6 Steps to Clean Your Garage and Reclaim Your Space

Does an avalanche of tools, sports equipment, and Christmas decorations tumble out of your garage the minute the door’s been opened? If so, it’s time to do a deep clean of your garage.

You’re probably reluctant to wade into the mess, especially if it’s been a while since your garage has been cleaned and organized. No doubt it’s overwhelming, but the key is breaking it up into smaller steps.

With that in mind, here are 6 steps to help you clean your garage and turn it into an oasis of organization.

Ready for a tidier garage? Let’s jump in.

1. Find the fun

Yes, cleaning your garage is a painfully un-fun activity. That said, the fact that it involves so much manual labor that doesn’t require too much of your brain gives you an opportunity to make it a little less mundane.

Find some music, a podcast, or an audiobook that you enjoy, and listen to it while you work. There’s no reason you need to be bored while you’re working hard.

2. Take everything out of your garage

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Pulling everything out might seem unnecessary and discouraging. You may find out that your garage has so much more stuff (or junk) in it than you thought possible.

However, completely emptying your garage will allow you to notice those items that have flown beneath your radar. It will also give you a blank canvas to work from as you start putting items back inside.

3. Clean your garage's interior

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We mean really clean it. Floors, walls, ceiling—everything. This will be a lot easier if you followed the instructions in step 2 (and you did do that, right?).

Once again, you might find that your garage is much dirtier than you realized, but you will be relieved when you’re done and it’s sparkling. Besides, doing the job only halfway will make it that much easier to let your garage fall back into a state of chaos later.

4. Give your garage door some love

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The door to a residential garage opens and closes 1,500 times a year on average.³ That’s quite a bit of movement!

Give it a good cleaning with the rest of the garage and see if any parts need special attention (like lubrication) or replacement.

Make sure your door is in good shape before concluding your garage cleaning as a thank-you for all the work it does for you.

If you need any parts for your door, you can check out our website. You can also read our blog on garage door maintenance for some extra tips to keep your door in good shape.

5. Pare stuff down

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It’s time to say goodbye to a lot of your things. IT's much easier to keep your garage clean when you aren't storing as many items in it.

Sort items into piles to keep, donate, sell, or toss in the garbage—plus whatever other categories you might need.

Be smart but tough. (That means that hanging on to that tool that you haven’t used in a long time but might need someday probably isn’t a great idea.)

As a bonus, all that stuff you’re getting rid of? You’re now free of the burden of finding a spot for it during the next step of our garage cleaning process.

Whether you have seasonal zones or organize items by rough shape or purpose, having clearly defined spots for where things go will make it that much easier to maintain your hard-won cleanliness.

Plus, be creative with your storage. You aren’t just limited to sections on the floor. Utilize that vertical space—it’s all yours. Install shelves and ceiling racks if you need them, but make sure they don’t interfere with your door’s tracks.

Bonus: Park in your garage

This tip comes specifically from The Franklin Shopper. If you haven’t been able to park in your garage because of the mess, good news: you can do it now! Plus, knowing that you’ll be keeping your car in there every day gives you that much more incentive to keep it clean.

When you’re tempted to leave an item lying around, ask yourself whether you’d rather 1) take the time to put it away now or 2) pull up to your garage, open the door, start to roll your car in, realize you left your rake in the middle of the floor, back your car out, get out of your car, move the rake, get back in your car, pull in, and park. Yeah, we thought so.

Wrapping up on garage cleaning

It might take a while and a good amount of effort, but once you’re finished cleaning your garage, you’ll feel accomplished. A weight you didn’t realize was there will be lifted off your shoulders, and it will all be worth it.

While you were hard at work getting the sparkling clean garage of your dreams, did you find out your garage door needs some repairs? Or maybe you discovered that your pressure washer’s pump is on its last gasp. Check out our website for the parts you need.

[REVISED 3/2023]