Give your car a treat

by Sally
(Bradford UK)

The key to organising any space is to get stuff OFF the floor!

If it's on the floor it's in the way. Stuff gets broken, trodden on, dirty and ruined.

And let's face it. Your car is probably one of the most expensive things that you own. If you don't own your home then it likely IS the most expensive thing. So why leave it standing out on the drive or the street and have a garage full of "stuff", most of which is no good.

The first thing to do is to get rid of the junk. If you need to go to the local tip then do it. Put it in your diary as an appointment so that it gets done. It never ceases to amaze me where all the rubbish comes from and getting rid of it is an excellent way of clearing your head as well as your garage.

Once you've got rid of the obvious rubbish sort through what's left. The key to sorting out any cluttered area is to do it gradually. If you have a mammoth sorting session you'll end up with everything pulled out, no floor space and no motivation to continue.

A friend of mine once gave me some good advice. Don't pull out more than you can deal with in an hour.

If you don't have an hour, put a timer on for 15 minutes and sort one box or shelf. If you don't have 15 minutes do what you can in 7 minutes. It's amazing how much you can get done in just a little time.

A few 15 minute sessions will make a lot of difference and it doesn't kill you to do it.

I've found that the best way of clearing out is to have three boxes or bins. One is the dustbin. Put rubbish straight into it and get it out of the way quickly.

Have another box for things that you don't need/use/want that are still in good condition and can be given away or donated to charity. If you haven't used something for a couple of years there's a good chance that you don't really need it.

This would also include items belonging to grown-up children who have left home. Give these items back to their owners and let them decide whether they need it or not.

Freecycle.org is a fantastic way of clearing out those too-good-to-throw-away-haven't-been-used-for-ages-still-usable items. I love the fact that people come to your house and pick them up for free!!!

The third box is for things that you want to keep but that need to be put away in their proper places.

I find that things with no home get tossed into the garage. Clearing out the clutter allows you mental and actual space to find homes for these things.

Once you're done sorting and clearing you can then look at making proper homes for the things that are left. Use shelves, hooks and wall cupboards to keep it off the floor. Big hooks are great for things like ladders, bikes and sports equipment.

You never know, you may even make room for the car!