How to Organize Your Garage Before North Dakota Summer Hits
I don’t want to jinx us, but I think it’s finally time to transition from snow shovels and ice melt to bikes, golf clubs, and lawn care tools here in the Buffalo City.
Despite this week’s almost-freezing temperatures, spring has officially arrived in Jamestown, and many of us are ready to put away the winter gear and pull out the camping, fishing, and baseball supplies.
Garage organizing can feel overwhelming because the space tends to become the household catch-all. Seasonal items pile up, random overflow lands there “temporarily” and somehow we still expect to fit vehicles inside during North Dakota wind and thunderstorms.
Our family recently tackled our own garage, and while it’s not perfect, it’s definitely better. And that’s the goal: progress over perfection.
Here are the steps we took to spring clean and organize our garage before summer hits.
Empty it out.
I know. It sounds harsh. But organizing a garage is much easier when you can start with a blank slate.
Pick a decent weather day and move everything out into the driveway. As you do, sort items into broad categories that make sense for your family, such as:
Fishing gear
Camping Stuff
Sports equipment by season
Lawn and garden
Shovels and winter gear
Painting supplies
Tools
Storage bins
Items that belong elsewhere
Pro tip: Consider blocking off your driveway so people don’t assume you’re hosting a garage sale.
Review each category and declutter
Once everything is grouped together, you can finally see how much you actually own. That alone makes decluttering decisions easier.
Ask yourself:
When was the last time we used this?
Do we still enjoy this hobby or play this sport?
Do we need this many of the same item?
Would we buy this again today?
Pro tip: If you identify items to let go of, local Buy Nothing groups on Facebook are often the fastest way to clear things out without adding another errand to your list.
Clean the garage
An empty garage is much easier to clean. Sweep out dirt and leaves, wipe down shelves, and tackle any overdue repairs while the space is accessible. This is also a good time to check for water damage, pests, or anything else that winter may have left behind.
Evaluate your space
Before you put everything back where it’s always been, pause for a minute.
Most of us set up our garage quickly when we moved in years ago and never really considered whether layout served us well. But your family’s routines and hobbies have probably changed since then.
Think about what you’ll use most during summer and fall, and make those items easy to access.
Camping tubs, sports bags, lawn tools, and folding chairs should be convenient to grab. This might mean a new shelving unit in an easy-to-grab spot.
Meanwhile, sleds, salt buckets, and ice scrapers can move to the back corners for a few months.
A functional garage should support your real life, not just collect your stuff.
Put Everything Away
My favorite garage organizing tip is simple: use vertical space.
Garage walls are valuable storage real estate and help keep clutter off the floor.
A few inexpensive hooks from Menards or Ace Hardware can make a huge difference. Hooks work great for storing shovels, rakes, brooms, extension cords, folding chairs, and sports equipment.
In our garage, we used simple screws to hang folding chairs and bleacher seats so they’re easy to grab as we head to the baseball field. You could also head to your local Menards or Ace Hardware for specifically-created garage hooks that are great for holding things like rakes, shovels, brooms, and more.
Pegboard storage is another great option, especially above a workbench. Frequently used tools like hammers, screwdrivers, and drills stay visible and easy to access instead of disappearing into a crowded toolbox.
Ceiling hooks can also create extra storage for bikes and out-of-season bins without taking up precious floor space.
For lawn and garden supplies, I love using a rolling cart (or in our case, an old wagon). It keeps everything together and makes yard work setup much easier. An added bonus is it’s easy to tuck away late next fall for the off season.
Final Thoughts on Garage Organizing
A garage doesn’t need to be Pinterest-perfect to function well.
The goal is to create a space that works for your family, makes daily life easier, and helps you actually find what you need as summer activities ramp up. Even a few hours of decluttering and reorganizing can make a huge difference heading into one of the midwest’s busiest seasons.
And if your garage (or any other space) feels too overwhelming to tackle alone, that’s exactly why Good Help Organizing exists. I help families throughout the North Dakota create practical, functional systems that work in real life.
Because nobody wants to spend the first beautiful weekend of summer digging through a pile of old extension cords looking for baseball cleats.
If your garage clean-out is part of a downsizing project, check out this post on helping aging parents downsize, or this post on saving time, money, and stress by decluttering before you pack.
Hi, I’m Ashley, your friendly local pro organizer!
Good Help Organizing serves Jamestown, North Dakota, and surrounding communities with professional organizing, decluttering, move prep, and home systems.
