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View Full Version : the great garage cleanup of 2014, or, how do you deal with huge projects?



Blackdog Lin
4-15-14, 10:38pm
It is (well was, since I am partway into the project) filthy, nasty, gross, and disorganized to a ridiculous point. I mean, I need a rake, I think I know where the rake is, and yep, there's the rake right where I remembered, BUT I CAN'T GET TO THE RAKE. 'Cause of all the crap piled in FRONT of the rake. And the rake and all the crap in front of it is likely covered in cobwebs and really gross.....dust bunny thingies, the origin of which I don't dare think about. And I never thought we had a mice problem, but I found one area covered in what has to be mouse pellets, I couldn't think what in the world else they could be.....Oh yeah, and there's an old BIRD'S NEST on a shelf. I excitedly remarked about this to DH and he just acted like "oh, yeah, that's been there for years" and I'm thinking well when did we have BIRDS in the garage for a long enough time to build a nest?!! I would have noticed this, I think. Anyway.....

I made my mind up (okay, I procrastinated for a year, had planned to get it done last year) that THIS JOB MUST BE DONE. And it is started and looking so much better but we still have so far to go. I gave us 6 weeks to complete it - May 15 is my deadline, 'cause I'm the type to need one to keep me working. DH is only onboard with the project to a certain point, and since most of the crap out there is his, and I need his input as to how to deal with much of it.....makes it harder than it should be. But oh well. I have 2 walls done (the easiest ones). Working on wall 3 this week.

I'll check in again to let you know how I'm coming. But it makes me think:

Who else has dealt with huge "gotta do it yourself and gotta get it done" projects? Do you have any tips or advice on how to make it advance, or make it easier? I know I can't be the only one that has let a household project get out of control before making yourself tackle it.

Stories, anyone?

awakenedsoul
4-15-14, 11:16pm
It could be worse. You could have rats. (Ask me how I know...) I heard scampering in the ceiling area and across the roof one night. Then I heard a litter of babies crying. I hate poisons, but I had to do it. It took a few months. I had to trim back all of my trees and take remove all the citrus off the citrus trees. (I have six: grapefruit, tangerine, blood orange, navel orange, meyer lemon, and a lime.) I had laid out straw mulch, which was attracting the rats. I also had to start keeping the dog food outside in a metal trash can. No more free feeding the dogs at night. The lady at the pest control said the rats would smell it and come in the house! Her advice worked. It was such a relief.
Your job sounds harder, but you've done a lot already. I have a shed that needs to be cleaned, too. I would just stay on schedule and keep doing the work each day. Eventually, it will be done. (That was funny about the bird's nest...)

mschrisgo2
4-16-14, 2:25am
Well, I've made a nice little side business of cleaning garages and basements for other people, so I kind of have a routine plan. First, remove, flatten, bundle or otherwise ready, most of the cardboard for recycling (most people have lots of empty boxes stashed). Keep a couple of smallish boxes for any household toxics that will need to be removed and delivered for proper disposal.

Second, gather ALL yard/lawn care tools, machines and products. Decide where they should be stored, clear that space, then organize everything into it. Third, decide if seasonal items really should be stored in the garage- Christmas and Halloween decorations, lawn furniture, etc. and dedicate an appropriate space and put them there; often, these things should go into an overhead space. Next, tackle any sports equipment, including bikes- which IMHO, are best hung up. Use wall space for these items, and get everything off the floor.

Next, assess shelf storage space. There should be a shelf dedicated to car care products and tools. You need space dedicated to general tools. And most people want/need a shelf or two for over-flow pantry items, i.e. extra paper towels, TP, bottled water, etc. If you store luggage in the garage, put each piece in a large, heavy duty trash bag, marked with what it is, and put these on a high shelf.

After all of that is complete, assess the stuff that didn't fit any of these categories; garages often contain lots of delayed decisions. Look at each piece, is it functional? (if not, recycle or trash it) do we use it? (if not, donate or freecycle it). If we use it, does it really belong in the garage? Often things migrate out there, but don't really belong there, as that is far from where they are used.

Of course, sweep and clean each section before you put stuff in it. By now, you should be nearly finished! If you are facing lots of boxes full of "storage" or "keep" the person who accumulated them needs to dedicate time to evaluate the contents; and they really don't belong in the garage, as there really just isn't room most of the time. Find a closet or curtain off a corner some where and put it there. And one final note: pet food does NOT belong in the garage, as it WILL attract rodents, guaranteed. I hope this helps!

Float On
4-16-14, 9:42am
mschrisgo2 that is some great advice and what a great idea for side income.

Blackdog Lin - good luck with your project, sorry your husband isn't so on-board. Maybe bite size pieces are what he needs. Maybe you could say today I need your decision on this item and this item. Once you get one area cleaned up and organized show it to him and say "how does this work for you? does it need any changes to work better for you?"

Our 24x30 studio was super organized when it was just the hot shop. DH kept a very clean studio and wouldn't allow anything in there other than studio items. Now that that is all gone I've noticed how quickly we've disorganized about 1/2 of it. We did set up a lot of exercise equipment and weight stations in about 1/2 of it but the rest needs another good go-thru again. We still have our art show displays and lights but those should be moved out and sold Memorial Day weekend. I think at that point it will be easier to really organize the back storage room which is three walls of shelves. I'm hoping it's all organized, deep cleaned, and painted by Christmas.

danna
4-16-14, 9:54am
mschrisgo2 that is some great advice !!!

Blackdog Lin it sounds like you are getting there

Mine is a very large garage and half (the car does fit in...lol)....my dear husband was never on board about decluttering it
and when he passed away 2 1/2 years ago it was left to me.
I have made a lot of progress but there is still a lot more to go, stuff that I am not even sure what it is used for or if it has much value.
This garage is not heated but, has never had stuff freeze till this winter so that takes the guess work out of all the liquids...they are going to
hazardous waste........my project next week
Mschrisgo2 I have sort of been doing your method but, I think I needed to get rid of more first. Of course I had to deal with the issues of my loss and
the garage did hold so many reminders, but it has been too long and it will be done before it gets too hot to do it.

ToomuchStuff
4-16-14, 11:31am
I checked the link and it has been removed. I was sent an email from a friend a few days ago, where the wife posted the husbands tools for sale, in the garage, because he doesn't use them. (picture was of a pretty rusty bandsaw) I expect phone calls from that, got attention.

catherine
4-16-14, 5:35pm
Yes, thank you, mschrisgo2!

Blackdog, I loved your post because I related so strongly, and I'd show it to DH, but it would open up a can of worms and he'd probably start swearing all over the place about the garage sh**h**e we have. A lot of it is our fault, but also we've been storing stuff for the kids for at least 10 years. They would leave, come back, drop off stuff, leave, come back, drop off more stuff, etc. etc.

When you live in one home for almost 30 years as we have, you tend to accumulate a lot of you-know-what. We told the kids that we were purging January 1, but we still haven't gotten started.

mschrisgo2
4-17-14, 1:27am
When I'm working with someone who wants to keep "everything" this batching like items really seems to help, because then it's easy to see if there are duplicates, and if everything will fit into the space allocated. It seems to make it less personal, and easier to decide what to let go.

fidgiegirl
4-17-14, 9:39am
For us, it's the attic. We have soooooo much stuff in there. I would prefer to get rid of a lot more of what's up there, but DH has a lot of antiques and vintage stuff from our old house and he doesn't want to part with it. Thinking of setting up an Etsy shop for him - he's really good at DOING the stuff like listing items or blogging if everything is set up, and I'm really good at setting it up but then lose interest and don't actually keep up with selling/writing anything.

The garage is relatively under control, it probably needs a bit of attention after the winter. We can't get a car in there but it's hard to get a car in there in the very best of circumstances as it is so small.

The attic is bugging me right now but I'm also not in a state to deal with it, so just trying to shove it to the back of my mind. Plus I have to remind myself that most of what we're keeping long-term IS organized, it's the temporary stuff for the basement remodel (which will be installed in the basement within six months - mirror, sink, etc.) and the baby items that didn't need to sit around the house during pregnancy but will soon be utilized (and not kept beyond their useful period, even if a baby #2 comes on the scene - just too big, like a huge swing, etc.). I'll also be able to donate some teaching stuff back to the school I left three years ago as they are starting up their language program again. I guess I needed some distance from that stuff to realize that the chances of me utilizing it again were slim to none, at least in the foreseeable future.

Blackdog Lin
4-17-14, 8:31pm
Thanks all for the feedback. I knew I wasn't the only one!

It's still coming along. Got DH out there this evening to get the air compressor going for me to clean wall #3 (the only way to de-cobwebify), and it's now all cleaned up and ready to paint. Painting should be complete by Sunday evening and that's it for painting, 'cause wall #4 is just too problematic to try to paint.

The man IS a hoarder, and just can't let things go. Some things I've just had to take in hand and dispose of when he's not around, forgive me. Our old ball mitts from the 80's and a passel of hard- and softballs: I asked him 5 years ago if I couldn't just give them away, and OF COURSE NOT! (Trust me, we're not gonna go out in the yard and play catch ever again.) So with this project I just tucked them away in a sack for giving away, and he hasn't even noticed they're gone. I know he doesn't even remember them. Same with several other items I knew needed to go, but that he would resist - I am just taking care of them when he's not out there. Underhanded yes, but necessary to try to get SOME of the clutter taken care of. Other than one stick (a very very important stick that he uses when he needs to remove the sump pump out from under the house: who knew?), he hasn't noticed anything else that I've "taken care of". Let's hope my luck holds. :)

I'm starting to feel so proud of myself for getting this project going, now that I can see that it will really get completed. Anyone else that has, like me, been procrastinating on a big project: you go guy/girl! Pick a start date and an end date and just do it!

shadowmoss
4-18-14, 7:10am
I finally moved all of my stuff into on place last September when if got all of my stuff out of storage and moved to Phoenix. I'm giving myself a year to go through all of it, all boxes and stuff. I have unpacked things that have been packe for 40 years. I washed linens that hadn't been unfolded for 40 years. I donated most that were in any kind of shape. The process continues. I started at the front of my mobile home, inside and outside, and I'm working my way back. Got the carport cleared out this weekend.

Blackdog Lin
4-19-14, 9:40pm
shadowmoss: it feels good, doesn't it? To get started on a big project, and be moving forward on it. Stuff that's been packed away for 40 years?! Wow! (you put me to shame. I have only 21 years of crap/stuff to deal with.) :)

You go girl.

I am starting to feel that I can not only meet my goal of having my project done by May 15 (my arbitrary completion date); but that I will have it done before then. The hardest part of the whole project was.....just making the decision to get started on it. (this is a little shoutout to catherine. You could do your garage. You can do your garage. It is possible.)

shadowmoss
4-20-14, 9:39am
I had a 'hope chest' which was really one large wooden chest and a bunch of boxes that I collected things from grandparents for when I was an adult and had my own place. I started when I was around 10 when we cleared out one grandmother's place. Over the years I've moved most of this stuff around as I didn't want to get rid of my 'antiques'. The last time I went through the chest, which was mostly linnens, was sometime in the early 70's. That has now been emptied and it all washed and a lot of it donated. I have no kids to send things off with, so it get donated.

Blackdog Lin
4-20-14, 9:45pm
Oh I remember hope chests, I'd forgotten all about them. Don't suppose younger people would even know what the term means nowadays. :) Was it hard to get rid of the stuff shadowmoss?

Spent over 2 hours out there this evening and continued progress. One wall-long shelf is now 2/3 cleaned off (I'm on the last wall). I plan to finish the shelf tomorrow, then hit DH up to do his air-compressor magic to blow the filth off the top half of that wall/ceiling. It'll then be ready for a good Murphy's Oil Soap wipedown, and then to start organizing and putting stuff back up there. I also took the garden-tool freestanding plastic holder thingie outside and power-hosed and rubbed all the filth off of it. Gross. It will also be ready to start loading up and organizing garden tools (rakes and shovels and such).

I appreciate y'all listening to my blathering about the project. Posting about my progress helps keep me on-task and motivated. Thanks!

P.S. - My DH, the hoarder: I found a box of, of all things, old Avon men's cologne bottles - you know, the ones in all the unique shapes? All I could think of was, Beanie Babies! I know he's kept them 'cause they will probably end up, you know, valuable. Just like the Beanie Babies of old.

I have no intention of even asking him about them. I will clean the filth off of the outside of the box and put it back up on the shelf. I'm certain that they are way too valuable to store out in the barn. :)

Blackdog Lin
4-25-14, 8:40pm
This project is gonna be done in less than one more week! I am thrilled and proud of us.

The "hazmat" boxes (2 full boxes!) of old paint-and-spray-and-household-chemicals went to the countywide pickup today - I was lucky in my timing, that our town had a collection point set up this weekend in conjunction with our annual citywide cleanup. And, an old vehicle bench-seat gathering mold got loaded up into a buddy's truck tonight to be delivered to another friend's "party patio area" where, well, that's the type of seating they have setting around. And the citywide cleanup also has dumpsters set out tomorrow for disposal of any other types of refuse - I have a tote of stuff that is too "good" to throw in the trash, but needs to vacate OUR premises, so my plan is to go by there and set out my stuff BESIDE the dumpsters instead of in them, in the hope that someone will find some use in them, or could sell them in a rummage sale (a set of crutches, some decent glassware and picture frames, old hard-and-soft-balls, etc.) I'm just hoping to get the stuff gone.

DH was not happy with me insisting that he go through (the start of) his crap and start organizing, but he did it, and I just need him for 1-2 hours for the next 2-3 days to finish up organizing his stuff. And then I will set him to hanging hooks and nails and organizing and getting stuff put back up in a usable and logical order.

The light at the end of the tunnel. I can see it!

Lainey
4-25-14, 10:04pm
We'd love to see before/after pics, Blackdog Lin, if you hav them. I'm endlessly inspired by other people's projects, and maybe others here would be as well.

Good for you.

Greg44
4-27-14, 5:28pm
"Hope Chests" - my DW's sits at the end of our bed - filled with upteen sets of sheets and table cloths. It really isn't something that isn't done much anymore...

My DW parks her car in our double garage - but at an funny angle...as I was parking her car last night I was thinking we
just too much stuff. The problem: too many decisions to be made, pure and simple. We have several boxes of our DD's
clothes that we saved for the next DD. The last DD was 7yrs younger than her sister and the excitement of those boxes died before she was out of elementary school (she graduates from HS in June). DW loves all those clothes and wants to find some nice family to give them to. DW also has the box she took from her office when she quit her government job to stay home with our middle DD. Middle DD is now 25 yrs old, you get the picture. *sigh*

Our neighbors's garage - white cabinets with doors. You could perform surgery in their garage. I do have some garage
envy. Years ago my FIL did help me build (correction I helped him build). Floor to ceiling shelves on both sides of the garage. All adjustable and very nice, but over flowing. I think the trick to a very organized garage - is nothing on the floors.

Teacher Terry
4-27-14, 5:38pm
So glad to hear of your wonderful progress! I have spent the past week helping a friend pack to move & when I got home I was totally shocked that hubby was working on the garage and throwing stuff away. He must have got hit in the head or something:~). We also have to tackle our huge shed. This gives me hope that I won't have to drag him to the shed kicking & screaming. I decluttered the inside of the house years ago & continue to do so.

Blackdog Lin
4-27-14, 10:15pm
Lainey: before/after pics WOULD have been dramatic, but so sorry, am technologically challenged. Thanks for the good wishes.

Greg: you could do this, you know. You could get this project done. Decisions COULD be made, and stuff decluttered and organized. Yep, it's a huge project. But I stand by what I said earlier in the thread: the hardest part of the whole thing for me was making up my mind to do it. You just need to make up your mind to do it. Simpler Living and all that, you know? (and I giggled at the description of your neighbor's garage. I "Pinterested" "garage organizing projects", and got photos that blew my mind. Photos of garages that real people obviously do not and cannot use.) :)

I explained to DH today about my home-stretch concept, in that we are so close and with 4-5 hours more work in the next few days, we could have it done by April 30. Since I started on March 31 - well, the symmetry appeals to me to get it done in one month, and ahead of schedule. He did go out and spent 45 minutes this evening with the shovels/rakes/hoes etc. so a little more progress was gained. I can tell, for him, that he just wants to cram stuff into my various cleaned-up spaces and have done with it - but I'm not gonna let him get away with that. We're gonna do it as right as possible with the space we have.

Thanks to all again for all the encouragement and good wishes. I'll let you know later this week if I can call the damn monumental project done!

Blackdog Lin
4-30-14, 8:15pm
Done and done. And thanks to y'all for listening to my blathering about the project and sending encouragement my way.

It is amazing! And I am so happy with us getting it done! No more cobwebs hanging off the walls and ceiling, no more mystery-wads of dirty fuzz, no more birds' nests or dessicated mice (yup, found one, very dried, who knows how long he'd been back there), no more filthy walls with mystery stains.

No more wondering where stuff is. No more being able to see what is wanted, but not being able to get to it for all the crap in front of it. Or in it. Or on it. No more buying something only to find later that we already had some, we just didn't know it 'cause we couldn't find it.

No more ridiculous clutter. No more dried-out 20-year-old paint cans and the like (I'm not exaggerating. There were cans/containers that were left over from the building of the house, which we completed in 1993.)

Oh it feels so good! I encourage any of you that has been contemplating a huge project, well, you CAN do it, no matter how huge or how impossible it seems. Take that first step.....

mschrisgo2
4-30-14, 11:57pm
Congratulations on both the perseverance and the completion of your garage project!
Yes, it was huge, and YES, you did it!! YAY!!

Lainey
5-2-14, 12:18am
Good for both of you for getting that done, I'm sure you'll get so much more use out of that space now.

Dare I ask, is there another similar project to be done, or are you entirely de-cluttered at this point?

Blackdog Lin
5-4-14, 8:20pm
Lainey, I wish you hadn't asked :) and reminded me, so I am whispering this to you alone and let's keep it very quiet and not think about it too much: I still have a storeroom in the house to do next.

nswef
5-4-14, 9:00pm
Oh Blackdog, that storage room will be a cinch after the garage!

Blackdog Lin
5-6-14, 9:05pm
Great goldensmom! Happy for you on getting it done.

But in one day?!!! I've estimated that we put in, due to it being in such bad bad shape, about 65 man-hours of work.

People, when it comes to your garage, be like goldensmom and do it once a year so it isn't so bad. Don't be like B. Lin, only doing it once every 20 years, to where it is a monumental challenge to get done.

:)

Aroha
7-14-14, 11:11pm
This is a great thread, I'm sorry I didn't happen along sooner Blackdog Lin to encourage you on your journey, but here I am to say CONGRATULATIONS!!!! This is absolutely awesome and a real inspiration to me.

Right now I am working my way through a total house declutter, I daren't even THINK about the basement/garage, suffice to say your opening paragraph describes it fairly well. Except for the nest. Although I wouldn't guarantee that we don't have one. We have been here 28 years and I'm pretty sure there are paint tins left by the previous owners. I don't think we ever touched up their paintwork once, and we will certainly never be doing it again, having systematically painted over their colour scheme over the years.

Once when our laundry taps needed changing (new washing machine or something, I can't remember), my dh found the old taps that had been in the basement 17 years!!! Which saved him buying new and justified everything he has ever saved before or since. I don't think I can win down there. My best bet is not to have anything in there of mine. I have to guard the front corner jealously to keep it available for dd's bike which she uses every day.

Blackdog Lin
7-15-14, 9:58pm
Thanks Aroha. Glad to have you onboard, and sending good wishes for your house declutter. If we can help with encouragement or motivation, just post a thread and we'll do our best.

I'm laughing at your description of your DH, who sounds just like mine. Once every 5 years or so we have a need for something that he is able to go out into the barn and fulfill that need without spending money - which then in his mind justifies ALL THAT CRAP that he has out there. Luckily, the barn is totally off my radar - as I've read on Pinterest: "not my monkeys, not my circus." :)

I have been having such a nice summer with the garage all done. If I need the garden cart, I just go get it. If I need the ladder, I just grab it too from it's place. Everything I need out there now is not only accessible but mostly clean. It's awesome to the point that I am mad that I didn't get it done years ago.

Aroha
7-16-14, 6:00am
Everything I need out there now is not only accessible but mostly clean. It's awesome to the point that I am mad that I didn't get it done years ago.
Blackdog Lin, it's great to see you experiencing the continuing benefits of all your hard work. This is what I want to have inside my house. A place for everything, and knowing what I have (and don't have so I won't waste time looking).

No point getting mad about the past losses, if you hadn't had those messy years you wouldn't be appreciating the order so intensely now.

Polliwog
7-17-14, 3:01pm
Last summer my sister and brother-in-law flew down to SoCal from Spokane to help me clean out my garage (I was on oxygen at the time and couldn't do it by myself). My dear brother-in-law started by taking literally everything out of the garage and laid it out on my front lawn. Then he scrubbed the entire garage, shelves and all. Next we decided what I would get rid of. Finally, DBIL bought about 20 plastic bins with lids. Every bin was labeled with what went into it and all bins were then stacked on the shelves. Garage still looks pretty good a year later although I do have some more things stored in there that need to go elsewhere. Such a good feeling.