Las Vegas organizers offer tips for cleaning up your garage
What is the purpose of your garage? Historically, garages were built to house cars. Typically, they house our past triumphs, present troubles and future aspirations, from yearbooks and tax receipts to elliptical machines.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, the average person loses six weeks a year searching for stuff they know is somewhere in the house. The U.S. Department of Energy has even chimed in on American’s ill use of the humble garage, showing that only 25 percent of those of us with two-car garages actually park either, or any, vehicle in the garage due to the amount of material crowding that space.
Most people are terrified of what they know is lurking under the piles of sedentary stuff they store in the garage, said Lindsay Cleveland, professional organizer and owner of Life. Organized.
“Your garage should be a space that welcomes you home, not a place to avoid,” the longtime local said. “It is the first thing you see after a long day of work, and it should bring you joy. You should not have to climb over a pile of trash, a dozen storage boxes and fishing gear you have never used before you can walk inside. Also, you should be able to use your garage for its intended purpose of housing your car.”
Being organized is about living without clutter and making daily life — the hunt for keys, important papers or last year’s pool toys — run smoother.
“It saves you time because you never waste time looking for things again,” Cleveland said. “It saves you money because you stop buying missing things over and over again. It saves you sanity because you don’t go crazy wondering where your phone is.”
It’s not the fault of the garage, but its owners.
“Most people give each room in their home a defined use,” Cleveland said. “For example, the guest room houses guests. The dining room is for eating.”
Often designated as the lowliest space in the house, the garage typically struggles under double or triple duties, particularly in such a transient town as Las Vegas.
“The garage serves as a storage unit, a tool shed, an exercise room, a place for sports equipment and, hopefully, a place to park cars,” Cleveland said. “Because of that, it ends up with a lot more stuff in it.”
The lady of the house shares equal blame for the garage mess, although often spends more time pointing fingers than pairing down piles.
“I find that it is about a 50/50 split between the men and women,” Cleveland said. “Men may have more sports equipment or hobby items, but women have more keepsakes and holiday decorations.”
Decluttering is a matter of a little investigating and examining of your stuff, your needs and your wants.
“Ask yourself if you need it, use it or love it, and, if not, get rid of it,” Cleveland said. “Also, stop buying all the stuff. We don’t need half of what we buy.”
Organizing a home or garage is life-changing and cost effective.
“They feel physically lighter afterward,” Cleveland said. “Being disorganized costs us time, money and sanity.”
She has encountered many clients with three- and four-car garages stuffed to the finished ceiling with broken furniture, boxes of unlabeled junk with layers of untouched dust and bits and pieces of memorabilia, most of which hasn’t seen the light of day in decades.
“Clients will let their Porsche sit out in the Las Vegas sun but keep their high school yearbooks in their air-conditioned garage without even thinking about it,” Cleveland said. “Most of the time, all that needs to be done is to install a few built-ins, take a trip to the donation center, put out a large pile of trash, and an organizer can have it cleaned out in about two days.”
A garage storage system allows you to store and locate your stuff and still leave room for the car, or cars, said professional organizer Tanya Allason, owner of Release Your Clutter.
She recommends adding organizational products, from a few dollars for extra bins you can pick up at the dollar store to wall hook systems from home stores to hang gardening tools or sports equipment. Or go for the high-end and be the envy of your neighbors by adding painted floors, installing cabinets and mounting overhead storage bins from professional installers that can hold hundreds of pounds of your organized holiday decorations and personal paraphernalia.
“It creates a sense of space when everything is organized and put away,” said Allason, who has been based in Las Vegas for more than a decade. “Shelving, racks or cabinets add usable storage space for items that are rarely used or not needed but that you want to be kept (safe).”
It can also significantly increase the value of the home.
“People who are buying homes normally like to see a garage with storage systems,” she said. “It’s one less job they have to do when they move in. Painting a wall or/and the floor will enhance the look and feel of the garage and makes it stand out and memorable, especially if your home is in a long line of homes being viewed by potential buyers.”
The idea that the garage is an extension of the living space rather than the dumping ground of years past is catching on, she said, however, it easily converts to a temporary storage space for friends and family at the slightest provocation.
“Most often things are put into the garage, never to be seen or used again,” Allason said. “It’s a graveyard of assorted old or broken appliances, repair projects, memorabilia and clothing that has seen better days. The past piles up and takes over the space that was once your garage.”
If you are tired of tripping over the piles, take it slow and easy when attacking the years of matter that has collected in the garage.
“You can set aside small amounts of time to go through particular areas in the garage when you notice it is beginning to get out of control, overwhelming to look at or you are spending a lot of time looking for something,” Allason said.
Once organized, you’d be amazed at the difference it can make in your daily life, she said.
“You can find things easily and quickly versus taking a whole afternoon, spending copious amounts of time in the garage during the Las Vegas summer, sweating and panting,” Allason said. “You save money by not buying duplicates of what you already own and you’re able to park your car in the place that was intended for it and keep it out of the heat.”