Your garage may be among the most valuable storage spaces you own. Many attics are cumbersome to navigate and actually unsafe to do so. Most families, particularly ones with teenagers, use their basements for recreational purposes and even guest rooms. Some people may manage to cultivate functional workspaces and studios in these parts of their home, and can apply those same ideas to their garages if it suits them. But usually, the garage is that “take-all” part of the house.
Our garages are able to accommodate a variety of home overflow as well as essential items we use for car repair, yard maintenance and home construction projects. A garage can give you the ideal landing spot for seasonal items you may only need for a few months or food and beverages you buy in bulk. You may even have boxes of important files stored in the chaos. A garage is a priceless asset for any homeowner who wants to keep their living space functional, clean and clutter-free.
For it to operate as such, you must organize your garage. No matter if you have a one-car or four-car garage, this takes versatility of approach and carefulness in planning. Most homeowners do not have Nate Berkus on speed dial, so they are often at a loss on how to even begin a garage makeover. With a weekend set aside and the 5 Simple Tips we recommend here, you will be on your way to maximizing this space outside your home and using it more effectively.
Idea 1: Categorize Its Contents
Many people leave their garages unorganized because they have no clue what all is actually inside. You have to get a firm handle on its contents before you can organize your garage. Spend a day with a notebook, index cards and sticky notes to document the holdings in your garage as if you are its librarian. Generally, the content in most people’s garages falls into the following categories.
- Car repair parts and supplies (jacks, tires, oil, wax, booster cables, etc…)
- Appliances and hardware (electric generator, ladders, deep freezer, etc…)
- Toys and games (bikes, outgrown toys, housekeeping play sets, scooters, etc…)
- Sporting equipment (golf clubs, tennis rackets, balls, fishing poles, etc…)
- Lawn care (mulch, fertilizer, lawnmowers, rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows, etc…)
- Seasonal supplies (leaf blowers, de-icing salt, fireplace wood, grills, etc…)
- Odds and ends (paint, piping, tools, papers, manila folders, bag of clothes, etc…)
- Food and household (water bottle packs, extra soda, dry goods, trash bags, etc…)
Idea 2: Donate, Trash or Giveaway
There is little point to organize your garage if unnecessary items remain. After all the work you must do to organize your garage, it could all go to waste within a few weeks or months if you hold on to contents which serve little use to you and your household. If you were a beauty school student two decades ago and you still have your practice chair (with the helmet hair dryer attached), plan to donate it to a local beauty school or recycling center.
If your adult children no longer live at home but you still have their old disassembled swing set, drive its pieces to the Salvation Army for another family with small children to use. If you have been meaning to take several years of outdated clothes to a church or shelter, now is the time. Shred papers you no longer need and toss items in ill-repair into the trash. Make up your mind on what to discard, and stick to it.
After you have gotten a handle on the contents of your garage, you should create sections or piles within it to account for every item you intend to keep and what category it falls into. If the weather permits, park your vehicle(s) in the driveway or on the street as you decide what to do with your garage’s many things. Initially, this step in the process may make your garage look more chaotic than it did before. But be patient. If you have left your garage unattended for several years, it will not come together overnight.
Idea 3: Mark Your Territories
Just as you would not plant root vegetables in the same garden plot and manner as you would your tomatoes, you should not store all of your garage holdings in a haphazard fashion. It is imperative for you to have a keen sense of how to find everything afterwards. When you organize your garage, maximize at least one entire wall within it to place the heaviest items and then work from there.
Designate a section of floor space for heavy, bulky items such as the lawn mower and extra fridge. To stack boxes and crates, use the corners against the house and away from the garage door (to avoid damage or malfunction to the door). Be sure to choose a remote spot for flammable chemicals such as propane gas, car oil or lighter fluid. Plan to hook lighter items far up along walls.
Idea 4: Select a Variety of Panels, Hooks and Shelving
Ultimately, you will be the one who decides just how far you want to go when you organize your garage. In the process, you may decide you want to invest in new cabinetry and pantries. But property owners have a variety of budget-friendly and self-assembling options to add wall panels, hooks and shelves to their garages. Steel, plastic/resin and wire are the most typical materials used in garage shelving. Superstore retailers like Kmart and Walmart offer many choices for garage panels and shelving in their home sections. Ikea is a place to start if you have time to assemble steel and even wood storage yourself.
For the most overcrowded garages, specialty items such as ceiling-mounted shelves may be obtained at Home Depot and also carry installation for an added price. If you are on a budget, simple bricks in between 2 x 4 wood planks make for very sturdy and high-reaching storage. Rubbermaid containers, milk crates, Bankers Boxes and envelope or postage-size address labels also help you organize your garage.
Idea 5: Label Your Sections
Nothing makes an idea or goal more concrete than putting it in writing. If you have signs around your garage to direct you after you organize your garage, you will be less likely to throw a wrench in a milk crate where the flowerpots and seeds belong. After you have put in the physical labor to organize your garage, cement the project with 8 x 11 signs, preferably printed on bright paper and laminated at your local Kinko’s or other office center. Make sure that you print signs in the largest font possible for easy viewing and quick direction.
Skip double-sided tape or other adhesives to hang them and instead use thumbtacks or picture-hanging kits; if you ever move things around, you do not want torn signs due to tough removal. If you have separated the contents of your garage less according to type and more according to family usage, get your family involved in decorating their own signs. The kids might prefer stars and smiley faces above their section for toys, and store inserts in the newspaper could provide many clippings to give a collaged border to signs for “Food and Beverages” or “Garden and Lawn.”
With our 5 Simple Ideas, you can organize your garage no matter what state it is in now.