Let's Get Organized: Garage

Here is the next part of Southern Living's Easy Ways to Get Organized . If you missed the first part, check it out here.

Garage Organization

For many homeowners, the words "garage" and "storage space" are synonymous, but that assumption wears thin when parking the car inside requires divine intervention. So the next time you're forced to squeeze past a barrier of boxes and various yard items to get in the house, take advantage of the following tips--along with warm summer days--for a better, more organized vehicle-and-storage shelter.

From Cluttered to Contained

While organizing a garage certainly isn't rocket science, knowing the fundamentals will lead to a more successful outcome.

• Get rid of those things you don't need. Sounds simple, but most of us harbor pack rat tendencies that are difficult to break. Whether you hold a garage sale (see "Garage Sale Advice" on the following page for some tips), donate the stuff to charity, or rent a dump truck, your actions will pay off. Those old hedge clippers with both blades broken--chuck them. The 1970s hi-fi stereo that still works, complete with turntable and eight-track player--sell it. Whatever the condition of the items, chances are your garage needs a long-awaited purging. (Note: If you plan to set things out for trash pickup, be sure to verify what your local sanitation department will and will not take.)
• Group similar things together. Again, this is another simple idea, but it is equally important. What good is a toolbox when its contents are scattered from one end of the garage to the other? The same applies to yard equipment. You may own four different rakes, a couple of shovels, and various other tools, but when the time comes to use them, they're nowhere in sight. Solve this problem by designating certain areas for specific items. Locate those things you use on a regular basis up front, near the garage door. Put boxes of holiday ornaments and other out-of-season items where they're not in the way. When everything has a place, it will be much easier to keep the space organized. (Tip: Park your car in the garage, open all doors, and draw boundary lines with a piece of chalk on the floor. Now, back the car out--with doors shut, naturally. What's left inside is a defined guide for storage and parking.)

Good Storage Sense

• Maximize wall and ceiling space. The options are endless here--hooks, Peg-Board panels, shelving units, storage bins, racks, and so on. Even garage attic space, if exposed or accessible, allows a way to get things up and out of the way. Two notes of caution, though: Always make sure that you have correctly secured a chosen storage system into the garage's wall studs or ceiling joists. Also, don't overload shelving or bin units. Instead, place heavier items on lower levels and lighter objects on top. Elevating things off the floor will help with sweeping and cleaning as well.
• Stow hazardous materials well out of harm's way. Products such as paint thinners, gas and antifreeze containers, fertilizers, cleaning supplies, and other chemicals can prove dangerous in the wrong hands. Likewise, certain substances placed together can chemically react, resulting in explosions and even fires. Group like items, and store in cabinets that lock and provide ventilation. Also, before tossing these materials, contact your community's sanitation or fire department for proper disposal techniques.

Garage Sale Advice

Here are some tips to make your next sale more manageable.

• Check with your local town hall or city council for any ordinances pertaining to garage sales. Also, be aware of any laws that limit or prohibit neighborhood advertising.
• Plan. The more time for deciding what to sell and how much each item should cost, the better. Also, give iffy items the benefit of the doubt. One man's trash is another's treasure.
• Advertise. Take advantage of community and workplace bulletin boards and local newspapers. Once your sale is over, don't forget to remove any signs or flyers.
• If possible, keep all sale items out of sight or behind closed doors until you're ready for the mad dash to begin. Allow yourself just enough time to set up. (Tip: Post a sign on your garage door stating the correct starting time; stress that early comers will just have to wait.)
• Arrange items either by category or by similar price. Make sure that prices are clearly marked.
• Have an ample amount of change, along with $1 and $5 bills. Be willing to negotiate on price as well--within reason and with a smile, of course.

Simple Ways to Get Organized

Here are some more ideas, old, new, quirky, to get yourself organized. Sometimes it helps me think more clearly and get more things done when my living space is nice and organized. I can only imagine how much more difficult it can be when more than just one person is living in a space that you have to keep organized (because they're too lazy haha) Here are some tips from an article in Redbook.

26 Organizing Tips That Actually Work

1. Maximize wall space in an entryway with cut-to-fit lattice from your local home-improvement store or garden center. Thread S-hooks through the slats to hang baskets filled with scarves, hats, and Rover's leash.

2. Do one small organizational task daily, no matter how small. Clean out one drawer or the top tier of the spice rack. Just think: After a month, you'll have checked 30 things off your to-do list.

3. Open the mail over the shredder or recycling bin, and get rid of the junk immediately. This forces you to make quick and definitive decisions so nothing piles up in your hallway or anywhere else.

4. Keep each kid's tests, drawings, and papers in a large art box, and go through the boxes with your children at the end of each school year. Holly Bohn, founder of allows each child to pick one thing to save. She chooses one special item as well, then everything else gets pitched. "This way you don't have to make immediate decisions when they bring something home," she says.

5. Store all your notes, lists, and ideas in one small three-ring binder you keep in your purse. Periodically recycle outdated pages (last week's grocery list) and keep others (that million-dollar idea that came to you at the doctor's office).

6. Separate bras and undies with drawer dividers. Home and lifestyle editor Wendy Manwarren uses velvet dividers to sort her lingerie into sections according to type (bras, undies, and camisoles) and function (everyday garments stay up front; strapless bras are tucked in the back).

7. Once or twice a year, host a shop-my-castoffs party. Turn on the tunes, open a bottle of wine, and let friends take what they like — from purses and baubles to frocks and shoes.

8. Give yourself recognition for your organizing accomplishments, suggests Gail Blanke. Show off your solutions and brag a little. You're more likely to maintain order in a space if you're truly proud of it.

9. Treat organization the same way you would a diet or exercise plan: as a lifestyle change. To maintain results, you have to do a little bit, often, says Meryl Starr, author of.

10. Hang two canvas totes, embroidered with REPAIR and DONATE, from hooks in the laundry room, suggests Holly Bohn. She tosses too-small, worn-out, and snagged clothes into the bags as soon as they come out of the dryer to keep from stumbling across these mini-projects all the time.

11. Stash a permanent marker in the bathroom cabinet and mark makeup, sunscreens, and medicines with the dates of purchase so you know when they should be tossed. In general, mascara shouldn't be kept for more than three months, and sunscreens and medicines should be pitched at the end of a year, advises Lorie Marrero, creator of. Look for POA ("period after opening") icons, like the one at right, on packaging; "3M" means a product lasts three months.

12. No bathroom storage? Hang a canvas shoe organizer on the back of the door, says Julie Edelman, author of. Put dental-care items in one row of pockets, makeup brushes in the next, your husband's shaving gear in another, and so on.

13. Get a clutter buddy. "You're a better editor with someone else's stuff," says stylist Christine Cameron, who regularly helps one friend clean out her closet. "I insist she let go of that when-I-lose-five-pounds skirt, and she reminds me that a girl doesn't need 10 pairs of black pants."

14. Store frozen foods and meats in easily accessible, labeled plastic bins, as REDBOOK reader and organizing pro, Sue Becker, did here. You'll never freeze your fingers hunting through your well-stocked but overpacked freezer again.

15. Record birthdays, anniversaries, and other key dates at sites like americangreetings.com or giftelephant.com, which can send you reminders when someone's special day is approaching. Some even set up an automatic free e-card delivery.

16. Employ one system to help organize favorite recipes. The Recipe Nest ($39; reciperelish.com) is a binder with six tabbed dividers that you can customize with your own categories, such as Grandma's Secrets or Entertaining Menus. It's nearly two inches deep, so there's plenty of room for you to add to your collection.

17. Make yourself a YNK (you never know) box, says Alicia Rockmore, cofounder of Buttoned Up organizational products. Here's how: Empty the contents of a drawer (the kitchen utensil drawer, or a junk drawer) into a box. Then, every time you need one of the items, remove it from the box and return it to the drawer after you use it. After two months, whatever is still left in the box should be thrown out or donated.

18. Dangle necklaces and baubles from pushpins on fabric-covered bulletin boards, as REDBOOK editor-in-chief Stacy Morrison did here. She hung boards on a wall between two windows and now can always find the perfect accessory. (When the curtains are in place, the treasures are out of sight.)

19. Edit, edit, edit. How many pots can you fit on the stove at once? How many free pens do you really use? How many old T-shirts do you really need to save for the next paint project?

20. Sift through your ever-growing stack of magazines and catalogs while on a plane, train, or bus trip. Bring a few clear plastic envelopes along with you to stash recipes you want to try, decorating ideas, and reference articles you tear out.

21. Give yourself permission to regift. Just because someone you care about gave you something does not mean you have to hold on to it for the rest of your life (even if you have room for it!). Pass it on to someone who will appreciate and use it.

22. Corral clutter where it lands. Keep containers near mess hot spots, such as the front door, the bedroom dresser, and the kitchen counter. Then empty them once in a while (or when they get full), put the items away, and start over.

23. As soon as you upload your new photos to the computer, create a digital photo book. As for old photos that never made it into an album, Donna Smallin,suggests organizing them in photo boxes, categorizing by vacation or time period so they're easily searchable.

24. Repurpose your old TV cabinet as a hideaway bar, suggests REDBOOK reader and organizing specialist Grace Brooke. Here, she installed inexpensive hanging glass racks and used three-tiered stacking shelves and trays to maximize the vertical space inside the cabinet.

25. Clean house like you're moving. Keep only those things you'd take if you relocated.

26. If you travel a lot and collect cards and brochures from favorite restaurants, shops, and activities, throw them all into one box when you get home. When a friend is headed someplace you've visited, you can sift through your box (like the one below) to pass along some suggestions. Everyone wins: You have one spot where stockpiling a mishmash of info is allowed, and friends get travel tips from someone they know and trust.

Cleaning out clutter

I've found that a lot of stress in my life comes from my room being cluttered, messy, and disorganized...I found some suggestions on how to keep the clutter at bay and am ready to start using them...i hope this is hopeful for those of you who have this same problem!!

excerpted from Good Housekeeping

Clean Out The Clutter
By: Julie Mihaly

Save the Date

• Note birthdays, anniversaries, or other important events in a date book or PDA, and while you're at it, jot down a "send card" or "mail present" message to yourself a week before each event.

Personal/Business Documents

• You can toss supporting personal documents after three years and supporting business materials after six. Be sure to shred any items that include your social security, credit card or account numbers, and recycle the ragged results.

Clothing

• Forget the fads and hold onto clothes that will stand the test of time: a great pencil skirt; a never-goes-out-of-style suit; sleek neutral slacks; a camel hair coat; a tailored white button-down shirt; great-fitting dark denim jeans and the like. Keep these classics in mind next time you're tempted by fashion's flavor of the moment. Go ahead -- get wild with accessories

Family Photos

• Place family snapshots in acid-free archival albums (lightimpressionsdirect.com) to make sure they'll be in happy-to-hand-down condition for generations to come. Remember to make prints of your digital photos so they don't get lost or forgotten on your hard drive.

Home improvement records

• If you intend to sell your house at any point on down the line, you'll be able to show potential buyers what you've invested in the property, and the records may also help lower your tax bill when you sell the house. For more information, visit realtytimes.com.

Plastic take-out food containers

• in addition to storing leftovers, clean these and use them to store art supplies, beads, or anything else of the like

Donations

• Be sure to keep an inventory list of what you donate to share with your accountant at tax time. A write-off is very likely. If it hasn't been worn or used in 18 months, it probably should be donated if it is still in good condition. Donate old books, toys, eye glasses, small appliances, and clothing if you have no use for them anymore.
  

Old electronics or computers

• generally, there are facilities that will take these items, even if they are not functioning anymore...be sure to recycle these instead of trashing them and depleting the environment

Recycle

• find a recycling facility near you and take your glass, cans, and newspapers and magazines every week or so. If it is a subscription that you don't use anymore, cancel it.

Throw out:

• expired foods, medicines, and makeup