Linda Rothschild, founder and CEO of Cross It Off Your List, a Manhattan-based organizing service, and the president of the National Association of Professional Organizers, offers sage advice for the novice garage organizer.

On separation anxiety: "To really get organized, it helps to eliminate things. If that's difficult for you, keep in mind that somebody else could use the items that are going to waste in your garage."

On teamwork: "Try to enlist family members. In the future, they may think twice about dumping things in the garage after they've spent the time to sort it out."

On rules: "There are no rules. Arrange things where they work best for you."

On the time commitment: "There's no way around it. Organizing the garage is time-consuming. But what you'll save on the back end will be invaluable — you'll be able to find things instantly."

On staying organized: "You may have trouble keeping it up on a daily basis, but shoot for a yearly or biyearly clean-up."