Summer is a great time to spend outdoors. There’s the beach, sports, walks in the mountains, or gardening in your back yard. Most of the gear you need for your summer outdoor activities is stored in the garage. Why not make it easy to access so you spend as little time there as possible and more time out doing the activities you want to do? Get the most out of your garage by using these 6 tips.
1. Keep all the things you use for one activity together
It’s much faster to get out the door when all your gear for an activity is together. Let’s take going camping. It used to take us a couple of hours to get everything together from various places around the house and garage. Now we can have our car packed with all our camping gear for a weekend in about 20 minutes. We all have “camping clothes” that we can quickly throw in a bag. We have a separate box that we keep all our camping cutlery, dishes and kitchen supplies in that stays in the garage ready to go. All our camping gear is in one section of shelving within the garage, so we literally just have to back up our car and load everything straight in.
Congratulations! You’ve decluttered, packed, and moved. Now it’s time to put everything in its place in your new home. Here are four things I keep in mind I unpack with someone. Unpacking will be a breeze if you…
Have a staging area for boxes to arrive
Set aside an area for boxes to go when you and your movers (if you have them) arrive at your new home. That way everything is in a central place, and can be divided up into the right room from one location.
You’ve decluttered, you’ve packed, and now it’s moving day! Here are three things to keep in mind to make the day go smoothly.
1: Priorities
The top two things you want on the day of your move are: something to eat, and somewhere to sleep by the end of the day.
Something to eat: Make a food plan for the day of. Do you want to cook the first night in your new kitchen? Do you want to order pizza and relax at the end of the day? There’s no wrong answer, just make sure that you know what your plan is before the day comes, so you’re not scrambling to figure out what’s for dinner.
Somewhere to sleep: Plan in advance to get your bed set up and made by the end of the day. Moving is stressful, and a good night’s rest at the end of your move day is a great gift you can give yourself.
When you’re looking at everything you own, packing can seem like a big task. I always recommend breaking up big jobs into smaller jobs to decrease stress and boost confidence, but I have some special tips to help you pack effectively for your move!
Pack to where you’re going
It can be tempting to box up each room in your current home as it is, but it’s likely your new home will have a different layout, with a different arrangement of rooms. Pack items together that will go in your new rooms, and it will be much easier to direct movers, and to unpack when you settle in.
Moving is one of the top five stressors in life, along with losing a loved one, divorce, major illness or injury, and job loss. If you’re facing a move, you may be feeling anxious or stressed—but there are many ways to take the edge off, so you can move more peacefully and productively!
If you keep all your dairy together, all your vegetables together, your condiments, bread, and so on, you’ll be able to see at a glance how much of what type of food you have. It’ll also be easier for everyone to put things back when each kind of food has a designated area, so you can organize your fridge as you go. Use drawers, shelves, and tubs to group like items together.
