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Driveway Disorder Don't dread the open door: give your garage an overhaul this summer  Image courtesy Sears Often considered to be the family dumping ground, 50 percent of homeowners rate the garage as the most disorganized place in the house, according to the National Association of Professional Organizers. "It's ironic that the one room of our house where the door's open daily for the whole world to see is the most unsightly, poorly utilized and neglected room in the house, says Barry Izsak, author of "Organize Your Garage in No Time" (Que, 2005). To give your garage an overhaul this summer, check out these tips from Izsak and Vicki Norris, president of Restoring Order, Portland, Ore. 1. Set aside enough time. Norris recommends at least 24 hours for an average-sized garage, if not more. "You can't decide at 2 p.m. that you're going to tackle the garage and start pulling things out," she says. "Four hours later, it's dark and raining, and then you have to shove it all in – and you haven't made long-term progress." 2. Hire an expert or assemble a team to help make decisions. "It's hard to be objective about our own stuff, and [the garage] is full of things we already couldn't make a decision about," Norris says. 3. Take everything out and divide it into categories such as sporting goods, camping, utility tools, household items and more. Izsak recommends assessing what you have and asking questions like, does it work? And when was the last time I used it? 4. Begin to reload, but prioritize your items. Think about the types of items, the space you have and their frequency of use before giving them a place. 5. Evaluate your style. Are you a visual person? Then don't tuck your things away in cabinets, Norris says, or you might forget they're there. Instead, opt for shelves and hooks to display your items. 6. Keep it up! Norris recommends an annual or bi-annual tune-up of the garage "to keep to order in place that you've worked so hard to achieve." |
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