The No-Stress Post-Holiday Garage Clean Up
You’ve said goodbye to grandma and grandpa, opened up all the presents with the kids and brought in the new year with your friends. When the fun from the holiday fades, you realize you’ve moved most of your furniture to the garage, which means cleaning out the garage has now been added to your to-do list.
With all the unnecessary clutter piling up, it’s time for a full-on garage cleanup.
One of the many things we neglect after all the joy and cheer ends is a messy garage! It’s easy to forget as junk piles up, that you’ll need to clean up by yourself, which takes a lot of time and energy.
If your garage has so much clutter that it’s hard to even park the family car, this guide will help! Learn how LoadUp can haul off the leftover junk afterwards!
Garage Clean Out, Made Easy
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How to Keep the Garage Clean After the Holidays
Why do a a garage cleanout project after the winter holidays, you ask? Well, often times, the garage represents the area of your home where you often store items, furniture and more for future hosting of big events, mainly to keep out of guests’ way in other parts of the year.
Need junk gone from the garage? LEARN MORE ❯
Because of the incredible amount of traffic going in and out of your garage, you need to clean, organize and declutter your garage after the holiday celebrations have died down.
Waiting until spring might not be a good idea, especially if you temporarily store waste in the garage to wait for your trash cans to be picked up by the city services in where you live.
Spills on a concrete floor require immediate cleaning to ensure pesky wildlife does not get a sniff of the remnants of food left behind after a winter holiday feast.
So whether you had the Christmas party no one will ever forget or the one people would like to forget, chances are you’ll have to do work on the back end to make sure you aren’t stressing through all the holiday clutter in the garage
Step One: Take All the Junk Out!
The first thing to do is remove every item stored in your garage. If the weather outside is frightful, you might have to move your stuff into the basement until you complete a thorough garage cleaning.
Step Two: Deep Clean the Garage!
After you remove everything, pull down the cobwebs that have accumulated on the walls and ceiling. Then, sweep or vacuum the garage floor. Sweeping or vacuuming removes the dead leaves that have floated in every time you raised the garage door. With the floor now empty, it’s time to start the deep clean.
How to Clean Out a Garage Floor?
When it comes to deep cleaning a garage floor, there are a few steps to take to ensure your floor is clear of germs and squeaky clean. Because of exposure to damp conditions, mold can grow in the cracks and crevices that develop on and around the perimeter of a garage floor.
Using bleach to deep clean the garage floor
Combine bleach and warm water to disinfect not only the floor, but also the garage door.
Allow the bleach-water mix to saturate the floor and garage door for around 30 minutes, before you apply considerable pressure when you scrub the entire surfaces. Rinse the bleach-water mix from the floor and garage door to keep your garage clean for months to come.
Use a power washer for moldy areas
A good way to remove mold is by deep cleaning a garage with a power washer. Using one is a highly effective way to eliminate mold and remove all types of debris.
👀🎄Looking ahead to next year and want to Winterize your home? Want to get some early ideas on how you can get your home looking like a Winter Wonderland? Check out LoadUp’s guide on getting your space ready for the holidays!
How to remove oil stains
Another possible clean-up chore for the garage floor is to remove oil stains, which can create a slick surface that leads to a slip and fall. A discolored floor also diminishes the visual appeal of your garage. Pour dry laundry detergent over every oil stain and then scrub the dry detergent into the stains.
Run water over the stained surfaces and restart scrubbing until the oil stains disappear. Sawdust and cat litter also work as a scrubbing agents for removing oil stains.
Step Three: Make Any Necessary Repairs!
After the winter holidays is a good time to make repairs.
- Fill in cracks and crevices with specially formulated epoxy that you can find at the nearest home improvement store.
- Applying a concrete sealant protects the garage floor from additional damage.
- Put lubricant on the garage door tracks to make sure they’re working.
📣 PRO Tip: Wait until the sealant dries before moving any possessions back into storage.
Step Four: Organize the Garage to Keep it Tidy.
Let’s review several clean garage ideas that do not involve cleaning.
The first thing you should do when organizing the garage is to put your stuff into four piles.
When you start placing similar items into boxes, make sure to label each box clearly to give you instant access when you want to use a certain item. For example, you would organize sporting equipment in one pile/box and car accessories in another.
- Items to sell
- Items to keep
- Items to donate
- Items to throw away
This allows you to keep things organized, and you now have a clear direction of how you want to get these items out of your garage to create more space, which is the ultimate goal.
How to store winter clothes in garage
Whether your garage attaches to your home or sits apart, it’s most likely the place where you keep items tucked away until the next time you need to use them, especially old clothing.
For example, many homeowners store seasonal clothes in plastic containers in the garage. When Old Man Winter blows into town, out come the winter clothes, and into the garage go the warmer apparel like shorts, swimsuits and more.
Even if you live in a warm climate such as the desert Southwest or South Florida, you still need to make a few apparel adjustments in anticipation of winter. Seasonal clothes can typically find their way into boxes that can clutter up the limited space of a garage.
How to store seasonal decorations
Another reason why a garage gets messy post-holidays is that is where many homeowners store winter holiday decorations. After the first of the New Year, all the lights, ornaments, and holiday cards find their way into the garage.
Some furniture you used to host a winter holiday celebration may also end up in the garage until the next time you host a big bash.
When you hire someone like LoadUp to clean the garage post-holiday, you get more than a team of junk removal professionals. We want to help our clients organize all garage clutter on their way to completing a comprehensive garage cleanout.
Install off-the floor organization
Not everything has to sit on the garage floor until the next time you need an item.
Shelving
Installing shelves represents the most effective way to optimize the space in your garage.
If you store multiple shelves that run across the garage walls, you can create as much or more storage space as you have on the garage floor.
Mount a pegboard
Finding the right space to store tools seems to be a never-ending quest. By mounting a pegboard in the garage, you don’t need to guess to find the necessary tools.
With shelves installed, you should have enough room to move the workbench located in the basement into the garage.
Step Five: Get Rid of the Stuff You Do Not Use!
Hoarding might have been a popular idea for a reality television show, but in the real world, hoarding becomes a serious storage issue for a garage. If you’re dealing with a hoarder (you or someone else), consider helping the hoarder clean up with LoadUp.
When you hire someone like LoadUp to help clean out your garage, you get guaranteed prices upfront, plus trusted local Loaders to get rid of anything taking up space. At LoadUp, we want our customers to be happy and sometimes that takes just a little home garage organization to maximize the space that is available.
Post-Holiday Garage Clean Up, Made Easy with LoadUp
Designating a clean out your garage day is an excellent way to make your garage sparkle post-holidays. There are ways to keep the space squeaky clean. Completing a post-holiday clean-up starts when you hire junk removal, assembly, or other services like LoadUp to help make the garage cleanout process easier.
The experienced team of junk removal experts from LoadUp can not only help you speed up the decluttering, but we’ll also haul off the bulky items you don’t need. Learn more about our garage cleanup services by scheduling an appointment with LoadUp.
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