7 tips for clearing out the garage the green way

Spring has well and truly sprung in East Anglia and the fact of the matter is that you can’t keep putting off that garage clearout.

And this year, why not earn yourself some extra responsibility points and get your garage looking spick and span without making an unnecessary impact on the environment?

What’s clearing out the garage got to do with protecting the planet, you say?

Let sustainable skip hire company SunSkips explain all the ways you can lower your carbon footprint while finally getting your garage tidied up once and for all.

1. Decide if you really need to throw things away

The best way to start is by sorting all of the big stuff in the garage into piles so you can get your head around the job. You’ll probably want separate areas for:

• Things you’re going to keep.
• Things that can be donated.
• Things that can be sold.
• Things to be thrown away.

It might look like a daunting task right now, but once you get started, you’ll soon have a clear idea about how much is staying and what size skip you might need to get rid of the rest.

Just be careful you don’t accidentally start unpacking that old ping-pong set or Sega Mega Drive and waste all that clearout time (you know what, there’s no harm in a little trip down memory lane, just don’t be too long…)

MORE: The five Rs of waste management: Refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle

2. Do a car boot sale or sell things online

The bright side of having a big clearout is that you’ll probably come across some things that you can make a few quid from.

Whether you prefer to lug it all down to a car boot sale, sell it on an online auction site or find someone locally that’ll come and pick it up using a secondhand app, rehoming your old stuff is the best way to prevent it from ending up in a landfill.

If you’re feeling generous, consider what could be donated to community causes or the local charity shop (a quick social media blast to your friends, family and neighbours might turn up some interest for an easy collection).

MORE: Cheap rubbish removal: How to get rid of your junk without breaking the bank

3. Properly organise your tools

On top of making your life a lot easier when you need a pair of pliers in a pinch, taking inventory of your tools means you never have to resort to buying new ones.

How many crosshead screwdrivers have you bought unnecessarily because you don’t have one to hand when you need it?

Also, take this opportunity to give your tools a clean. Keeping everything in your toolbox well maintained will make them last longer, especially power tools, which will run more efficiently when cleaned and oiled.

BONUS: If you have a fridge or freezer in your garage that gets hit by direct sunlight when the door is open, consider taking this opportunity to move it to a shadier area to conserve energy.

4. Ditch the chemical cleaners for an eco-friendly alternative

A lot of cleaning chemicals aren’t great for the environment and there’s a chance the plastic packaging that needs to be disposed of will end up in landfill.

MORE: Plastics that can be recycled: a guide to sorting plastics in the UK

So before you go on a spending spree, consider that you might have a perfectly good supply of cleaning products right there in your kitchen.

For example, white vinegar is a good solution for greasy stains. If you’ve got any copper, brass or pewter that needs cleaning, mix the vinegar with salt and flour to make a paste that’ll get it looking as good as new. Bicarbonate of soda is also a cheap and powerful cleaning agent, especially for hard-to-reach areas like blocked pipes and drains.

Give it a go!

5. Use washable cloths, not paper towels

It’s tempting to grab a wad of paper towelling to clean up the sloppier areas of the garage, but consider how much extra waste you’re generating from an already messy job.

For an environmentally friendly solution, get yourself a few good quality cloths that you can stick in the washing machine and use again for future spring cleans.

Or better yet, if you’ve got some clothes to clear out of the garage, repurpose some old t-shirts; a great way to keep the ones you can’t quite bear to part with!

MORE: Spring cleaning: A handy checklist to breathe new life into your home

6. Give the vacuum a break and get the broom out

You’ve got this far, why not put in that extra bit of elbow grease and get the floor swept up?

With all the debris that finds its way onto the garage floor, the broom is really the best tool for the job anyway to avoid the vacuum getting clogged up unnecessarily.

Need to get yourself psyched up for all that manual labour? Stick on SunSkips’ Dirty Dozen, the ultimate playlist for a proper clearout, and show those dust bunnies the door in style.

7. Choose an environmentally conscious skip hire company

Not all waste management companies practice the high recycling standards you’ll find at SunSkips’ sites in Stowmarket, Cambridge and Haverhill.

In fact, some waste removal services don’t even carry a waste carrier’s licence and may be illegally dumping the content of your garage on a country lane somewhere.

SunSkips is the eco-friendly choice and also the best value skip hire service in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. You might even find the extra cash you made from selling stuff you never used is enough to cover the cost!

SunSkips uses meticulous screening processes to recycle as much waste coming through our sites as possible and partners with local manufacturers to reintroduce materials back into the domestic ecosystem.