It’s your time to conquer the clutter

1. Clear the clutter

This can be the hardest part for those of you who like to hang onto things, but now’s the time to be brutal. Ask yourself: ‘Do I really need it?’ ‘Will I use it again?’ If you answered ‘no’ to either or both of these questions, you know what to do – get rid of it! Here are a few ideas:

• Donate to your local op-shop
• Hold a garage sale
• Hire a skip for items that can’t be repurposed
• Sell on Gumtree, or try freecylce.org

2. Sort remaining items into groups

Now that you’ve cleared space in your garage, group remaining items into categories to make things easy to find. Think gardening equipment, cleaning products, tools, bikes, camping gear and accessories – you get the idea.

Once everything is sorted neatly into groups, it’s time for the fun part. Shopping! Seek out stackable storage tubs and containers for smaller items, racks, hooks and shelving options for larger objects and suitable cabinets for items that need to be locked away.

3. Get in the zone

To make your garage work better for you, create specific zones. For example, tools should be housed near your workbench – try hanging them on a pegboard on the wall, to free up bench space and keep them close at hand. Shelves above and below your workbench are ideal for storing hardware supplies, and lockable cabinets are a good idea for keeping your collection of valuable power tools extra safe.

Put your gardening supplies in a narrow cupboard near the garage door, so you don’t have to carry items too far, and install racks up high on the wall to create a storage zone for items like rakes, shovels and other gardening equipment. Garden, household or motor vehicle chemicals can be stored in a lockable cabinet – out of reach of children

4. Make use of vertical space

Ideal for bike storage, there are options including hooks and hangers, to suspend bikes from the rafters, ceiling or wall, to keep them out of the way and maximise floor space.