THIRD ANNUAL ‘NATIONAL CLEAN OUT YOUR GARAGE DAY’
DECLARED FOR SATURDAY, SEPT. 10
Take Time to Make Garages Organized – and Safer
Is your garage a hazardous haven for dents, damage and danger? A survey* of 1,000 U.S. adults revealed nearly four in 10 (39 percent) have tripped over an item in their cluttered garage, more than a quarter (27 percent) have hit an object when opening a vehicle door and 22 percent have accidentally hit something when parking. Such findings prompted The Lehigh Group, maker of Crawford® – branded garage and home workshop organization products to proclaim “National Clean Out Your Garage Day,” to take place this year on Saturday, Sept. 10.
“We established ‘National Clean Out Your Garage Day’ to occur on the first weekend after Labor Day since this is a time much of the country transitions from summer to fall and begins putting items such as bikes, lawnmowers and garden tools away for the season,” said Deborah Hanson, director of external affairs for The Lehigh Group. “This is a great time to take stock of the safety of your garage and clean out and organize as needed to make this space safer – and more functional.”
What’s the best plan of attack? The experts at The Lehigh Group offer these organizing tips:
Make Organization a Family Affair
Have old kids’ shoes, clothes and sports equipment in the garage? Invite the kids to participate. Ask them to try on boots, clothing and other gear stored there. They can pretend to put on a fashion show, and you’ll be able to determine which items are either too small or too big and should be given away.
Try It Out
The best way to determine whether you should keep, donate or throw away is to physically go through all of the lawn and sports equipment to see if it works. From there, label each piece with a tag showing its condition and the decision. Give other members of the household a chance to look it over and weigh in on the decision so nothing too sacred is accidentally tossed.
Follow Weight Guidelines
Garages provide ample wall and ceiling space that can easily be converted into storage space by installing hanging shelves, pegboards, storing rails and overhead storage systems to secure your items. For safety’s sake, be sure to follow all manufacturer instructions regarding weight limits on hooks, rails and shelving. Look for storage products that are built for strength, such as Crawford’s DuraMount™ system, which features powder-coated steel hooks rated to hold 35 lbs. or more each.
Keep It Light
Add lighting to shelves and dark corners to make it easier and safer to find the tools and equipment you need, even at night (or all day if you have a window-less garage). All of the boxes and labels in the world won’t work unless you can see what you are organizing.
Clean Items Before Storing Them
Sporting and pool equipment that will go unused until next summer needs to be properly cleaned and dried to help avoid mildew growth. Consider purchasing waterproof bins to keep any other moisture and pests away. This also is a good opportunity to check expirations and wipe down older cans of paint, pesticides and other garage goodies.
Just Sweat the Small Stuff
If your garage doubles as a workshop, use National Clean Out Your Garage Day to take stock of what you currently have, organize and properly store small, loose items, and safely store sharp tools and other objects so they remain out of reach of children. Use pegboards, tool bins and wire baskets to keep parts organized.
Crawford offers a wide variety of organization products ranging from basic hooks and tool holders to specialty items designed keep garage and workshop spaces orderly and safe. Most Crawford products retail for less than $20 and are easily found at hardware stores across the country. For more information about garage safety, visit the podcast section at www.firstalert.com. For more information about Crawford products, visit www.crawfordorganization.com.
~ Talk about perfect timing. I am SO ready for National Clean Out Your Garage Day. My poor garage is in need of some desperate organizational help. Our garage serves as my craft room, storage, yard tool storage, hubby work bench, and our playroom. Crawford came to the rescue today as they provided me with all the tools I will need to get clutter off the floor and organized on the wall. What is not to love about being organized right?
So this National Clean Out Your Garage Day (this upcoming weekend) I will be taking all the fabulous cleaning/organizing tips Crawford shared with us (posted above) and putting them in place. Hopefully with these great guidelines and tips it will help me not only get organized, but help make it a quicker and more enjoyable experience. I’ll have to take before and after pictures to share with you.
What will you do this National Clean Out Your Garage Day?
*The Lehigh Group Home Safety and Security Survey results are based on the responses of 1,000 adults in the United States who answered a telephone survey from Jan. 29 through Feb. 1, 2009. Results are accurate to +/-3 percent points with a 95 percent confidence level and can be generalized to the entire U.S. adult population.
Disclaimer: I received products to help me get organized this National Clean Out Your Garage Day. All thoughts are my own. I was not compensated.
