I always start the organizing process with a free consultation because the best way for me to understand the project and my client is face to face. A few weeks ago a couple called me and asked me to stop by to take a look at their garage, it had been 2+ years since it was functional and they really needed the extra storage space. We chatted about their organizing goals for a bit and then they took me outside to see the garage and I was instantly excited. There were boxes stacked to the ceiling and I could hardly tell how big the garage was. Most people would run away from such a big task but I love a challenge.
I try to provide an estimate of how long I think a project will take to complete and based on my 8 years of experience I am a pretty good guesser. Because my clients were so motivated to make change and the size of the project, I suggested that we schedule three consecutive 5 hour sessions. That way we could keep the momentum going and get to all three stages of organizing (sorting, space planning, storing).
We set up folding tables in the front yard on our first work day and pulled all of the boxes out of the front section of the garage. It turns out that the garage was divided into 2 parts, the front space was a storage space and the back space was finished and had the potential to serve as a craft room/office. Here is a look at the front of the garage before and after…
My clients already owned great shelving so we set up the left side of the room to house the freezer and extra pantry and household items. Everything is neatly organized on the shelves so they can easily take a quick inventory of what they have in stock.
On the right side we stored the holiday decorations, extra clothes for the kids, tools, luggage, and kids artwork. My clients still need to sort through the artwork on the bottom shelf and put it in plastic bins (a task on their list of homework).
We had tons of extra bins left over once we sorted and purged. Because I like continuity we picked the bins that functioned and looked the best and donated the rest. The shelves look more uniform and less cluttered. Over time my clients will make another pass through the items to continue to downsize but for now the shelves look great.
Tip! Installing shelving will help maximize your storage potential and the bins will give you limitations on what you can keep.
Tip! Label all of the bins so everyone in your family will be able to find what they are looking for and put items away in the correct place. Don’t worry about creating pretty labels, pick up a label maker for $25 or use blank address labels and a marker.
Now for the back of the garage. The were boxes stacked sky high and I couldn’t tell that there was furniture under all of the piles before we got started. On day 2 we began to sort through everything in this room (also pulling it out onto the folding tables in the front yard). It took longer to get through this room but by the end of the second day we had made it through just about every box. On the morning of day three we sorted through the remaining boxes and I spent the rest of the day organizing, storing, and labeling everything they wanted to keep. Here is the before…
And the after! Doesn’t it look dramatically different. This part of the garage will make the perfect home office and craft room for my clients. We took advantage of the existing shelving on both sides of the room to store books and craft supplies.
We still have changes to make in this room but I am thrilled with the results so far. My clients plan to move the little antique desk inside to their daughter’s room a replace it with a craft table.
We divided up all of the craft supplies and put them in clear labeled shoe boxes. It will be a while before my clients need to shop for supplies because they are well stocked!
There were book shelves lining the left wall that were cluttered. We removed everything that wasn’t a book, donated unwanted books, dusted the shelves, and rearranged the remaining books so they would look neater.
Tip! Clean as you organize! I always have Clorox wipes in my bag of tricks so I can wipe down shelving, bins, and toys, etc..
Mrs. Blanton says
Great job. Makes me want to move some stuff around in mine now.
mommysguiltypleasures.blogspot.com
Charlene@APinchofJoy says
Great to see the huge difference in the before and afters — love all the little tips about how to move toward the “after”! I would love it if you would consider linking to Busy Monday at A Pinch of Joy, a Sunday through Thursday link party for ideas that make life easier, better and more fun!
Amanda says
You did a great job! It must be great for them to have that space back and for it to serve a purpose now. I loved the bookshelves and all of those books. They must of had a lot for them to have that many and you said you donated some. Love the before and after posts.
Amanda Kuzak says
My client's mother was a librarian so they have lots of neat vintage books on the shelves along with more modern reads. We did get donate several boxes of books they no longer use like parenting books.
Anonymous says
You're amazing. Your pictures always inspire me. Can you tell me what you put in that rolling cart with the multi-colored pull out drawers? I inherited one from someone who was moving. I've never been able to find a good use for it. I was about to get rid of it until I saw you had used it here.
Liz from Colorado
Amanda Kuzak says
Hey Liz! We used the multi-colored drawers for scrap booking stuff like stamps, ink, and paper.
Anonymous says
Excellent job as usual.
Jennifer says
This post was encouraging! Organizing the garage is on our list of things to tackle. We were given shelving for Christmas and now that it's warming up we're ready to put it together and get started!
Melissa says
Wow, great transformation!