Having unwanted guests in a garage is never a fun experience. First there are cobwebs of spiders covering everything, then droppings from furry rodents, and then bugs scurrying between piles of stuff. While a garage is the perfect place to store stuff, it can often get overrun by clutter and become the home of less desirable guests. There are several keys to keeping pests out of the garage with the most important part being a solid garage organization system. Use these five tips to clean out and get a handle on a runaway garage.

 

1. Organize and Bin

 

The first step to organizing a messy garage is to buy clear plastic bins to store stuff in. Then take everything out of the garage and if it’s worth keeping, find it a home with similar items in a bin. Label each bin with what is in it so you don’t need to go rooting through all your bins to find something.

 

2. Vertical Storage

 

Use as much vertical storage space as possible, especially if you want to park a car in the garage. Find bins that stack easily on top of each other and utilize as much wall storage as possible. Getting everything off of the floor will help reduce the number of spaces that unwanted critters can hide.

 

3. Sweep, Dust, Disinfect

 

Before putting anything back in the garage, give it a good cleaning. Sweep the floors out, dust any surfaces, and disinfect anything possible. This will give you a clean slate to start from when putting all of your belongings back in and drive out any rodents or bugs.

 

4. Purge

 

When putting things away, decide whether you really need an item or not. If you don’t foresee ever using an item again, consider donating it. If something is in poor enough condition that it is not fit for donation, it is most likely not fit for keeping either. Use garage cleaning as a chance to remove clutter from your life.

 

5. Divide

 

Divide your garage up into specific areas to store certain items. One area might be for gardening tools, another for storage of holiday items such as Christmas and Halloween decorations, another section for sports equipment, and a different area for tools. Splitting up a garage in this way will help keep it organized and help you find items when you need them. It will also stave off the onset of clutter and help keep critters out.