Moving tips
Organizing Tips to Keep Your Garage Clutter-Free After a Move
By TLC Moving & Storage · Published 15 March 2021
Garages are great for extra storage space, but it’s easy to treat them as oversized junk drawers after a move. Tackle the clutter early, add shelves and hooks, purge before you move, and give everything its place.
Why the garage gets overlooked
Moving day is over; it’s time to unpack and settle into your new home; but your garage is now full of boxes, garbage, and clutter. It’s easy to overlook your garage on moving day.
Your primary focus is safely moving your family, yourself, and your belongings from point A to point B. Garages are great for extra storage space, but it’s easy to get in the habit of treating them as oversized junk drawers.
Keep the garage in order with four habits:
Don’t let things pile up
Invest in shelving units, hooks, and other storage systems
Plan ahead of your move
A place for everything and everything in its place
What ends up in the garage after a move
After moving day, the garage is where the boxes, garbage and clutter collect. It is where the “things that don’t have a place” go: old items you haven’t touched in months, plus recycling, equipment, tools and sports equipment. Garages are great for extra storage space, which is exactly why they so easily become oversized junk drawers.
Don’t let things pile up
The best way to avoid a mess is to avoid making one in the first place. This organizing tip is easier said than done (especially after a long move). Still, it makes a massive difference in the long run. More mess = more work to do.
Make a conscious effort to tackle the clutter sooner rather than later. Cleaning in small bursts can alleviate some of the stress and shrink your garage cleaning to-do list significantly. More ideas for settling in are in TLC's moving tips.
Invest in shelving units, hooks, and other storage systems
Stacking boxes against the wall or in the corner of your garage with a mental note to ‘sort’ or ‘unpack’ later can be a dangerous game to play. The next thing you know, three months have gone by, and your boxes are still where you left them – collecting dust.
Storage systems will become your best friend. They’re generally easy to install, get boxes and big items off the floors, and make it easier to start organizing.
Plan ahead of your move
Garages are notorious for being where the “things that don’t have a place” go to die. Before your move, go through your current garage and get rid of whatever you don’t use or haven’t touched in months. An excellent organizing tip is to avoid bringing old clutter that’ll only jumpstart new clutter.
Additionally, if you can set up shelves and storage systems in your new garage before moving day, that’ll be one less thing to do on the day of.
A place for everything and everything in its place
Before you dive into organizing, be sure you know what you have and where it’s going. Map out your garage and divide everything you have into categories (e.g., recycling/garbage, equipment, tools, sports equipment). Designate a specific spot for everything and then decide what’ll be the best way to organize each category of items.
Questions about moving with TLC
How do I stop my garage from filling with boxes after a move?
The best way to avoid a mess is to avoid making one in the first place. This organizing tip is easier said than done (especially after a long move).
What storage should I put in my garage?
Stacking boxes against the wall or in the corner of your garage with a mental note to ‘sort’ or ‘unpack’ later can be a dangerous game to play.
How do I plan my new garage before moving day?
Garages are notorious for being where the “things that don’t have a place” go to die. Before your move, go through your current garage and get rid of whatever you don’t use or haven’t touched in months.
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