I'm a professional declutterer. Cleaning out your garage is a big project — here are 5 tips to finally tackle it for good.

• I work with clients to get rid of things they don't need anymore.
• The summer is the perfect time to declutter your garage and clean it out.
• Take inventory first, and plan out realistically how much time you'll need to finish.

Summer is here, and it's time to take on those big projects you've been avoiding all year. If one of those is cleaning out the garage, here are some tips to keep it from taking all summer and ruining your familial relationships.

There's a reason we procrastinate when it comes to getting this combination of storage space and junk room managed; it's full of things we can't quite make a decision about. That's what clutter is at heart — deferred decisions.

Maybe you've set aside a weekend for this task, and you're determined to jump in and just get it done in one fell swoop. Depending on the amount of stuff in there, it's possible, but it might not be the best strategy. Whether you opt to do it in one big push or over the course of several sessions, it will help to do some prep work.

Take inventory

What's in there, anyway? Is the goal of this project simply to reorganize what you've got while skimming some unused items off the top? Or are you fairly sure the majority of the contents need to be permanently removed? The answer will help determine what it's going to take to get the job accomplished. If most of the things in your garage are being banished from the premises, will you need help hauling them? Do you know where to take them? (Dump, recycling center, thrift store, etc.)

The last thing you want is to move all the stuff onto the driveway only to find that it won't fit in your car, the dump is closed on Sunday, or any other obstacles will keep you from finishing up.

If this is more of a reorganization than a clear-out, will you need new shelving or bins and boxes? Collect your supplies before you start, or you may spend half the weekend driving around town fighting the crowds at the big box stores.

Get real about your time and energy

Getting your garage cleared out in a day or two may sound simple, but if it were easy, you'd have done it by now.

Clutter is a mental game as much as a physical one, and decision fatigue is real. You might do better to head out there for 20 minutes a day during the week and then spend a few hours on Saturday and Sunday. Progress over perfection is a great mantra when it comes to clearing out a cluttered space.

You'll likely find things that need repairing, things you want to donate to specific people or organizations, and things that need to be returned to their original owners. Running one of these errands each day might feel a lot easier than doing it all at once.

Don't bite off more than you can chew

The worst thing that can happen when you attempt a big project like this is that you pull out a lot of stuff, deal with some of it, and then shove the rest back in to deal with later. You feel like you've failed, and your interest in starting again is less than zero.

As you make decisions and piles, be sure you have enough time to put things away where they belong or remove them from the property altogether. If that means only clearing out the first quarter of the space, so be it. At least a chunk of the work is done, and you don't have to revisit any of those items again.

Don't skimp on breaks and snacks

A tidy, sparkling garage will be less of a triumph if you've thrown out your back and are no longer speaking to your partner.

It's easy to set arbitrary goals and then do ourselves to prove that we can get it all done "on time." If your garage has been an unruly mess for years, it's no sin if it takes a few weeks to get it handled.

Don't skip the final steps: cleaning and celebrating

Are you a 90 percenter? Meaning that you get all the big stuff moved out, the majority of the little stuff organized and put away, but then leave the last bit for… never?

Do yourself a favor and sweep, label, take out the trash, fix the broken door handle — finish it up 100% so you don't have to think about it anymore. Then pour a beverage, turn on the music, and revel in your tidy space.