Summer Cleaning Checklist: Indoors, Outdoors and Your Garage Doors

For many, the winters are long, dark and cold. We’re all trying our best to feel comfortable until the first sight of Summer when the weather clears, the flowers bloom and the sunshine feels warm again. As soon as the sundresses and shorts make their first debut, entertaining guests become top of mind.

Before then, Summer cleaning is an essential part of ushering in the new season and letting go of the clutter of last year. We’ll take a look at the tradition of Summer cleaning, where to start and how to reset your garage’s organization.

The Tradition of Summer Cleaning

If you remember the older generations in your family cleaning around Summer time, they likely picked up the tradition from their families as well. The ritual of Summer cleaning dates back 3,000 years to Iranian culture. It originates from the term khaneh tekani which translates to “shaking up the house.”

During this time, the tradition symbolized that the home had driven out evil spirits and removed sadness, poverty and darkness. It was believed that around this time, a family’s ancestors would come back to earth to visit their families. Summer cleaning was meant to welcome their past relatives into a clean home.

Today, we unconsciously feel more energized near the end of Winter, when the days get longer and we get an added energy boost from the sun. We’ve been keeping our doors and windows closed tightly during Winter to preserve energy inside and keep out the bitter cold. During Summer, however, they’re thrown open, inviting in new guests and parties.

What is Included in Summer Cleaning?

When you think about Summer cleaning, many images come to mind from carpet cleaning to a closet purge. If it’s been a while since you’ve cleaned your entire home, the thought itself may be overwhelming. The trick is to start with a Summer cleaning checklist and work from there.

The goal of Summer cleaning is to give you the chance to deep clean your home during a dedicated time. This action reaches above and beyond your everyday cleaning routine, which is typically surface-deep. For this task, we’re getting down into the nooks and crannies of your home to give those hard-to-reach spaces a deserved refresh.

Where To Start Summer Cleaning?

Like any big project, you’ll want to take stock of what needs to be done, which are high priority and if you have the materials necessary to begin. Take a walk around your home with a notepad (or a notes app on your phone) to understand which parts of your house need to be cleared of clutter, cleaned deeply and/or organized more thoughtfully.

Decluttering Your Home

The best place to kick off in your Summer cleaning adventure is to declutter. The fewer items you have to organize, the easier it’ll be to clean the space you’re in. Back in 2019, Marie Kondo hit the mainstream with her method of decluttering called KonMari.

The KonMari methodology can be broken down into five steps:

1. Envision your future self and life without clutter; ask yourself what you hope to accomplish at the end of this clearing journey.
2. Gather your possessions by category rather than by room in a suggested order: clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous items and sentimental ones.
3. Choose which pieces to keep based on how the item makes you feel.
4. Release belongings with gratitude for the time they served in your life.

This is a proven method of decluttering that can produce real results if done every year around this time.

Cleaning Out Your Garage

As you work through each category, you’ll make your way to the garage where most of your miscellaneous items may be hidden. While you choose what you want to keep, you may realize some pieces have been broken for years, are outdated, duplicated and so on.

If you are struggling with choosing items to keep and release, consider whether you used an item within the last year. Can you justify the space it takes up in your garage?

When you’ve reached the end of your decluttering, you can donate, sell, recycle or toss everything you’ve decided to release.

A 2019 National Association of Professional Organizers survey found that 43.7% of people consider their garage the most disorganized storage space in their home. Once you’ve decluttered your garage with the KonMari practice, you’ll have the space to see the corners, tools and surfaces that need a good clean.

How To Clean Your Garage Inside and Out

Now that your garage is cleared out, you can dive into the cleaning portion of your Summer cleaning checklist.

The first step should be to air out your garage. If your garage was stacked with old boxes, shelves and other belongings that restricted airflow, you may need to let this space open up a bit. Give it a few hours and then begin your cleaning process.

Your garage door is typically the largest door in your home, and also where a lot of scraps can get in. Debris, dust, dirt and water get tracked into your garage when you use it. These are possessions that could have snuck behind the items in your garage before you cleared it out. Sweeping and then mopping up will be your next step in cleaning out your garage.

Next, you can start wiping down other surfaces within your garage such as any cabinets, shelves and organization bins. Don’t forget your garage door opener in this process as well. This is an area that is essential to the function of your garage door, so clear out the debris and spray a little bit of lubricant to ensure its longevity.

Cleaning and Assessing Your Garage Door

Check-in with your garage door as well. Deep cleaning can help reveal any necessary repairs that should be done to the door. To get there, you can rinse off the garage with dishwasher detergent, a microfiber cloth and warm water. For the windows, use your favorite glass cleaning product.

These cleaning tips will help reveal any dents, scratches, cracks or holes that may be hidden underneath the grime. Look for rust, warping and other age-related imperfections as well. If the damage is impacting the safety of your home and the door’s functionality, it may be time to call in a professional to take a look.

An Amarr garage door professional can help inspect your garage door’s viability and the mechanics that help it function. They can help you identify places where the Summers, tracks and other areas may need replacement or simply require a deep clean.

Your garage door is used multiple times a day for up to 30 years. It’s natural for your door to eventually reach the point of repair or replacement. After Summer cleaning your home and now your garage, replacing an old door can be a real breeze with the help of Amarr.

You can customize a new door online to include a modern or traditional look. Or you can stop by your local Amarr dealer and choose a door at the store.

How To Organize Your Garage at the End

Feeling good about how clean your empty garage is now? Bringing everything back inside doesn’t have to ruin all of your hard work. With a little bit of imagination, you can ensure your garage remains organized and clean long after Summer is done.

You can start by drafting a floor plan. How much space do you have to work with if your goal is to park your car in the garage? What can change to help support a cleaner space?

Think about incorporating these two organizational methods:

1. Open shelving and storage.
2. Lifting pieces off the floor.

Using clear storage bins that are categorized instead can help you identify where your possessions reside so they’re easier to find and grab when you need them. Clear bins also won’t invite critters and insects into your garage while ensuring your belongings are free from weathering.

Additionally, a slatted wall can help you keep things off your garage floor. You can hang your active equipment and utilize your garage’s vertical wall space to make the room more dynamic. There are other ways to hang items from the ceiling if you have the space as well. These could be the clear bins filled with holiday decorations or pieces you don’t use very often.

Moving your things off the floor as much as possible can help make future Summer cleaning sessions a little easier, and your car can fit into your garage again.

Improving your garage space can give you more room to expand and upgrade your home overall. Similarly, updating your garage door can enhance the look and feel of your home’s exterior. To get started, find a dealer near you.