use reflective surfaces like glass and mirrors. Replacing a shower curtain with a clear glass door will open up the shower space giving the appearance of a bigger overall area. Larger mirrors will bounce light from windows and create the illusion of more square footage.
  • Keep your floor space clear and uncluttered. Less breaking up of the floor lines equates to less visual chopping with your eyes. Also freeing up your floor space gives you more room to move around!  
  • Draw the eye upward with a fun light fixture, crown molding, tall window treatments, or high shelves.

Organizing Your Way to More Space

Even a large room that is cluttered will feel small, so let’s get organized:

  • Create storage where there once was none by adding floating shelves to your walls utilizing the vertical space. 
  • An over-the-toilet shelf or storage cabinet is a great space saver and will give you more storage options.
  • Installing floating shelves or recessed storage in the shower can keep all your shower necessities organized. Another option is to use a hanging shower caddy.
  • Use a Lazy Susan or other revolving storage underneath your bathroom cabinet to corral cleaning supplies or hair products.
  • When you are really low on storage options, find an alternate place in the house for things like medicine, first aid supplies, and extra rolls of toilet paper.

Zippy Shell’s portable storage containers are perfect for storing items from the home, giving you more space to renovate, rearrange, and organize. Check us out today for answers to any questions you may have!