Garages, while meant as a space to park a vehicle, sometimes take on the role of storage space. If you are selling your home, clear out the garage so your potential buyer can see all the space they will have available.

The garage can be handy place to store those holiday decorations, a few boxes of books, last season’s wardrobe, kids’ toys and more. However, garage space can quickly be taken up and soon you are parking out in the driveway!

Declutter Your Garage

Designate areas or boxes into categories, such as Keep, Donate, Sell, Recycle, and Trash, for your decluttering task. As you declutter, move items into the appropriate category. This will help keep you on track and moving forward with your decluttering.

Assess

After you pare down, assess what you have left.

Move your vehicle(s) into the garage to see how much space you have. Do you need to declutter more, or will your vehicle(s) and your belongings fit well into the space once organized?

Organize

Choose the type of organization that works for your needs. Clear storage containers let you quickly see what is inside. Peg boards and slat walls can hold long-handled tools or other equipment. A wire rack or shelving unit can be another good option.

After you decide how you would like to organize your belongings, measure to see how these organization items will fit into your garage space once your vehicle is parked inside.

Maintain

Once you have your car in your garage and your belongings squared away, it’s important to maintain that beautiful, organized garage space. When you have something that needs to be stored, resist the urge to “just put it in the garage for now.”

As you clear out your garage, you create a great organizational system to utilize. If you no longer need something, donate, sell, recycle, or get rid of the item.

If you are selling your home, clearing out your garage will not only allow your potential buyer to see all the available space they will have, but it will help you, too. Think of all the time you will save by having an organized garage. Plus, you won’t have as much to pack and move!