Welcome to Green Cleaning Solutions from Bounce Energy! In this series, we will share our best practices, favorite tips, and homegrown cleaning recipes – all designed to keep your home clean using environmentally friendly products and methods. We’ll help you skip the gadgets and toss the harsh products by embracing cleaning practices that use items you likely have in your possession already. And you might even save money by creating your own cleaning supplies and keeping it simple!

The Christmas decorations have been pulled out and maybe put back in, the large gifts have been stored in there, and with it being the end of the calendar year, it’s likely that your Garage needs a serious clean-out.

But there’s no reason to be wasteful, or to use toxic products or actions to tidy up the garage.

Check out these tips for keeping green cleaning in mind when you clear out the behemoth that is your garage!

1. Clear the Space

The very first thing to do when Cleaning out your garage is to pull everything out. Organize items into piles and determine what will stay, and what will go.

Rather than putting items into the trash can, consider how you can pass them on to someone who may want them. Even setting them on the curb is one way of taking care of things without adding to a landfill.

2.  Recycle and Dispose of Clutter

Whether you store aluminum cans, cardboard boxes, or plastic tubs and containers to recycle, now is the time to clear the clutter.

Look up your local recycling center, and pick a Saturday morning to load it up. You may need to bring a water or electricity bill with you to prove where you live if its a city run center.

How to dispose of hazardous waste:

• If you have loads of paint cans that are taking up more space than you like, be sure to sensibly dispose of them. Or take them to an organization such as Habitat for Humanity that offers discounted paints at a low cost.
• Don’t throw paint cans into your trash can. They will sit in a landfill for eons, and it’s not an environmentally friendly way to dispose of paint.
• If you are clearing out solvents, car oils, and other toxic products, then check with your county household hazardous waste drop off. These items should never go down the sink, or into your trash can.

3. Organize and Sort Your Tools

If you have a family member that is good at fixing things, then it’s likely their tool collection is overflowing with doubles and triples of things.

Take inventory, and set aside tools that there are unneeded multiples.

You could consider donating them to the local high school shop class, and feel good about placing your tools in the hands of a future generation of builders!

4. Remove Oil Stains from Concrete

If you pull your car into the garage, chances are your garage floor resembles an abstract painting. Remove Oil Stains with a few simple steps.

How to remove oil stains from concrete: 

• Start by wetting the pavement, and take a stiff brush to scour the area with a baking soda and water paste.
• Rinse it off with water and allow to air dry.
• If you still see a stain, then apply a concentrated laundry detergent. Leave it on for a few minutes, use some good elbow grease (pun intended) to scrub it, and rinse well.

5. Dust and Clear the Spiderwebs

Spiders love to hang out in garages. Using the end of a broom, wrap a cotton rag or cleaning cloth around the end with a large rubber band, and use this to pull down spiderwebs.

Take another washable rag and wipe down your shelves and other surfaces.

4. Sweep the area

Leave the vacuum for hard-to-clean carpets and pull out the old broom and dust pan. Give it a full sweep before you put items back in their places.