It's October and time for...Trick and Treats!

There is something about October - the colours, fall clothes, Thanksgiving, the fabulous weather and of course - Halloween!

Halloween gets us thinking about scary stuff which, of course, leads us to thoughts of... garages! OK, for many of you, this may not be an obvious word association!

However, over the years, the Divas have seen a lot of scary garages... and attics and basements for that matter!

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Is your garage scarier than your Halloween decorations?

Take a minute and look out your window. See the building with the gigantic door? Does that building hold ... your car? Or, is that structure full of all kinds of extra stuff you can't fit in your house? Could it be stuff you no longer want, use or need?

Check out the Diva's...

TEN EASY STEPS TO CLEARING YOUR GARAGE

This project may be easier to accomplish with only one other person involved. It has been our experience that the more people who help with the clearing, the more "reasons" there will be to justify keeping stuff.

So, let's get started:

ONE - Clear your driveway. Leave as much room as you can to sort your stuff.

TWO - Remove everything from the garage. Leave no captives. Everything OUT!

THREE - Sort your stuff into FOUR piles - Pitch, Patch, Pack and Pass-along.

FOUR - Pitch - that's garbage - either regular or to be recycled. Protect the environment and take paint cans, aerosol containers, batteries, old computers... to your local Hazardous Waste Disposal location.

FIVE - Patch - fix, repair, connect! Before deciding to keep something, make sure it fits, works and has all its parts. If it doesn't work... see Step 4!

SIX - Pack - "like with like". Store similar items together -- sports equipment, camping supplies, garden tools... get the idea? Plastic storage bins are ideal - they keep stuff dry and keep animals out.

SEVEN - Pass-along - Some stuff is still "good", just not for you! Hold a Garage Sale, take it to a Consignment Shop or donate to a favourite charity.

EIGHT - Return items to the garage, but keep in mind, all these items will have to endure sub-zero temperatures all winter.

NINE - Leave lots of room for your car(s)!

TEN - Think twice before storing more stuff in your garage. If in doubt, throw it out! With your car in the garage, shovelling snow will be much easier

 Remember... most of us won't miss what we forgot we had!