We walk into the garage, probably daily. Placing items in there to get them "out of the house." The piles and piles get larger while the garage (affiliate) gets smaller and smaller. But where do we begin when clearing out the garage (affiliate)? The list below will guide and motivate you to clear the clutter and make a stress-free garage (affiliate). The items can be removed immediately to help clear out the garage (affiliate). Now is the time to get started.
Jump to:
- Key Takeaways
- Broken appliances.
- Broken patio furniture.
- Old, unneeded paints.
- Unused sports equipment/fitness equipment.
- The Complete Organizing Kids' Sports Equipment Guide
- Rusted, broken, and unused garden tools.
- How to Increase Space using Shed Organization Tools
- Amazing Backyard Tools to Make Life Easier
- Creative Ways to Organize Tools in a Closet
- 7 Essential Products for Organizing Tools
- Old tires.
- Old bike equipment.
- Unused spray paint.
- Old boxes of stuff.
- Donations that need to go to charities.
- Unfinished projects.
- 9 Steps to Complete Unfinished Organizing Projects
- Expired spray cleaners/chemicals.
- Unused holiday decorations.
- Old newspapers and magazines.
- Fertilizer with Pesticides and Herbicides over 4 years old
- 4 Areas of Your Garage to Keep Safe and Organized
- Frequently Asked Questions about items to toss in the garage.
- 2025: An Example of an Easy DIY Garage Organization Project
- What is the cost of organizing this garage?
- Supplies Used
- Before the garage organization project
- How to organize a garage?
- Reveal:
- Organizing a Garage Tips
- The Complete Organizing Kids Sports Equipment Guide
- How To Make An Effective Garage Organization
- 17 Creative Ways To Use Carabiners to Organize Your Home
- 4 Areas of Your Garage to Keep Safe and Organized
- FAQs for Organizing and Tossing Items in a Garage
- Closing statement
Key Takeaways
- Clear out items like broken appliances, old paints, and unused sports equipment to create a stress free garage (affiliate).
- Donate items such as furniture (affiliate), sports gear, and holiday decorations in good condition to local charities.
- Recycle hazardous materials like old paint, expired cleaners, and fertilizers properly at designated events.
- Organize your garage (affiliate) by sorting items into categories and using shelving (affiliate) and bins for effective storage.
- Use labels (affiliate) to identify contents of boxes (affiliate) and totes (affiliate) for easy access and a clutter-free space.
Broken appliances.
How many refrigerators do you have in your garage? If you're unsure about where to dispose of your broken appliances, check with your electric company. The one in our area will give you money to get rid of these items. Peco Energy in the Philadelphia area offers a Fridge and Freezer Recycling program.
Broken patio furniture.
Can these items be repaired? Will they be used? If not, get rid of them. The Salvation Army family stores will come and pick up your unwanted stuff and furniture (affiliate).
Old, unneeded paints.
If you paint your rooms, odds are you have several cans of paint - both interior and exterior - and disposing of paint since it is toxic needs to be done properly. Visit our Recycling Locations and Shredder event page for details on hazardous waste in the area. We update this page each season for local and nationwide audiences seeking recycling events.
Unused sports equipment/fitness equipment.
Are your kids grown? Do you have broken sports equipment? Are you no longer using your fitness equipment? These items can also be donated if they are in working order.
The Complete Organizing Kids' Sports Equipment Guide
If you have kids, like me, you will likely have a lot of sports equipment in your home.
Rusted, broken, and unused garden tools.
Garden tools (affiliate) need maintenance. If you didn't take care of yours and now want to, check out this post by Bob Villa. Visit our other Tool posts.
How to Increase Space using Shed Organization Tools
Amazing Backyard Tools to Make Life Easier
Creative Ways to Organize Tools in a Closet
7 Essential Products for Organizing Tools
Old tires.
If you have extra tires in your garage, it's time to get rid of them. When you're ready to donate, visit the Earth911 page here.
Old bike equipment.
Recently, we got rid of one of my old bikes. No one wanted it, and I didn't want to give it away because the bike was over 20 years old. I had replaced it a few years ago and gave it to my daughter. She never rode it. So, now that she is away at college, we figured we could get rid of it. Feel free to check out this post about bicycle recycling.
If you have good-quality bike parts that you swapped out, you can sell them on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. Stick with local swap or sell places. You don't want to ship anything that is too heavy. It would be costly. My husband had some success removing parts to update his bike.
Unused spray paint.
I created a DIY spray bottle organizers if you want to organize them neatly. If you don't want to keep them, you can recycle them at a hazardous waste event in your area.
Old boxes of stuff.
Solid-colored boxes (affiliate) can hide things quickly, making it harder for one to know what to do with them. So, going through these items a little at a time will help you weed through the stuff.
If you decide to use these boxes (affiliate), be sure to list exactly what is in the box on a label (affiliate) affixed to the front of the box.
Donations that need to go to charities.
Many people use their garages as catchalls for their donations. Now it's time to get rid of them and bring them to your local charity. Get more information on organizing your donated items before they leave the house.
Unfinished projects.
Do you have a table you were going to upcycle? An item you needed to repair? Decide whether to get rid of them or set a deadline to finish them.
9 Steps to Complete Unfinished Organizing Projects
Organizing Projects can easily be stopped and never returned to finish. Since the organizing process has many layers and details, it's no wonder that so many people stop before finishing their organizing project. It's not all about purging or organizing.
Expired spray cleaners/chemicals.
Some cleaners and chemicals expire, so if they have expired, take them to a hazardous waste event in your area. Here's an article about recycling household cleaning items.
Unused holiday decorations.
If you change your decorations each year, you most likely have decor that you will never use again. Go through them and donate those in good condition to a charity like Goodwill, Salvation Army, local schools, senior centers, and check out my donation locations page for tons of ideas. You can send the item to them by mailing it.
Old newspapers and magazines.
Do you have magazines or publications that you are collecting that need to be recycled? Recycling these items is easy and can usually be done through your trash removal service. I recommend either removing your name and address with a Sharpie (affiliate) marker or shredding the first page of the magazine for security before recycling it.
Fertilizer with Pesticides and Herbicides over 4 years old
And the final garage items you need to get rid of are fertilizers containing pesticides or herbicides that are over 4 years old. Dry fertilizer can last indefinitely, but if it contains pesticides or herbicides, it has a limited shelf life.
4 Areas of Your Garage to Keep Safe and Organized
The garage is a tricky place to organize. Some people become overwhelmed by the numerous items that need to be included and the placement required to keep young children and pets safe from hazardous materials.
Frequently Asked Questions about items to toss in the garage.
Read more...
Well, there you have it! I hope this list helps you create a stress-free garage space. Continue on to check out my example of how we organized our new two-car garage.
2025: An Example of an Easy DIY Garage Organization Project
That's a lot of things to get rid of. Now, I want to show you how I organized my garage in just a few hours. It took two of us to do this project. It took us time to determine what type of shelving (affiliate) we wanted that would look similar to the other unit we had brought from our other home. But, it was so worth getting something similar to the existing unit. Now, it looks very organized and neat. Take a look at how we transformed our garage in our other home.
What is the cost of organizing this garage?
It cost us about $150.00. The shelving (affiliate) that we bought was only $129.00 at Walmart, and we were able to pick it up right away. We got a few bins also to help us organize the small things. What was great about these shelving (affiliate) units is that they had liners, so you didn't need to worry about things falling through the metal openings.
Supplies Used
1- Hyper Tough 6-Tier Wire Storage Shelves with Liners, 48" W x 18" D x 72" H, 3600 lb Load Capacity, Chrome at Walmart
A reused wire storage shelf with casters that we had from our other house.
Rubber malet
Large Totes (affiliate)
Sharpie (affiliate) Marker
Packing Tape (clear)
Before the garage organization project
Below is the before image of the garage organization project. We only had one unit, and none of the totes (affiliate) were being appropriately used. There was stuff everywhere on the floor. It was a mess!
How to organize a garage?
Below are the steps we took to organize our garage in just a few hours.
First, we took off all the items and sorted them into groups. Below are some of the groups we used. You may have more.
- gardening
- moving supplies
- extra filters
- Small appliance and electronic boxes (affiliate)
- Traveling bags
Next, we purchased the shelving (affiliate) unit and some extra totes (affiliate) for items that were in the house but didn't need to be there.
Now, it was time to assemble the shelving (affiliate) unit. We laid down the shelving unit and started adding the shelves (affiliate) from the bottom up, using the black clips to affix them around the poles. No glue necessary. We also added feet to the bottom of the poles.
Evenly placing the shelves (affiliate) was enough for what we were looking to add to the unit. We selected the tallest items that would be on the shelves (affiliate) and measured their height by placing the item between the shelves (affiliate).
Now, when we raise the shelving unit, we use a mallet to secure the shelves (affiliate) to the poles. When only a little of the black is showing, it is secure.
Then, we add the liners to the shelves (affiliate). They just lay right on top.
Then, we added extra boxes (affiliate) on top with the small appliance boxes (affiliate), the blower, and organized totes (affiliate) containing extra organizing supplies, moving supplies, luggage (affiliate), and other gardening items on the shelves. Additionally, some donation items need to be placed on the next shelf later on.
Since I didn't have my label maker (affiliate) with me, I used packing tape for the box front and wrote on it with a permanent marker (affiliate) for each tote, indicating what was inside.
Reveal:
And here is what the garage looked like when we finished. We are so happy that the items are off the floor.
Organizing a Garage Tips
Now that you have purged your garage, visit these posts for tips on how to organize it. We have tons of tips and tricks to help you organize your garage space.
The Complete Organizing Kids Sports Equipment Guide
How To Make An Effective Garage Organization
17 Creative Ways To Use Carabiners to Organize Your Home
4 Areas of Your Garage to Keep Safe and Organized
FAQs for Organizing and Tossing Items in a Garage
If you are looking for more answers, please read my FAQ section below.
Start with the obvious items that require no decision-making, like broken appliances, broken patio furniture, old tires, and expired chemicals or cleaners.
These items have no use and can be removed immediately.
Once they're gone, you'll have more room and momentum to tackle the items that require a bit more thought, like old boxes of stuff and unfinished projects.
Old paint, expired spray cleaners, and chemicals are considered hazardous waste and should never be thrown in the regular trash.
Check with your local municipality for hazardous waste collection events or permanent drop-off locations.
You can also visit Sabrina's Recycling Locations and Shredder Events page for local and nationwide recycling event details, which are updated each season.
Absolutely! Many garage items in working condition can be donated.
Sports equipment, fitness equipment, bikes in decent shape, holiday decorations, and patio furniture can be donated to charities such as Goodwill, The Salvation Army, local schools, and senior centers.
The Salvation Army family stores will even pick up larger items, such as furniture. Just make sure the items are in usable condition before donating.
For old tires, visit the Earth911 recycling guide to find tire recycling options near you.
For old bikes, you can look into bicycle recycling programs in your area. If you have good-quality bike parts, consider selling them on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. Stick with local swap or sell options to avoid costly shipping for heavy items.
Go through these boxes a little at a time to sort and weed through the contents. Solid-colored boxes tend to hide things, making it easy to forget what's inside.
If you decide to keep any boxes, label each one clearly on the front with exactly what's inside. This simple step makes it much easier to find things later and prevents boxes from sitting untouched for years.
Dry fertilizer on its own can last indefinitely. However, if your fertilizer contains pesticides or herbicides, it has a limited shelf life and should be discarded after about four years.
Expired fertilizer with these additives may not work effectively and should be taken to a hazardous waste event for proper disposal.
Be honest with yourself about whether you'll actually complete the project. If you have a table you plan to upcycle or an item you plan to repair, either set a firm deadline to finish it or let it go. Unfinished projects take up valuable space and can add to the feeling of clutter and overwhelm in your garage.
Recycling old newspapers and magazines is easy and can usually be done through your regular trash removal service. Before recycling, either black out your name and address on the magazine cover with a permanent marker or shred the first page for security. This protects your personal information from being seen by others.
A basic garage organization project can be surprisingly affordable.
For example, Sabrina completed her own garage organization project for about $150, which included a six-tier wire shelving unit from Walmart for $129 plus a few extra bins for organizing smaller items.
The key is choosing shelving that works for your space and using labeled totes to keep things grouped and accessible.
Start by removing everything and sorting items into groups, such as gardening supplies, moving supplies, extra filters, small appliance boxes, and travel bags.
Then, invest in sturdy shelving and bins.
Place the tallest items first to determine shelf spacing.
Label every tote and box so you know exactly what's inside.
Getting items off the floor and onto shelves makes a huge difference in how functional your garage feels.
Closing statement
Well, this was a very informative post. I hope the toss items we got rid of were helpful, as was seeing my family and me set up our new garage. Feel free to share and leave me a comment if you have any questions. When your garage is well organized, you will feel so much better using it and walking through it to get into your home. I know I enjoy it now.
If you'd like to explore our other posts on garage organization tips, please click on the titles below.
Here are some additional posts to help you get inspired to make a stress-free garage.
12 Things to Toss ASAP When You Clean Out Your Garage
Garage Cleanup Tips: 9 Things to Get Rid of Now
Below are the 'unique things to toss' series of posts. Feel free to check out all of them.
15 THINGS TO TOSS FOR A STRESS FREE PANTRY
15 THINGS TO TOSS FOR A STRESS FREE HOME OFFICE
And, 15 UNIQUE THINGS TO TOSS FOR A STRESS FREE KITCHEN
15 UNIQUE THINGS TO TOSS FOR A STRESS FREE KIDS CLOSET
15 UNIQUE CLOSET ITEMS TO TOSS RIGHT NOW
And, 15 KEEPSAKE ITEMS TO TOSS FOR A STRESS-FREE HOME
15 UNIQUE BATHROOM THINGS TO TOSS RIGHT NOW FOR A STRESS FREE LIFE
24