The typical garage can easily become a jungle of tools, garden implements, sports equipment, and holiday décor. It’s time to tidy up.
The first step to cleaning up the garage is to take inventory. In an ideal world, the entire garage would be cleaned out, sorted, and put back together. If this can be done, consider cleaning and repainting the floor and walls before moving everything back in, or laying down a durable, snap-together, interlocking polypropylene tile garage floor for aesthetics and comfort underfoot.
More likely, however, the garage will be organized a section at a time.
Whichever method you choose, start with three boxes labeled “Keep,” “Toss,” and “Donate.” Be realistic about broken items that have been waiting years to be repaired and throw them in the Toss box. The Donate items can go to a charity thrift store, family members, or neighbors, particularly when it comes to duplicate tools.
Planning Fun
Measure the garage and begin drawing out a plan. It’s always better to discover problems on paper than when drilling holes and hanging storage shelves.While each garage’s organizational design will be unique based on the homeowner’s lifestyle, the Golden Rules remain: Keep regularly used items easily accessible, and create functional zones. For example, spaces for the car guy or girl, handyperson, sports enthusiast, gardener, and storage.
In addition to crafting a functional floor plan, keep the various levels of storage in mind. Anything at eye-level will be easy to scan and find, and items within arms-reach should be those you want to keep readily accessible. Any heavy or bulky items should be put under the counter or at floor level.
Out-of-reach storage is best for seasonal items and can include ceiling-mounted storage (sometimes even above the garage door, depending on the height of the ceiling). The exception is ceiling-mounted bicycle storage, which should be designed to keep bicycles readily available.
Looking Up
One great benefit to storing items in the garage rather than the more finished areas of the home is that ability to use the ceiling. This is a great place to store bulky camping gear, holiday decorations, winter clothing, skis and snowboards, extra crafting supplies, spare wood and pipes, and more.The idea is to lift any annoying problem items up and out of the way until needed. Overhead garage storage racks come in a variety of forms, from ones that fit within the tight space next to garage door tracks, to fixed mount and pulley systems that raise and lower a “shelf” for access without a ladder. Be sure to mount them to the trusses to support heavy loads.
Other options include tracks for slide-in ceiling-mounted storage bins, and specialty fixed mount or pulley systems for ladders, bicycles, and canoes or kayaks.
For the budget-minded, consider a DIY built-to-size ceiling-mounted storage rack made out of plywood and two-by-fours, or simply screw some heavy-duty bike storage hooks into a ceiling truss.
Clutter Busters
Wall systems are where garage storage really shines, and many can be duplicated as a do-it-yourself project. Just get out a tape measure, circular saw, and wood, and go wild with freestanding or wall-mounted (get the proper wall anchors!) shelving, peg boards, and more.A used pallet set on its side makes an instant stand-up storage system for some of the most common problem items—long-handled garden tools such as shovels, rakes, and hoes that are always falling over. Attach a pegboard to the front of the pallet to store smaller items like trowels, hand rakes, weed pullers, and snips.
Pegboards above a workbench are great for organizing the many hand tools that would otherwise pile up on the benchtop. Drawing an outline of each tool in its place gives it a more polished look and also makes ongoing tool organization easier, especially if the kids are helping with projects.
Wall slat systems take the pegboard idea to a whole new level, as they get larger and heavier items off the floor. They can also be used to turn general tools, sporting goods, and garden tools into garage décor. Each wall could have its own theme. The downside is that they don’t store as much as a 12- to 24-inch-deep shelf unit would in the same space.
One of the easiest ways to begin organizing is with adjustable metal or plastic shelving. It is a low-commitment option as it can be moved if, after a month or two, you realize it was placed in the wrong location. It can be used with or without bins, but bins will help categorize the mess and give the garage an overall neater look. Get out the label maker when using opaque bins. It’s not organized if it can’t be conveniently found later.
