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how to get motivated to clean my SUPER messy garage

brans87

brans87

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How do you guy's get motivated on cleaning your garage? My garage is barely walk-able to anyone but me! I have 2 cars in it and one is torn down to frame. I hate to get rid of anything auto related never know when might need it RIGHT. It is 25x30 and crammed full of stuff.

Please help me figure out a way to get it workable again!!!! Yes I will take any heat etc thrown my way for asking the question!
 
That's not super messy. But I take your meaning.

Pick one spot, a stack of parts and bits, a shelf. Start there, and execute some level of organization there, and only there. It doesn't have to be 'end-state', but just a first good step. Bins or boxes with labels make for great stackable cubes, and then construct the shelf space to support. Use all the vertical space you can, and keep the floor clear.

Don't let the shop overwhelm you - conquer a corner. Don't be afraid to part with old crap. Use it, sell it, or pitch it.

The fight for space and clarity in your shop is relentless. Keep up your guard. Take the necessary time - first/last 30 minutes - and you'll keep up what you started.

David
 
yeah I am overwhelmed actually! I move stuff from corner to this spot then to this spot drives my wife crazy! I have a box of stuff to post up here for free if they pay shipping that I will never use.
I have a soft top to sell, as well that takes up needed space and K5 inside right now is a hinder but needs to be inside for now.

Also got a self of parts I need to dust off and touch up then assemble suspension on wife's C10 to make a roller. and list goes on!

Wish my shop looked as clean as yours!
 
Throw stuff away. Period end of story.

Decluttering is the best possible way.

You need a friend to throw stuff away for you. Mercilessly. This friend needs to be able to tell you to shut it. If you still like this friend halfway through he is doing it wrong!!!!!

Everything has to have a place. You need to create extra space. Look at Pinterest for stellar ideas.

Did I mention you should throw stuff away!!!!!!!
 
I've been there, done that. Moving stuff from one place to another is not organization, it's wasting time and energy.

The hoarder uses the phrase "But I might need that someday" like the alcoholic says "I can stop after this next drink." It's just flat untrue. Harsh, but as Zuk says, you must get rid of stuff and you need a harsh voice to tell you this, whether it's your own voice or that of a buddy's.

That said, I *have*, once or twice, needed something a year or four after I tossed (scrapped, recycled, sold) it.

But the other six truckloads of stuff I got rid of, I haven't needed. Now I can get to the stuff I DID keep, which has a chance of being used. If you can't get to it, you go crazy digging through all the other stuff trying to find something you know you have ... and either end going without, or just buying another one, which only compounds the problem.

-- A
 
blazinzuk said:
Throw stuff away. Period end of story.

Decluttering is the best possible way.

You need a friend to throw stuff away for you. Mercilessly. This friend needs to be able to tell you to shut it. If you still like this friend halfway through he is doing it wrong!!!!!

Everything has to have a place. You need to create extra space. Look at Pinterest for stellar ideas.

Did I mention you should throw stuff away!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

x2. Pick it up. If you haven't used it in 2-3 years, throw it in the trash/ recycling.
 
The other thing to keep in mind is that most auto related stuff is worth something to someone. If you can't sell it than it is definitely trash.

The best way I've found is to consider that you have to pay $x dollar per square foot each month to own/rent a home or garage. So that means every month you are paying a portion of that to keep that shit in a pile. If that chotchky is not worth paying $10 a month for 3-4 years in the hopes that you may use it, ditch it. When space it at a premium, sometimes it's worth it to bail on something, even to have to find it again later when the time comes.
 
Get rid of items that take up your floor space. That huge filing cabinet, and that old dresser. Those take up valuable work space. Create little shelves, ie 1x8's. You can store lots of cans, paints, etc on them. Use that pegboard back there, lots of open space. Fill it!
 
You have wall and overhead storage space that can be utilized if you make shelves and overhead bins..put the stuff you wont be using right away you feel is too "good to toss"...
My quonset garage is cluttered up worse than yours,don't feel bad..
Lack of a way to hang much on curved steel arches and no ceiling or trusses makes for a lot of space you cant use,and pallet racking I put in it cant slide tight against the sides so more space gets wasted..

The fact I have no less than 4 garden tractors stored in it along with quite a bit of other stuff that should be in a shed instead is what takes up a lot of space--I haven't parked a vehicle in it in a year,at least..
Back when I had my Ford Contour I was barely able to squeeze that in it and get out and walk around it,doing the "sideways shuffle"..

I'm to the point where I'm ready to purge a lot of the stuff I've dragged home years ago thinking "I can use that"..after too many instances of searching frantically for that part "I know I have SOMEWHERE"--and either not finding it,or finding out it was close,but no cigar,I get frustrated enough to go buy one,THEN find it,or end up feeling dumb for keeping a part that did me no good..

I'm hoping to erect another small shed in the yard to stash at least one tractor in,and start weeding out things I wont need or use--the worse my back and health overall gets,the less time I spend out in the garage,and actually am starting to hate working on things in general--having a cluttered up mess to work in kills much of any enthusiasm too..
 
jekquistk5 said:
Get rid of items that take up your floor space. That huge filing cabinet, and that old dresser. Those take up valuable work space. Create little shelves, ie 1x8's. You can store lots of cans, paints, etc on them. Use that pegboard back there, lots of open space. Fill it!
Click to expand...

QFT.

*Closed* space (cabinets, drawers) can be worse than no storage, as you can stuff things away and not be able to find them. Drawers aren't so bad 'cuz you can pull them out to look, but cabinets make for great places to *hide* things so they *can't* be later reused.

And wall space is the most under-rated storage of all. It's right there, in your face, and is great for oversize or weirdly-shaped items. I just moved all my yard management stuff (weedwhacker, chainsaw, hoe, shovel, etc) to hanging on the wall. Adds less than a foot to the depth, I can easily walk around still, but frees up a ton of space on the floor proper. And paint cans really shouldn't be more than two or three deep at most -- again, otherwise you can't find what you need -- so a shallow shelf is ideal for these.

-- A
 
blazinzuk said:
You need a friend to throw stuff away for you. Mercilessly. This friend needs to be able to tell you to shut it. If you still like this friend halfway through he is doing it wrong!!!!!
Click to expand...

I'm that guy.

Filled a Silverado at a friends house after struggling to find a wrench.
 
Sometimes I make myself sell stuff to buy something I want. There's always stuff sitting around that I *should* sell, but there's never any sort of deadline. So I target a part or tool that I will need in the next couple of months, make CL and eBay listings and add up what I've brought in. Scrap runs also count and help clean-up a lot. I figure that of the 10 things I get rid of I'll eventually use about 1 of them and then a replacement is already paid for.

It's amazing how much floor space opens up from building shelves and hanging stuff on walls (build shelves from scrap lumber already in your way for double bonus). Plus you spend less time looking for stuff and more time working. When I grow up* I will start every project with a clean shop.

*a theoretical time that approaches but is never reached
 
I'm never motivated to do it, just at a certain point I run out of space to set stuff while I am working on it. when that happens all work stops and I have that moment where I need to clean and throw stuff in bins, put tools back in the tool box, etc etc. My biggest problem is I have one really crappy tool box and another semi OK one that is not quite big enough. I need to break down and buy a larger tool cabinet that will house everything, and then I can free up a little space without having to have multiple toolboxes lining the wall, and then I can take my roller cabinet and mount my Vice on it with the BFH and other tools used for pounding or impacting on things.

I also have one of those Wood bench kits with the composite legs but I just have not had time to get the plywood and 2 x 4's to get it put together. Traveling for work sux... :(
 
I do just want to mention this. You don't need much stuff to organize.

Knew a guy back in the day. Had a massive amount of tools. Every single one hung on the wall with nails. Said he couldn't ever afford a tool box but he sure could afford nails.

That guy probably had more stuff than just about anyone I have ever seen. It was all completely organized. He was a hoarder no doubt, but he knew exactly where everything was and everything had a place.

He used to say couldn't sell anything cause he would have to reorganize his whole shop if he did.

Cool old guy
 
I knew an old guy like that who lived near us when I was a kid..one of our neighbors....he was fastidious about having a place for everything,and everything in its place..

He put pegboard on all the walls in one part of his shop and hung all his tools on the hooks--then he sprayed bright orange paint on all of them,leaving a bare outline of each tool on the pegboard,so when one was "missing" you knew it right away..and orange tools are easier to find if you drop one somewhere,like in the grass,etc..
God help you if you used a tool of his,and didn't put it back!..
 
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