by Martha Tobin
Summer is a great time to declutter and organize your garage or shed due to the longer days, warmer weather and the ability to pull everything out to see what you have and determine if you want to keep it or not.
Here are 5 steps for organizing and decluttering your garage or shed:
- Start with items on the floor and sort them into 3 categories:—items to keep—items to donate—items to trash, recycle, hazardous waste, ewaste
- Continue this process with any hanging or rafter items as well as items on shelves
- With the items you are keeping, set up zones (i.e. gardening, auto, tools, sports etc).
- Add sturdy plastic bins in a variety of sizes to contain ‘like with like’ items
- Label these bins so that you easily know where to find and return items.
Here are a few upcoming dates for Hazardous Waste events in Ottawa:
August 30, 2026: Tunney’s Pasture
September 26, 2026: Conroy Road
October 17, 2026: Philsar Street
November 7, 2026: Westbrook Road
“Clutter is not just the stuff on the floor. It’s anything that stands between you and the life you want to be living.”
(Peter Walsh)