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Drive Out Garage Clutter

By Amy Rogers Nazarov - Cooking LightSeptember 1st 2008

Make this often-overlooked space more usable for the entire family.

 

Although you likely spend less time in the garage than in any other place in your home, it may well offer the most potential for positive change. "I’ve worked with many clients whose homes are tidy and clutter-free, but whose garages tend to become a catch-all for items they aren’t sure where else to store," says Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big House series. "The objects are often bulky, such as a dog crate, or seasonal, such as a canoe or mountain bike. It’s easy to forget that seldom-used items like these are consuming valuable garage space."  

 

With careful planning and a few targeted purchases, you can implement systems in your garage that will help you maximize its multiple functions—now, and as your storage needs evolve.

 

Step one: Take stock

 

First, evaluate the contents of your garage, Susanka says. Start with your cars: Ensure there’s enough clearance to park and get in and out. Then remove items you probably should have purged years ago.

 

"If you haven’t used your camp stove in three years, that’s a good indication you can get rid of it," says Barry Izsak, author of Organize Your Garage in No Time and past president of the National Association of Professional Organizers. Izsak is a nationally recognized garage organizer with an organizing business in Austin, Texas. Donate items in good condition—organizations such as Goodwill can often arrange to pick up your donations curbside—or plan a garage sale to turn them into cash.

 

Next, plan a thorough cleaning. "It makes your garage more approachable and less overwhelming. You’ll unearth items you love but had forgotten you had, and those it’s clearly time to discard," Susanka says. Consider hiring a cleaning service, or enlist family to help.

 

Walk through other rooms in your house to see if they contain any underutilized furniture that can be repurposed in the garage. "An old entertainment center might be turned into a work area," Izsak, the garage guru, says. "If you’re replacing your kitchen cabinets, the old ones can be refitted in the garage."  

 

Step two: Sketch your plans

 

After you’ve identified the items you want to keep and cleared away the ones you don’t, determine where your things will go. "Think of the garage in terms of zones," Izsak says. "Consider a zone for sporting goods, another for making repairs or painting, another for camping gear or lawn and garden supplies."

 

Take the opportunity to reclaim little-used areas. "The most often overlooked storage space in a garage is the ceiling," says Rick Peters, author of Garage Makeovers. "Hooks screwed into ceiling joists offer storage opportunities." For seasonal clothing storage, for example, consider using a pair of J-shaped hooks to hold a dowel from which you can suspend garment bags on hangers. Two caveats: Check the number of pounds for which different sized hooks are rated before you buy, and use an electronic stud finder to ensure you are driving the hook into a stud or joist capable of safely supporting the weight of the items you intend to suspend.

 

Step three: Customize for your needs

 

Homeowners often rely on whatever storage components—panels of pegboard or metal shelves, for example—previous owners left, Izsak says. While these may help you corral a few items, there are well-priced products that will help solve your storage needs based on your pastimes and hobbies.

 

"Easy access is key to a garage that meets your family’s needs," says Jennifer Usselman, interior designer for the 2008 Cooking Light FitHouse in Portland, Oregon. Choose components like ball caddies or shoe racks that can be hung at different heights as children grow—making it easier for them to retrieve toys or put away boots unassisted. As your family’s activities change, storage accessories can be designated for new uses. Function and practicality win out over aesthetics, but the storage systems you pick can make the space significantly more visually appealing than if everything were stored out in the open, Susanka says.

 

And orderly systems make it easier for people to develop orderly habits. "When you start out organized, you tend to stay organized," Usselman says.

 

 

Garage Reorganization Not Something to Dread

By Adrian Sainz - Associated PressAugust 25th 2008

Few household activities inspire more dread than reorganizing the garage. Americans' garages are filled with the requirements and detritus of daily life—paint cans, golf bags, bicycles, dusty trophies, power tools, old clothes, boxes of moldy magazines. Sometimes it gets so stuffed the family car doesn't fit anymore.

 

If garage organization is on the agenda, there are several approaches to take, whether you tackle it yourself, or need some help disposing of and organizing your belongings. Homeowners can attack the job at a variety of price levels, from less than $100 for small do-it-yourself jobs to the tens of thousands of dollars for a custom-made system from a garage reorganization company.

 

Lori Sadaka, who lives in the upscale suburb of Weston, outside of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, spent about $20,000 on her three-car garage. HouseWall Garage System installed hanging bins and baskets, heavy duty cabinets, new flooring, ceiling fans and even a sensor that tells you when to stop driving the car into the garage. She said she was embarrassed by the way her garage looked and encourage people of any budget to take the plunge if they get fed up. She is parking her car in the garage for the first time in 15 years.

 

"We were just afraid to touch anything. Everything was dirty," she said. "Getting things off the floor and being able to see it was a big attraction." She's clearly part of a trend: sales of garage organization products totaled about $750 million in 2006, up from about $500 million in 2001, according to HomeWorld Business Magazine's Houseware Census.

 

The cheapest way to reorganize, of course, is to do-it-yourself. But there are several essential steps, including product selection, storage, disposal and design. First, the homeowner must decide what should be removed from the garage. Obvious things, like rusty lawnmowers or old carpets, are easier to get rid of than things with emotional value, like awards and books.

 

"Break the job down into small manageable pieces," said Barry Izsak, author of Organize Your Garage in No Time. "You didn’t accumulate all that clutter overnight, so you won't be able to organize it all overnight either. But it takes a lot less time to undo the 10 years of clutter than to accumulate it."

 

Izsak, a garage organizing specialist in Austin, Texas, says that after deciding what stays, separate the room into zones—lawn and garden, sports, cleaning and maintenance, a work area with a workbench, memorabilia. Next, it's time to think about storage options, which can get tricky. Homeowners should ponder how they want to store things—either in cabinets or on hooks, in see-through or non-transparent drawers—before buying anything.

 

Marc Shuman, president of GarageTek Inc., says, "The best place to start a DIY project is online." Homeowners can easily find affordable storage products on the Internet or in hardware stores that, while not specifically designed for garages, still can be used there. Those include plastic containers that sell for less than $30 in a variety of sizes, or basic wall shelving that's adjustable and costs less than $60. Some are made of weaker materials such as particle board, while others can be made of more durable materials such as fiber board, heavy-duty plastic or metal.

 

If people are looking to spend less than $500, things such as peg boards and adjustable chrome racks are useful, Izsak said. This Austin garage organizer says that it's wise for those on a strict budget to consider "redeploying" unwanted cabinets or furniture for use in garage storage. Those include old kitchen cabinets, wall units, desks, drawers from bedroom furniture and bookcases. "You can have a long lasting solution without spending a ton of money," Izsak said.

 

Meanwhile, several companies sell individual storage products or complete systems that are designed specifically for the garage, but still require self-installation. Products include everything from wall mounts for hanging tools and bicycles, to workbenches and cabinets that have legs or can be mounted on walls to keep them off the ground for safety and clutter reduction. These products are sold at retailers or at company web sites and include Gladiator Garage Works by Whirlpool Corp., Husky, ClosetMaid and Rubbermaid. Individual cabinets can cost up to $700 or more, while workbenches can be found at $600, with smaller tool caddies coming in at less than half that price.

 

In 2006, Consumer Reports reviewed garage organizers. It warned consumers that some products can be hard to install or have confusing instructions. But it praised products from Schulte and Rubbermaid that use tracks or rails that allow for easy hanging of shelves, camping gear, and tools.

 

Entire garage-only, self-installed systems can run up to $3,500 or more. Several companies, including GarageTek, California Closets and Premier Garage not only sell and design high-end organization systems, but also install and even assist in reorganizing the garage. Both Syosset, N.Y.-based GarageTek and HouseWall in Fort Lauderdale offer specially designed grooved wall paneling that hold hooks to hang bikes and ladders, and elevated cabinets, bins and baskets. They also install flooring, lighting, workbenches and other accessories. These installations can get expensive: The average cost of a garage remodel for GarageTek was $8,500, Shuman said.

 

Local franchises send a team to the home to inspect the garage. A remodeling plan is agreed upon by the client: Many companies use 3-D computer renderings to establish a design. Workers install the system, but it’s still wise to hire a professional organizer to help you put the stuff back in order. Both GarageTek and HouseWall Garage System will also cart away the stuff you don't want. Shuman said, "It's a full-blown home improvement that adds value."

Featured Articles

How to Give the Garage Back to Your Car

By Sharon Harvey Rosenberg - The Miami HeraldMarch 16th 2008

The family garage is probably the most used and abused room in a home.

 

''The average American two-car garage has basically become a no-car garage because it's crammed full of so much clutter,'' says Barry Izsak, author of Organize Your Garage In No Time (Que Publishing, $16.95) and a well-known garage organizing expert. Izsak is a professional organizer in Austin, Texas and founded his own professional organizing company called Arranging It All in 1996 that specializes in organizing garages.

 

Fortunately, it doesn't cost much to organize the family garage, says Izsak, who is also the immediate past president of the National Association of Professional Organizers.

 

Here are a few low-cost solutions:

 

• Think. How is the garage used (workroom, storage, extra kitchen)? Do you want or need to change its use? Are you effectively using the floor and walls?

 

• Pick easy targets. Toss out the rusty wheelbarrow and the 10-year-old magazines.

 

• Learn from the kitchen. Kitchens have built-in organizational systems such as the refrigerator, cabinets and drawers. Create a system for organizing your garage.

 

• Create zones. Use a hardware store model to solve the turf war among craft materials, sports equipment and lawn supplies.

 

''Keep similar things together,'' says Suzy Wilkoff, owner of Tasks Unlimited, a professional organizing service in Miami and president of the NAPO-South Florida chapter.

 

• Find a new purpose for the old furniture in your garage, Izsak says. A discarded entertainment center can be recycled as a work bench. Compartments in baby furniture or old desks can be used to store items.

 

• Organize a garage sale or donate unwanted items to charity. The family garage should be purged and organized once or twice a year, Wilkoff says. Enlist the help of a professional organizer if you can’t do it on your own.

 

And finally, ''Save room in your garage for at least one car,'' Wilkoff says. ``That's what it was built for.''

 

 

Tips on Closet Renewal

By Eils Latozo - Philadelphia InquirerSeptember 14th 2007

Contemplating a closet revamp? Here are some things to consider:  

 

Purge your current holdings. "Ideally, before you have a new closet designed, you need to get rid of things you are not really wearing," says Barry Izsak, Immediate Past President of the National Association of Professional Organizers. His company, Arranging It All, designs and installs Elfa® custom closets in Austin, Texas.

"The closet designer is going to have a misconception if you have 100 pairs of shoes but you know you need to get rid of 50,” says this closet organizing expert.

 

"Get rid of anything you have not worn in a year or two, and anything in disrepair," says Izsak. "You shouldn't be holding on to those size 4s if you're now a 14. And how many pairs of black pants or ties do you really need?"

 

Look for a company with a long track record. If you're going the custom route, this is critical, says Mike Carson, president of the Association of Closet and Storage Professionals. And always ask for referrals.

 

Also key, Carson says, is finding a company that employs its own installers. "You want someone who is invested in the company, not a subcontractor who may be doing this between painting jobs."

 

Any closet designer who comes to your house should ask lots of questions, he says. "They need to ask the customer what they are trying to achieve, what do they hate and what do they love about their current system. Are they just looking to maximize storage and easy accessibility, or also looking for aesthetics?"

 

Is a closet redo even necessary? "A lot of the time, I tell people, 'You don't need a new closet at all. Maybe your existing closet would work fine if you look at it differently,' " says Izsak, a well-known closet organizer in the central Texas area.

 

Short on hanging space? Fold those polo shirts and jeans and put them in a drawer, Izsak says.

 

Is your long-hang space largely wasted? Turn it into a double-hang area with a clothes rod that can hang under your existing rod, this closet organization specialist says.

 

Lacking shelves for folded items? Izsak suggests bringing in a chest of drawers or a spare bookcase, if you have the room. Or buy wire or canvas hanging shelves that attach to a clothes rod.

 

And create space by rotating clothes out seasonally, stowing them in boxes on upper shelves or in under-bed storage, he says. Rolling under-bed boxes can be a good place to park a surfeit of shoes, as can over-the-door shoe racks.

 

Overwhelmed by a messy closet? Izsak suggests hiring a professional organizer. "Spending the money on four to eight hours of an organizer's time is a lot less expensive than putting in a new closet."

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