Archives for Garage

Basement Project: Day 4

The next task in my basement project was to clean up our tool bench. Here is a picture of its cluttered state before I got started:

It is a decent tool bench and serves our purposes. Unfortunately, the workspace had become quite the dumping ground for whatever we thought belonged in the basement but didn’t yet have a permanent storage solution. After a couple hours of attention, the clutter was removed. All that remains are the tools that we use for guitar and furniture making and basic home improvements.

In addition to the great peg board for the most-accessed tools at the back of the bench, I also put to use a set of four plastic storage bins from Ikea (which I can’t seem to locate on their website, but Container Store appears to carry similar ones):

These bins will keep errant screws, nails, and other small materials from running rampant on the workspace. A significant improvement to our tool bench.

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Other posts in this series:

Posted by Erin on Mar 9, 2010 | 15 Comments | Tweet This

Project Basement: Day 3

My basement project hit a bump in the road on Wednesday when I made the mistake of touching one of my old teaching files. I pulled the file out of its Rubbermaid bin, thumbed through the pieces of paper, and felt a nostalgic tug at my heart strings.

I can’t throw this away! I must keep it! I worked hard to make this stuff!

I told my husband I had changed my mind and I wasn’t going to let the six bins of teaching paperwork go. He laughed, and then realized I was serious.

PJ: You don’t need it.
Me: Yes I do!
PJ: Why do you need it? Have you looked at it a single time in the past four years?
Me: I looked at it today!
PJ: That doesn’t count.
Me: Sure it does.
PJ: Maybe you could scan the files?
Me: That will take a lot of time. It’s easier just to put this stuff back into the basement.
PJ: Wasn’t your goal to clear the clutter from the basement, not pull the clutter out and then put it back?
Me: I guess this is what I get for marrying a guy who pays attention to what I say.
PJ: Yes, dear.

Except for a couple hours this morning pulling out the washer and dryer, sweeping the floor where they had been, and doing a general cleanup in the laundry area of the basement, I’ve been sorting, scanning, and recycling a couple hundred pounds of paperwork. Truth be told, I’m missing the basement. Organizing tools and unearthing strange cleaning supplies is infinitely more fun than digitizing old papers.

Here’s how I’m tackling the paperwork portion of this project:

  • Sort. I didn’t do a very good job of editing these files before I put them into storage. So, many of these papers are going straight into the recycling bin instead of being prepped for scanning.
  • Scan. I’m using our ScanSnap, which has a multi-page document feeder and optical character recognition (OCR). After the pages are turned into searchable PDFs, I’m recycling or shredding the pages.
  • File. As the final step in the process, I’m using DEVONthink to manage all of the digital files on my computer. Since the OCR process identifies the words in the documents, I’m primarily relying on the Google Desktop search function to find anything I might one day need.

Part of me thinks that digitizing these old papers is a complete waste of time. However, the sentimental part of me won’t let me get rid of the files any other way. I don’t know if I’m going to scan all six boxes of files, seeing as the activity is already starting to grate on my nerves. I’ve committed to sorting through everything, though, so I’ll at least know what I’m tossing. I don’t want to make the mistake again of blindly throwing away a box of items only to learn later that it included my social security card and passport — I’ve made that mistake, and replacing them was a nightmare.

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Other posts in this series:

Posted by Erin on Mar 4, 2010 | 47 Comments | Tweet This

Project Basement: Day 2

Going through the mess in my basement to unearth its contents ended up being a relatively painless task. As predicted, there are a number of boxes filled with my old teaching supplies, some chemical cleaners and bug sprays that are past their prime, and a multitude of cobwebs.

I didn’t find anything shocking in my first day of work, but I was confused as to how some things ended up in the basement. I discovered a set of dishes that I thought I’d given away before our last move. I learned the kickstand on my bike is longer than it should be, which is why my bike tips over whenever you pass by it to get to the tool bench. And, I realized that we have more screwdrivers and socket wrenches than we need (three complete sets).

Items like the dishes and tools can be donated to charity, sold, or Freecycled. However, I was unsure of what to do with a number of items I found on our shelving. Once I left the basement and made my way to the computer, I quickly discovered what to do with many of the items:

  • Paint. I will need to sort these into two groups — good and bad. Good paints are those that match colors currently on our walls and that could still be used. Bad paints are those that don’t match anything in the house and/or those that were improperly sealed and are dried out. I will continue to store the good paints and write notes on their lids with a permanent marker (Living Room, North Wall). The bad paint, however, will need to be taken to my county hazardous waste facility. The latex paint isn’t necessarily hazardous to the environment, but our local facility still recommends bringing it in to them. To learn the location of your local hazardous waste facility, go to your city or county’s website and do a search for “hazardous waste disposal.”
  • Caulk. We have three partially used tubes of caulk, and none of it looks like it could be used again. Since I don’t remember when or where this caulk was purchased, I also need to take it to the hazardous waste facility.
  • Bug spray. I discovered that we have ant, roach, wasp, hornet, slug, and snail sprays. All of it has passed its expiration date, and all of it is poisonous. So, like the paint and caulk, this stuff will need to be taken to the hazardous waste facility.
  • Weed spray. I’m pretty sure this bottle was here when we moved into the house. I’ll be taking it to the hazardous waste facility, too.
  • Grout and tile cleaner. These cleaners were still good, and we have to use them from time-to-time if one of our cats gets sick on the kitchen or bathroom floors. (Yuck!) I have a metal box that I purchased from The Container Store many years ago that I’m going to label “Powerful Cleaners,” place on a high shelf, and fill with these cleaners and similar cleaning products. I want to keep these poisons out of the reach of my son, and so I want to make them as inaccessible as possible.
  • Joint compound. This is still good and we use it to patch nail holes, so I’m keeping it. However, it is poisonous if consumed, which means that it will also be going on a high shelf for storage. If we don’t use all of it, our county also recommends taking it to the hazardous waste facility for proper disposal.
  • Thorocoat. We’re required by our home owner’s association to cover all exposed concrete on our house with this product. It’s still usable, but since we repainted last year, we don’t currently have a need for it. I’m going to send an e-mail out to our neighborhood discussion group to see if anyone wants to buy it from us for their home.
  • Wood glue. I discovered five bottles of dried-out wood glue on our tool bench. The wood glue is water based, so it can be disposed of in our regular trash. If it were solvent based, it would have needed to go to the hazardous waste facility.

The next step in the process (unfortunately) requires me to get my hands dirty and make a giant mess. I’ll be pulling everything out of the basement so that I can clean the cobwebs, dust, and mess that currently sits beneath the clutter. I’ll discuss this process in tomorrow’s Project Basement post.

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Other posts in this series:

Posted by Erin on Mar 2, 2010 | 28 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Auto office

Reader Jim submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

My wife uses her mini van as an office for her process serving business, and a shuttle bus for taking our children to and from various events plus all the household shopping. Her process serving business involves carrying multiple files that need served and ones that have been served. She also uses duct tape to post papers on doors, flashlight, mace, and a gps. She uses a plastic grocery bag over one of the arm rests for a garbage bag and she carries all the coupons in her van since she never knows when she will need one. All of these items are kept in between the front seats, door pockets and overhead visors. Needless to say the van can get cluttered quite quickly. This drives me crazy when we use her van for family trips. What suggestions or gadgets have you come across for organizing a vehicle? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The same rules you use to keep your home uncluttered should apply to your car. Specifically, I’m thinking of the Unclutterer motto: “A place for everything and everything in its place.” The reason the car is becoming cluttered is because none of your wife’s items have a “place” in the car.

I recommend that you and your wife look into getting an automotive mobile office. There are many different options, so find the one that works best for her specific needs. I like the AutoDesk Standard Efficiency model because of the additional storage space behind the laptop surface:

The prices might initially seem a little steep (most are between $100 and $200), but when you compare them to the costs of traditional office furniture, they’re incredibly less expensive. And, it is her office. Just because she works in a car doesn’t mean she has to sacrifice all of the benefits of a conventional office.

A coupon organizer would be a great solution for her coupon collection and could be stored in the auto desk unit. And, a large litter bag would also be a nice addition to keep trash under control.

As far as posting papers around the car, you might consider using sticky tape to adhere a cork or metal strip to the front of the glove box. Then, either with thumb tacks or magnets she could hang the papers there instead of using duct tape throughout the car.

Thank you, Jim, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Feb 26, 2010 | 21 Comments | Tweet This

DIY rolling tool cart

Yesterday, Lifehacker linked to the wonderful Instructables series “Build a Peg Board Tool Cart Then Brag About It.” It’s an extremely organized creation, and, best of all, the creator of the tool cart said he made the entire unit for less than $50:

It is a sturdy design that would be a fantastic tool organization system in any garage or workroom. You can watch the tool cart in action on YouTube:

(Images from Instructables)

Posted by Erin on Feb 24, 2010 | 15 Comments | Tweet This

Buy fewer, but buy better: Tools

Most of the things we bring into our homes will eventually end up in landfills. If, however, we make conscious choices to buy durable and well-made products, then we can reduce both the amount of waste we create and the amount of clutter we bring into our homes.

When it comes to tools, be honest about what you really need to own. Unless you’re a contractor, you probably don’t need to your own drywall lifter or demolition hammer, especially when those types of tools can be easily rented when needed for DIY projects.

There are, however, several basic hand tools that every homeowner will eventually need. When buying these tools, consider either the quality of the product or the quality of the warranty.

Quality of the Warranty

When I was in high school I had a part-time job working at a Sears Hardware store in the suburbs of Chicago. Occasionally I would work shifts at the service desk. In that capacity, people would bring me sad and misshapen Craftsman hand tools. It was my job to smile and give them shiny new replacements.

Sears takes the “complete satisfaction” warranty that covers their hand tools very seriously. It’s also worth noting that Craftsman hand tools are rather inexpensive when compared to other professional-quality toolmakers, especially when you consider that you’re basically buying a bundled insurance policy with every covered tool.

When the warranty is that good, you might feel the product’s quality is irrelevant, provided you’re willing to deal with the hassle of actually schlepping a broken screwdriver into the store to pick up a replacement.

Quality of the Product

Most of the higher-end tool manufacturers don’t offer a warranty as good as Craftsman. That doesn’t mean their tools aren’t made as well. In fact, most contractors and mechanics would agree that the quality of tools made by the companies listed below exceeds the quality of Craftsman Tools:

  • Snap-on Hand Tools: Generally better made but more expensive than Craftsman. No lifetime warranty.
  • Klein Tools: Favored by electricians and linemen.
  • Lie Nielsen: Heirloom quality woodworking tools that are almost too beautiful to use, as shown below. Someday my wife will finally take the hint.

Posted by PJ on Feb 4, 2010 | 25 Comments | Tweet This

Behavioral clutter: Texting while driving

Last fall, I was run off the road by some lunatic who was speeding in a Jaguar with his windows down, listening to a blaring radio, and texting on his BlackBerry. I was lucky that the road we were traveling on had a grassy median for me to drive onto instead of directly into a lane of on-coming traffic.

My honking and screeching brakes didn’t phase him as he swerved directly into me and ran me off the road. Afterward, another driver pulled onto the median behind me to check if I was okay, and the lunatic in the Jaguar just kept barreling down the road, totally clueless.

I have seen some truly horrible forms of clutter — time, physical, mental, behavioral — and texting while driving is the second worst type of clutter I can name in the behavioral clutter category (drunk driving is definitely the worst).

If you’re someone who thinks that it’s completely safe to text while driving, I’d like to suggest you play an eye-opening game in the Technology section of this weekend’s online New York Times.

Gauging Your Distraction
New studies show that drivers overestimate their ability to multitask behind the wheel. This game measures how your reaction time is affected by external distractions. Regardless of your results, experts say, you should not attempt to text when driving.

How did you perform? As expected, I was dismal. I didn’t even see the people on the road.

Posted by Erin on Jul 21, 2009 | 49 Comments | Tweet This

Resources for designing a custom tool cabinet

There’s something intensely pleasing about seeing a box of fetishistically organized woodworking tools arranged perfectly in a custom-made wooden cabinet.

The Toolbox Book: A Craftsman’s Guide to Tool Chests, Cabinets, and Storage Systems by Jim Tolpin is a fantastic resource for any woodworker looking for ideas on how to store and organize woodworking tools. In addition to providing a number of designs for a variety of different tool cabinets and totes, it also provides helpful tips to efficiently store tools.

If you want to lose the next hour of your life looking at some amazing pictures of custom-made tool cabinets online, check out the entries that have already been posted in Fine Woodworking’s Tool Chest Contest. We particularly like the inside of this hanging cabinet, submitted by one of their community members:

Posted by PJ on Jun 9, 2009 | 7 Comments | Tweet This

Illuminate your clutter hiding spaces

Clutter has a way of accumulating in poorly-lit spaces. If you can’t see it, you forget it’s there, and it’s easier to mindlessly add to the disorder. Deep drawers, basements, closets, lower cabinets, and garages are especially vulnerable to dark spaces where clutter can hide.

After you clear the clutter from an area, if it is poorly lit, I recommend putting in an adhesive LED Puck Light ($14 for a 3-pack). They require very little energy, can be used with rechargeable batteries, and help the spaces to stay clear of clutter going forward — just be sure to put the light in a place you can easily reach.

How has better lighting helped keep clutter out of your home? Is there a space where better lighting could help you? Tell us about your experiences in the comments.

Posted by Erin on Jun 8, 2009 | 12 Comments | Tweet This

Tipke Marine Fold-It Utility Cart

I recently came across this space-saving, folding cart:

It seems like a great way to save space in your garage or shed, but $230 seems a bit pricey for a wheelbarrow. The Amazon reviews are overwhelmingly positive. We would love to hear from any readers who might have one of these, and can comment on whether they’re worth the cost. We would also love to hear about any less expensive alternatives you might be using. A folding wheelbarrow would be a nice way to save space in the garage.

Posted by PJ on May 13, 2009 | 13 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Storing sports equipment

Reader Jesse submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

Do you have any suggestions for outdoor storage of sports equipment. We have a variety of balls, frisbees, and discs that right now just get put into an open bucket. It’s not great for the equipment and doesn’t look great either. Any suggestions?

Sporting equipment is rarely simple to store. Your bucket idea actually sounds better than most of the equipment storage I’ve seen people using in their garages. But, I agree, it can be an unsightly solution. Since things like bats and balls have rigid sizes, they take up a lot of space and they always seem to be in places they don’t belong.

My first choice is to recommend that you create an area in your garage or backyard to be your sports center. If you can make this space in your garage, I recommend a sturdy storage system that can hold more than just sports equipment. Elfa and Ikea both make excellent products for holding pretty much anything you would store in your garage. (Be sure to check out the components individually. Ikea’s Broder has sports attachments.)

If you’re not in favor of putting out the money for a full system, here are some additional options for your sports center:

  • Ball Claws: They attach to your walls and hold onto basketballs, soccer balls, and footballs.
  • Frisbees and discs can be stored in a nice bag on a shelf in the garage. I like this Prostyle bag, for instance.
  • You can use a baseball and bat storage system over fence tops or on a rod, like this holder:
  • A large barrel might also be nice to let air circulate around your sports equipment.

I’m interested in hearing from our readership on this question. What do you use to store sports equipment in your home? Let us know your solutions in the comments.

Thank you, Jesse, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Apr 24, 2009 | 25 Comments | Tweet This

Workspace of the Week: Garage wonderland

This week’s Workspace of the Week is Jake Loupe’s well-organized garage:

This week’s entry isn’t a workspace in the traditional sense, but I can only imagine that this area sees a lot of work. As per our site motto, there is a place for everything, and everything is in its place. Before the weather gets warm, you may want to take Jake’s lead and get your garage ready for summer use. Thank you, Jake, for creating such an inspiring space.

Want to have your own workspace featured in Workspace of the Week? Submit a picture to the Unclutterer flickr pool. Check it out because we have a nice little community brewing there. Also, don’t forget that workspaces aren’t just desks. If you’re a cook, it’s a kitchen; if you’re a carpenter, it’s your workbench.

Posted by Erin on Feb 27, 2009 | 26 Comments | Tweet This

Learn to safely wrap cords, cables, and hoses

The magazine Fine Homebuilding has an informative and season-appropriate tutorial on its website “Wrapping cords and hoses: Learn how to avoid twists and kinks that can cause damage.”

This advice is perfect for garden and air hoses and extension cords that are ready to be stored for the cold months. There are three methods described in the article: a looped bundle, a loose chain, and a reverse coil.

If the pictures in the article don’t provide you with enough information, check out the instructional video that accompanies the article.

Also, I recommend that you take a few moments and check out the whole site — you can find many more helpful how-to solutions for your home on FineHomebuilding.com.

(via Apartment Therapy: LA)

Posted by Erin on Nov 20, 2008 | 9 Comments | Tweet This

Perfect time to organize your garage

Autumn is my favorite time of year. The temperature is just right for me, the leaves are beautiful, and Halloween and Thanksgiving are always fun. Fall also reminds me of the time of year when my mother would predictably ask her three sons to redd up the garage (for those of you not from western Pennsylvania, “to redd” means to clean). Cleaning out the garage consisted of moving everything in the garage into the driveway and then hosing off the garage floor. After we let the floor dry we moved everything back into the garage. It was always a dreaded task that wasted perfect backyard football weather.

The silly thing about the chore was that we hardly ever threw anything away or donated stuff to charity. I can still remember wheeling the wagon filled with old baseball equipment out to the yard and then right back into the garage again. Figuring out what needs to be trashed or donated is the first step to organizing your garage. With the car taking up so much real estate, you need to be organized with the space you do have at your disposal. 

Using the walls for storage is key. You could easily go for the quick and cheap project with some strategically placed heavy duty hooks or you could go the storage system route. It probably depends on how much stuff you have or how much you actually use your garage.

A guest post by Lauren Halagarda over this past summer has some excellent tips that should help you out immensely. The garage is one of the most common areas for clutter to accumulate and it needs to be kept under control before the car no longer fits into its spot.

Posted by Matt on Nov 6, 2008 | 18 Comments | Tweet This

Find garage organizing inspiration from Elfa, Ikea, and Sears

Camping gear, bicycles, gardening supplies, lawn maintenance equipment, tools, automobile care products, and recycling bins are common goods found in garages across America in addition to automobiles. If the garage is well organized, it’s a lot easier to get the car into the space. But, for many residents, the garage is so haphazardly thrown together that a home’s garage includes everything except a car.

As the weather cools in the northern hemisphere, bringing your car into the garage is a more attractive idea than it was in warmer weather. The threat of early mornings spent scraping ice off of your windshield can be a great motivator to finally getting your garage into tip-top condition.

If you’re looking to improve the level of organization in your garage, you might want to check out the following storage solutions. Their prices vary, but all will help you to get your garage organized. A simple Google search with the phrase “garage organizing” will also yield many local companies that specialize in systems to tidy your space. The pictures are also great inspiration for how you can create your own systems for your garage if you aren’t interested in purchasing an out-of-the-box solution.

And if you missed it when it ran, be sure to check out our recent post on steps to take to organize your garage. Good luck!

Posted by Erin on Sep 25, 2008 | 8 Comments | Tweet This

The 20th annual Great American Yard Sale

Outside Chicago, in Aurora, Illinois, there was a wonderful event called the Great American Yard Sale this past weekend. The event is an inspiration for us at Unclutterer. Yard or garage sales are a great way to get rid of things you no longer want or need. They can also be a cheap alternative to buying a new product or a way to find an antique treasure.

The Great American Yard Sale is the brainchild of Bette and Rudy Krueger. What started out as your regular old yard sale has now become a sprawling 60,000 (!) square foot behemoth. All the proceeds go to six organizations providing services to homeless people in DuPage County.

My wife and I had a fairly successful yard sale last year and I thought we had tons of stuff. It was tiny in comparison to this yard sale extravaganza. I’d be curious to know if any of our Chicago area readers were able to attend or donate items? Heck, many people apparently flock to this thing from bordering states, so maybe someone from a Midwestern state can give us a firsthand report? From the ABC 7 report:

Over the years, the sale has generated such a reputation that shoppers attend, not only from the Chicago area, but from as far away as Florida, Tennessee, Iowa, Wisconsin and Indiana.

It sounds like a bargain hunter’s dream, and a great way to get rid of things you no longer need.

Posted by Matt on Aug 18, 2008 | 11 Comments | Tweet This | Tags: ,

The Garagenous zone: Tips to organize your garage

I want to introduce everyone to Lauren Halagarda. She is a dear friend and the owner of The Organization Connection based in Arlington, VA. I hope you enjoy her fantastic advice on garage organization.

As we head into the dog days of summer, it’s a great time to organize the garage. It’s amazing how much stuff gets put in there, isn’t it? The garage was originally designed to store one family vehicle. Now, we often have more than one family vehicle, and, more often than not, none of our cars fit in the garage. It can appear that a garage is used to house everything but a vehicle! Consider yourself lucky (and organized) if you are actually able to park the car in your garage.

I am not making any guarantees that you will be able to park your car in the garage by the time you are done taking this advice, but I do promise some helpful tips for organizing it better.

First, determine what activities you would like to occur in the garage or what types of things will be stored in this area. For example, is your goal to park your car in this space or simply to park your lawnmower? Do you use it as a workshop for home improvements or does it need to serve as a laundry room? Do you wish to store your gardening supplies or your woodworking tools or kids toys and sporting equipment in this space? Make a list and write down your goals for this space. By going through this exercise, you will be able to identify zones for your garage that work for you and your family.

Next, set aside some time to start sorting small areas or containers within the garage. Break this one seemingly endless project of organizing the garage into small, manageable tasks. Set a timer for 15 minutes or an hour, whatever works for you. I highly recommend against trying to do it all in one day, so that you don’t yourself up for failure. (An exception to this would be if you have help.)

As you sort through your things, ask yourself questions. Do I love it? Do I need it? When is the last time (or how frequently) I used it? Is it outgrown, broken, and otherwise obsolete? If I donated it to charity, would someone get good use out of it?

Store items off the ground. The garage can be damp, and accidental spills are possibilities. When you get to the organizing stage of your project, protect your belongings by storing them off the ground.

Use Vertical Space. When you can’t expand out into the room, try expanding upward. Use the walls for storage. Learn about slat, grid, shelving, and cabinet storage systems to help you make better use of your wall space.

Be kind to the environment. Be sure to dispose of paint, chemicals and other hazardous materials properly. Check out your local recycling guidelines.

Assign items a home. Now that you have sorted items into their prospective zones or categories, try to store them accordingly. Also, store items conveniently. Children’s toys should be stored within their reach. The easier it is to put something away, the more likely it is to get done.

Create Toolkits. Use various-size containers or buckets as toolkits. Home improvement stores sell jackets for buckets to store different types of tools efficiently and you can pick up your “Fix it” bucket and take it where you need it. You can create a: “Car Wash” bucket with soap, sponge, towels, wax, window wipes; “Wall Repair” kit containing a drywall knife, spackle knives, tape; “Electrical Repair” kit containing wire clippers, an outlet, switch, etc. Don’t go crazy and create one for any and every job around the house, just the tasks that you perform on a regular basis.

Label Everything. Do yourself and your family a favor and label everything. Not only will this help you and others identify what is in boxes and containers, but labeling shelves and cabinets can also help encourage others (and yourself) to put the item back in it’s home.

Use the ceiling. There are many tools on the market that utilize the assistance of a lift mechanism, whether it is a bike rack or shelving unit. These can be raised when not in use and lowered to provide easy access.

Posted by Lauren on Aug 7, 2008 | 18 Comments | Tweet This

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