Expert guide to clearing out your garage

As we go through life accumulating belongings, spaces such as the garage quickly become a dumping ground for unwanted items. Whether it’s sports equipment, unused furniture or gardening tools, the garage is home to clutter that you often don’t need anymore.

To make the most of your garage space, we’ve put together our top tips for clearing out the garage junk (and keeping it clear), to create a room free for use beyond storage.

Work top to bottom

When clearing through your garage, start with the items that are stored up high and work down to the ground. It is most likely that you will be storing the things you need or use the least in the less accessible spaces like on high shelves. It will be easier to decide whether to throw or keep these items, leaving the more challenging choices until last.

Do you need it

While it may seem obvious, ask yourself if you really need or use items when deciding what to keep and throw out. The garage often becomes a place to leave items that serve no purpose anymore, so make a rule to throw out anything that hasn’t been used in the past 6-12 months.

Sell what you can

Once you have decided what to keep and get rid of, see if any of those items can be sold to make a bit of extra cash. Hold a garage sale, or use re-sale sites such as Ebay, Depop and Vinted to get rid of unwanted items that are in too good of a condition to throw out. If you can’t seem to shift an item by selling it, donate it to charity.

Plan a layout

When everything is all cleared out, you need to organise the garage so that it stays tidy and useable. Plan the layout of the room so that everything that does need to be stored in there, has a dedicated location rather than getting dumped around the room.

If you want to use the room for purposes other than storage, get decorating so that it feels less like a garage. A fresh lick of paint and new flooring will help soften the room, giving it a colour scheme to start decorating with.

Store items up high

To make the most of the space, if possible, store items on high shelves so that the floor space can still be used for other purposes. Use higher spaces for the belongings that are used the least and work down.

This opens the garage space to be used as a home gym, office or to be rented out.

If you find yourself struggling for space at home, we have a range of home storage options available.

Space Station Storage Calculator >>

Published: 10 November 2021