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Operation Garage Cleanup + Before Pictures

June 3, 2022 · In: Organize, Projects

Here’s my gameplan for cleaning and organizing my messy, cluttered two-car garage while staying on a budget and shopping mostly at Walmart.

I have spent my entire life perfecting my organizing skills, but you wouldn’t believe that for a second if you saw my garage. We’ve been renovating our house for the last two years, and the garage has been the dumping ground for all the leftover building supplies, donation items, and homeless decor.

But it’s gotten to the point now that I can’t actually get to my tools to do those renovations. So I finally decided to take a quick pause from room makeovers and tackle this garage once and for all. Here’s my gameplan of how I’ll pull it off in three weeks or less. Get ready for some bad before pictures!

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Step One: Clean & Declutter

I really wanted to pull everything out of the garage and power wash the floors. Our house was built in the ’70s and the floors really show their age. But the weather had other plans for me. During the first week of my garage cleanup project, it rained, no, it poured, every single day. I didn’t want to get behind because I have other projects coming up, so I’ll have to put off the floor cleaning for now.

I am still cleaning constantly, and getting it as clean and fresh-feeling as possible. My wet/dry vac has been my BFF because the floor attachment works like a regular home vacuum. Every time I pull out a shelf or box, I find mouse poop, sawdust, and random unidentified objects, and I can just suck them right up.

As I’m cleaning, I’m decluttering like a madwoman. Anything I don’t need, don’t want, don’t love, or don’t have a place for is either getting sold or donated. The garage has been so full for so long, that I really just want to get rid of 75% of what’s in there. I’m on track to hit that number right now as I wait for the last few Marketplace buyers to pick up their purchases.

Step Two: Organization & Storage

My garage holds a mishmash of a bunch of different categories. From tools and building supplies to lawn equipment, home renovation materials to games and sports equipment, grilling supplies to holiday decor, and even a huge stash of my childhood Beanie Baby collection, there’s a lot going on.

My goal is to create zones so everything is easy to find and feels cohesive, no matter how different the items stored next to each other are. I’m using a combination of deep storage shelves and wall rail systems to get as much off the floor as possible.

And I’m swapping out the multitude of random containers for uniform clear bins with simple and easy-to-read labels. Everything will look like it matches, which will make the garage instantly look cleaner and neater. My only downfall is that I picked out this container that’s very in-demand. I’ve been shopping over 6 Walmarts to get the amount that I need, and even have friends and Instagram followers helping me scout them locally.

Step Three: Upgrades & Customization

This will be the fun part (if I ever make it here) because I get to do what I love—DIYs! I plan on tinting the windows of my garage doors, doing some fun paint techniques, and even making a custom Organized-ish logo sign for my workshop area. There’s so much potential for this garage, especially in the future as my budget gets replenished, and the possibilities are endless.

I’ve been loading down my Garage Cleanup Planner with all kinds of ideas I can implement later on down the road. That planner has been my saving grace throughout this whole project so far. It keeps me focused and helps me avoid getting overwhelmed. I can just look at my list, do what’s next, and trust that the plan I created will work.

Watch The Entire Project On Instagram

Want to watch the garage project in realtime? I’m sharing my daily vlog of the whole process in my Instagram Stories @lelaburris and saved them all to a highlight in case you missed a day. I’ve gotten so many messages from people saying how motivating and inspiring it is to watch the whole thing go down.

I’m sharing the good, the bad, the boring, and the ugly so you know exactly what you’re in for when you get ready to tackle your own garage. We’re in this together, so I’ll see you over on IG!

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By: Lela Burris · In: Organize, Projects · Tagged: garage, hart tools

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Meet Lela Burris

Meet Lela Burris
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My name is Lela, (say it like LEE-luh) and I'm so glad you stopped by my blog! Whether you're into organizing, home improvement, crafts, or you just think my pets are cute, you'll find all kinds of inspo here.

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Family isn’t defined by dna, it’s built on lov Family isn’t defined by dna, it’s built on love. Happy Father’s Day to the greatest man I know @___inteebe___ ❤️
He met this four year old little dude who was sick on the couch clutching his Lightening McQueen car. Soon after, Noah told me in the car “Mommy let’s stay friends with him, ok?”
So we did. And here we are ten years later. Nothing makes my heart more full than seeing these two together.
…Except when they gang up on me for asking [dumb] questions about superheroes… 😅
Happy Father’s Day Nigel!
Let’s talk about organizing overwhelm. Yep, we a Let’s talk about organizing overwhelm. Yep, we are going there…
As exciting and freeing and calming it is to get a space cleaned up and organized, it’s also stressful and overwhelming and exhausting. Especially when you’re doing big projects.
After three weeks straight of working on my garage, I was reaching the point of burnout. I got behind on other things, I constantly felt like I wasn’t doing enough, and my to-do list kept getting longer.
If you’re feeling this way today, I want you to give yourself permission to do these two things:
1. Take a break. It is ok to pause a project and take some chill time. Log off of social media, stop looking at your list, and just recharge.
2. Remove things from your list. You might have planned a huge project, but after a while you start losing enthusiasm. At that point, let some plans go. Save them for later in the year, or maybe even never. Projects should be flexible, not set in stone.
What’s something on your to-do list you can let go of today to save you time and stress?
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New colors, who dis?! 😍 The summer collection o New colors, who dis?! 😍 The summer collection of @organized.ish Printable Binder Kits just dropped and I am OBSESSED with the Cardinal Hill color option.
Check out the new colors, new website, and new planner available (psst: it’s a Garage Cleanup Planner!) at organizedish.com
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Meet my organizing dream team! [AD] Every organiza Meet my organizing dream team! [AD] Every organization project I do is different, but one thing stays the same...these five tools from @HARTtoolsUSA.
Whether it's a single drawer, a small closet, or a whole garage, these five tools are with me every step of the way. Head over to my blog post to find out how I use them and snag links to my fave go-to's.
#doitwithHART #homeorganization #organizationgoals #organizingtips #organizinghacks #organizationideas

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