Follow these steps when tackling your garage:

• Set aside a day when you are expecting good weather.
• Make it a family project and get everyone involved.
• Schedule your favorite charity to come and pick-up your donation items a couple of days later.
• Have plenty of boxes for donation items and garbage bags for trash.
• Empty EVERYTHING out into the driveway. As you remove each item, make a decision – toss, donate or keep. If it is toss, put it right in the garbage. If it is donate, put it right into the box, and if it is keep, put it on the driveway.
• When you have removed it all, clean the garage.
• Now you are ready to return the contents to your garage. This is where the organizing begins. Determine how you plan to use the space in the garage. Designate areas, or zones, for your various categories (e.g. sports equipment, general tools, gardening equipment, lawn care, car care, etc.). The saying “a place for everything and everything in its place” applies to every room in your house…including the garage. Consider the following:
  
  
  • Utilize wall space to maximize floor space.
  • Think vertical. Shelving or Storwall allow you to take advantage of the vertical space, and gets things off the floor.
  • Hooks are great and very inexpensive. They can be used for such items as shovels, rakes, bikes, and lawn chairs.
  • Don’t ignore the ceiling. You can hang a rack from the ceiling to hold off-season items such as Christmas decorations, boats, picnic tables, etc. You can also hang bikes or ladders from the ceiling.
  • If you have kids or pets, store chemicals up high or in locked cabinets.
• Shop for garage organization products (see below) and install if necessary.
• Return the remaining items to their new designated locations.
• Put as much as possible in boxes or containers and label them.
• Put the donation boxes out for pickup.
• Put your feet up and have your favorite pizza delivered.