Do you park in your garage or is it the place you throw stuff you don't need right now? Has cleaning the garage turned into a two week process that you are dreading? Learn how to plan, gather supplies, and mobilize your family to get the garage well packed and gleaming.
Difficulty: Average
Time Required: 4-6 Hours
Here's How:
- Plan. Come up with a goal that can be accomplished within your available time frame. Find rewards and ideas that can help your family feel motivated to get busy. Plan the cleanup for a day when all able family members will be home.
- Advertise. Make small notes detailing the location, goals, date, and time frame for the Family Clean-up day. Be sure to add the fun details that will accompany the day. Tape them to each family member's door. Discuss the ideas over dinner the week before.
- Gather Supplies. Trying to go to the home improvement store on the day of the cleanup will only eat away at your time. Take an inventory of the garage. Get a notepad and write down the problem areas. Follow the steps in the Beginning Organization Article to gain an idea of how to go about planning. Gather your supplies.
- Last Minute Prep. The day before your cleanup, pick up last minute supplies. Create a general plan of attack for the garage. Refer back to your planning in step 3.
- Attack the Mess. With your supplies, motivated workers, and plan, you’ll be ready to take back your garage from the clutter. Work from these basic categories. Trash, Give Away, Short-Term Storage, Long-Term Storage.
- Enjoy the Rewards. Treat your family and yourself to something special.
Tips:
- Setup and organize the supplies before the start time. Trying to run around the house finding where you put the packing tape will cut into your time.
- Don't forget snacks for your family. Try to pick out some favorites for your hard workers.
- If you have a large crew, you might be able to divide family members into teams. There is nothing wrong with throwing a little bit of healthy competition into the mix.
- Have one of the adults drop off the "give away" pile to a local donation center. Check ahead for dropoff times and items accepted. Other family members can put the finishing touches on the garage while items are dropped off.
- Try not to get distracted while unpacking, packing, sorting, and organizing. Do take a little time to reminisce and joke. Your family will remember this event with happiness if there is laughter present during the work.
What You Need:
- Notepad and pencil for planing.
- Informal invitations for the family.
- Home improvement supplies, shelves, boxes, etc.
- Snacks for break times.
- Reward for hard work.
