Spring Cleaning Your Garage with NBC10

Click here to watch my segment with Emily Volz of WJAR NBC10.

When the weather gets warmer, it's time to head to the garage and get it cleaned out for the season!

Of course, you might want to park your car in the garage, but aside from that the garage is a convenient place to store outdoor gear. That means making space for both lawn and garden tools and sports gear.

The first thing to do is actually clean the garage. It doesn't need to be pristine like the interior of your house, but it's a good idea to work from top to bottom (ceiling to floor) and banish the cobwebs, dust, leaves, and other debris that accumulates. A good wool duster works well and an extendable one will help you reach to the top of the ceiling.

Use cleaning wipes or a microfiber cloth to get the dust off of boxes and bins. Sweep the floor to evict the leaves and whatever dust that fell off the bins you just cleaned. Finally, open the doors and give the space a good airing out.

Now that the cleaning is done, let the organizing begin!

The goal with organizing the garage is accessibility. To take advantage of the few months of good weather, you'll want to be able to grab what you need and go.

• Make the snowblower trade spaces with the lawnmower.
• Hang items such as rakes and shovels on the side walls of the garage. Put the rakes closer to the garage doors now and the shovels toward the back. Next season, swap this positioning so you'll be ready for snow.
• Put bicycles within easy reach. If you want to hang them on hooks, make sure you can get them down easily. Otherwise, just park them near the garage door.
• Hang bike helmets on their matching bike so they're easily identified and not forgotten.
• Use large plastic bins (preferably clear and weather proof) to create kits of sporting gear: beach kit, soccer kit, camping kit, fishing kit, etc.
• Store the bins on sturdy garage shelving that fits the bins for easy accessibility without much wasted space. Shelves make it so that bins don't have to be stacked on top of each other, which makes them difficult to access.
• Use more bins to make kits for gardening, lawn care, and general household maintenance (i.e. tools).
• Hang beach chairs and beach umbrellas on hooks along the wall.

After you've finished spring cleaning the garage, be sure to reward yourself: ride the bikes, take a walk, or plant some lovely flowers!