You bought your dream house. It had enough storage for everything you could possibly want it to hold…until your family grew, and everyone had stuff that needed a place to stay. Then your garage got claimed as a storage room. The car was removed to the driveway, or maybe even the street. A shed was added out back for your tools. There are simple steps you can take to reclaim your garage today.
Envision Your Dream garage
The first step to take in reclaiming your garage is to envision how you want it to look. Start with everything you really want in the space: ceiling mounted storage racks, Wi-Fi boosters, a Smart TV, custom cabinets, the best garage floor epoxy to protect against spills. You name it, the idea goes into your dream garage vision.
Get the whole family involved and make a list of their requests. Don’t exclude anything because you think it might not be realistic. Circle the ones that you can’t live without. Underline the ones that would be nice to have. Cross out the ones that make no sense.
Develop a Plan of Action
Once you have the list narrowed down, develop a plan of action to bring your vision of reclaimed space to fruition. Consider the steps you will need to take and the best order to do them in. Write it down so you have a concrete schedule for your garage renovation.
Reclaim Your Space
Decluttering will likely fall early in the process. Get rid of everything that you don’t want in the garage any longer. Toss toys, games, tools, and anything else that is broken or doesn’t work. You may decide to have a garage sale to help get rid of the things that were spared from the trash but that you really don’t need or want any more.
Make Your Dream a Reality
Once you’ve gotten rid of trash and old or outgrown items, you can get a good idea of what type of storage you actually need in your garage. Check back on your list and decide which top picks will best hold the stuff that remains in your garage. That’s what you should go with. Before you put everything back, though, take a good look around. If you want to have the floor sealed or walls finished, now is the time to do it. Then you can add storage cabinets or shelving, replace your stuff, and pull the car into its new parking space.
