The Nest

NestApple's Real Estate Blog

Featuring real estate articles and information to help real estate buyers and sellers. The Nest features writings from Georges Benoliel and other real estate professionals. Georges is the Co-Founder of NestApple and has been working as an active real estate investor for over a decade.

Three Pro Tips for Garage Organisation & Cleaning

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If you have a car, the odds are high that you wouldn’t want to keep it outside when not using it. Instead, you would like to keep it safe from bird poop and damaging sun rays by parking your car inside. Parking your vehicle inside will keep it way cleaner and ensure it is well-kept and well-maintained to serve you longer. However, the garage space becomes crowded with tools, clutter, and items kept in storerooms over time. Like most people, there is a greater chance that your garage organization has become a storehouse. We will give you our best garage organization tips or find a garage cleaning service.

We will put the garage at the center of your real estate. This is especially true for accessible homes adapting to disability. However, those tips are not only for people living with a disability.

This situation might sound familiar to you when renovating a house. However, we have listed the essential ways to keep the garage clean,Garage Organisation & Cleaning and Garage Organisation - garage organization tips clutter-free, and safe. Learn more about garage organization tips in a hot housing market. Let’s dig into American homes and the housing stock!

  • The Initial Cleaning Process

Despite the availability of a garage, only 30% of people park their cars inside their garages. And you might have already guessed why: their garage is full of stored items. And a majority of the accumulated stuff isn’t even needed.

If you want more space inside your garage, you might want to set aside at least one full day for cleaning.

You may also want to turn garage cleaning into a family project. And you can ask your kids or friends to join to achieve the task faster.

Once everyone is on board, you will have to go through everything. This includes those packs you left untouched and unopened from the day you moved into this house. Besides, you never know what to find inside those new boxes – maybe some long-forgotten family heirlooms.

During the initial cleaning phase of the garage organization, make three piles of items.

  1. Place those items you need and want to keep in the first one.
  2. The second pile is for the items you want to donate or sell.
  3. And the third pile is the one you no longer need and are ready to dispose of in the trash.

You can opt for a yard sale for the items in the second category if you don’t want to sell the items.

Besides, you can hire a disposal service to bring their dumpster if you have too much trash. They help you eliminate the items that are no longer needed or valuable.

  • Which Items to Avoid Storing in the Garage Organization

A garage is a great place to store some items and protect your car and cycles from damaging UV rays. However, it is best not to keep certain things in the garage for safety measurements.

For instance, we recommend avoiding storing paper and carton goods and moving them to a pantry. Instead, the primary reason is that paper goods are an excellent magnet for bugs and insects.

Keeping them out of the garage will maintain pests off the house premises.

Another common mistake regarding garage storage is the storage of paints. Understandably, keep the color away from the cold and heat. And it is best if you store the paint cans in an area where the temperature remains mild. Furthermore, avoid placing the refrigerator in the garage.

The garage is not air-conditioned, so putting the fridge there will lead to a massive energy drain.

The garage is also not a good propane and pet food storage spot. Keep propane outside, as there is a minimum chance of catching a spark and igniting. Similarly, placing pet food in the garage will only attract other animals and pests who will be curious to sniff out the food and get their share.

That said, the best place for storing pet food is inside sealed containers in the pantry. You should gather all items in the garage and divide them into two portions: keep and throw. Put things in the “keep” basket you have used within the last month.

  • How to Safely Store Items in the Garage Organization

When storing things in the garage, you must create a place first. While we strongly recommend making a floor plan for the garage and buying the best garage shelving, you will need to invest some time in space planning, including taking the dimensions and noting the sizes of the doors, windows, switches, etc. Doing so will help better understand how to use the garage space effectively, install garage shelving, and store items.

After drafting a floor plan for the garage, you should categorize things and see how to place them inside. For instance, you would want to position the heavier equipment in the corners of the garage, such as the lawnmower. At the same time, you would like to place the gardening tool inside a chest and the chemicals on the shelves.

Ideally, you must place the items used the most near the garage door, such as bikes, skateboards, etc. Rest assured, feel free to put the rarely or seasonally used items higher on the shelves and away from the door. This is actual interior design.

We put loads of stress on garage shelves rather than closed cabinets because open shelves make everything readily accessible. Besides, unlike cabinets, garage shelves don’t require extra space to open and close doors.

The frames are cheaper than cabinets and won’t give you an excuse to go messy and keep your things disorganized as you would have with the cabinets while taking advantage of closed doors.

While storing things safely in the garage and keeping everything organized, investing in window and door locks is recommended to keep burglars off the bay.



Written By: Georges Benoliel

Georges has been working in Wall Street for the last 16 years trading derivatives with hedge funds. He has been an active real estate investor for over a decade. Georges graduated from HEC Business School in Paris and holds a master in Finance from ESADE Barcelona.

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