If your garage is anything like mine, it’s only a matter of time before it’s so full of all the accumulated stuff you no longer need or use, you can hardly squeeze the car inside. The first step in cleaning out your garage is to wade through that mountain of old tools, defunct lawn equipment, leftover building materials, out-of-date TVs, obsolete computers, toys and games the kids have outgrown, and holiday decorations and divide it into three piles:

• Keepers: Items you still need and want that are in good working order.
• Donations: Things you no longer use that are in good condition.
• Trash: Items you have no use for, are broken, or are not worthy of donating.

Set everything you plan to keep aside, then donate any unneeded items to a thrift store, Goodwill, or Habitat for Humanities ReStore. If you don’t have a way to transport the items you would like to donate, call the charitable organization to see if they will come to your home and pick them up for you.

If you’ve taken your garage cleanup project seriously, you now have a pile of trashed items that need to be disposed of properly. A fast and easy way to get rid of all that trash is by using the Bagster® Dumpster in a Bag® from Waste Management.

Simply purchase a Bagster bag at your local home improvement store, unfold it in your yard within 16’ of your driveway or the curb, and fill the bag with trash. The large capacity, 4’ x 8’ bag is made from a woven material that allows rainwater to pass through. The Bagster bag is made from tear-resistant material with 2½’ high sides, allowing it to hold up to three cubic yards—as much as 3,300 pounds–of trash and other debris.

Items suitable for disposal in the Bagster bag include building materials such as drywall, lumber, and plywood; old sinks, cabinets, and carpet; broken toys, bikes, and lawn furniture; even heavy materials like bricks, roofing, and concrete.

After your garage has been cleaned out, and the Bagster bag has been filled, simply go online or call the toll-free number to schedule pickup at your home from a Waste Management truck.

Now that you have breathing room in your garage, box up any items that are used infrequently, and write the contents on the outside with a marker. Finally, install shelving on the walls, and racks for hanging tools.

Now comes the fun part! Take all your nice, organized items and fill up those shelves and racks.

Tags: , Bagster, garage, storage