Spring Cleaning Guide: Your Garage

We here at Maid Bright know a thing or two about tackling a big cleaning project. Our maid service handles households all over DC, Nothern Virginia, and Maryland — so you can trust our advice when it comes to your spring cleaning.

If your garage is a real mess then we recommend you dedicate at least one whole day to it. Make it your weekend project and you can walk away with a beautiful, gleaming, clean garage. It can even be fun!

Let’s begin!

The first thing to do might surprise you: get that stuff out of there!

Seriously, take everything you can out of your garage and put it on your driveway or front porch. Consider putting on some gloves for this — you never know what you will find.

The best way to get a handle on your garage is to understand everything that is in there. As you take things out you will see what you have too much of and too little of.

Now let’s sort out what you are going to keep and what is going to go.

Find few large cardboard boxes and label them “donate.” Also grab your trashcans. Go through your things and get rid of anything that is useless, broken, or that doesn’t fit in with your lifestyle.

How much you get rid of depends on what your ultimate goal is. Do you want to have a minimalist, empty, bare-bones garage? Or do you have a lot of items you simply wish to organize more efficiently?

Don’t feel pressured to get rid of things that you still want, but at the same time don’t let yourself remain overwhelmed by having too much stuff.

Once you have trashed and boxed off everything you are donating or giving away it’s time to sort out what you plan to keep. We suggest placing things into relevant categories: gardening tools, building tools, hiking gear, car tools, etc. Just small piles will do!

Now it’s time to deep clean your garage!

You’re going to want to grab a broom, a step stool, some cloths (ideally microfiber), some work gloves (you never know what messy/toxic things you’ll find), and some good all-purpoes cleaner, a bucket, and some water.

Put on your gloves, grab that broom, and go for it. Don’t just sweep the floor, but reach for the corners, the ceilings, and above the garage door. Use your rags to dust out behind any shelves and in all of the little itty-bitty spaces that are hard to reach.

Now you’ll need to fill your bucket with hot soapy water (you can use a cleaning solution that works for you as well), grab your scrubbing tool of choice, and go after those problem spots.

You have the option of mopping the entire floor OR simply scrubbing any sticky messes that may have accrued over time. Most people are surprised by how much they have to scrub off!

Remember that a lot can accumulate over the years in your garage. A spring cleaning every year is a great idea, but keeping it clean consistently is also important.

You should take care of the planning before the day of your big garage clean-out, and on the day of you will be able to re-organize your garage in a way that works for you.

Consider utilizing a trusted local company to design your garage storage system; this will allow you to really get the most out of your garage and increase your home’s value at the same time.

Some questions to ask yourself as you plan your garage layout: How do I want to use my garage? What is the ideal pathway from myour garage door to your stored items? Do you want your lawnmower to be in an easy-to-access space or do you prioritize your workout equipment?

Do you want to be able to park your car in your garage? Do you want a workbench, extra pantry space, easy-to-access kayaks or bikes?

There are endless ways to organize your garage. Don’t fall into the trap of just making it look good, but make sure that it works for you and works with your life.

The general rule with garage storage solutions is this: if you can keep it off the floor, do it. This means finding ways to store things on walls or the ceiling. You can use wall-mounted peg boards for your tools and gardening supplies, you can find wall mounts or ceiling mounts for your bikes. You can even set up shelves that hang down for the ceiling for those storage items that you rarely use.

Finally! It’s time! The day is over, you’ve worked hard, and you get the satisfaction of putting all of your items into the place where they go.

Don’t be surprised if you find yourself getting rid of more items during this step. You might take a look at something and realize that you don’t need it as much as you thought you did.

You might also see that there a few things you need. This is great! Add it to your shopping list and feel good knowing that you are taking care of your home.

And once you are done putting everything away? Take a picture. Save it somewhere you won’t lose it and use it as a reference when you come back to clean periodically. Use it as a reference for the next time you clean (we recommend you tidy up once a month!).

Do you live in Washington DC, Northern Virginia, or Maryland? We offer the cleaning services that you need for a great price!