Mission Possible: Staging the Garage

If you were a potential buyer looking at your house, what would your garage say to you? Is there actually room to park cars? Is it clean and organized? Does it look spacious enough?

Resources:

• Cleaning oil spots from your garage floor
• Painting Garage Walls
• The Container Store

Staging isn't just for the inside of the home. In fact, the garage can make or break a deal. Yes, emotional connections CAN be made in the garage! Sellers who take the time to stage their garage will have a big advantage over the competition. And as an added bonus, they'll have less stuff to pack when the time comes to move.

Perhaps staging a garage seems too daunting a task. Just break it down into steps. But before you get started, decide on how you wish to use the space. (And don't forget to take some "before" pictures to document your efforts).

1. Start with one side of your garage, working around to the other side systematically. Take everything out and place it in five piles on your driveway:

1. Need to keep in the Garage
2. Need to keep, but can store elsewhere (pre-pack as much as you can)
3. Sell - put it on Craigslist, eBay, have a tag sale, whatever works for you!
4. Donate - there are many organizations that can use well-maintained stuff
5. Pitch - take it to the curb, or check on your town's heavy trash schedule

2. Now it's time to clean (and I mean really clean) the garage. Scrub those grease stains, clean out all the cob webs, and wipe down the walls. Need help getting the oil spots off the garage floor? Check out the "resources" above!

3. Now that it's clean, paint the walls a light, neutral color. Why? Because paint is like money in a can...a couple coats of paint and a few hours of your time will brighten your garage and make it appear cleaner and roomier. And since you've taken the trouble to clean it thoroughly, why not go that extra mile to create a "wow" impact? Tip: use a flat exterior latex paint.

4. Look at the pile that made the cut to return to the garage. Create "departments" for the items going back into the garage, such as:

• Tools (power tools, manual tools, frequent use tools, etc)
• Garden/Yard equipment (mower, trimmer, rakes, shovels, etc.)
• Sports and recreation (Bikes, golf gear, fishing gear, etc)
• Kid Stuff (toys, bikes, strollers)
• Trash (garbage, recycle bins)
• Seasonal (pool maintenance, garden hoses, driveway salt, shovels, etc.)

5. While the paint is drying, determine where each "department" will go. Be sure to put heavier items down low, harmful items out of kids reach, and frequently used items near the door. Next, select appropriate storage systems to fit what you need to store. Be smart about what you buy - you can find inexpensive wall racks, peg boards, sports equipment organizers, milk crates on shelves, etc. Don't forget to label boxes on more than just one side. Consider larger "department" signs so everyone knows where things go. Be creative!

Now comes the rewarding part of putting everything in its place, and taking your "after" pictures. In fact, you'll wonder why you didn't do this a long time ago.

Mission accomplished!