Do you have a garage that’s cluttered and crammed full of stuff? If so, you’re not alone. A lot of people have trouble organizing their garages. It can be tough to know where to start.
The following are simple steps to get the clutter sorted and helpful tips for storing your belongings. Depending on how much clutter and the DIY projects you are doing, it may take a couple of weekends to organize your garage.
Sort your belongings into four piles:
- Keep
- Toss —Establish a list of what you will toss (such as dried-up paint, rusted tools, broken small appliances, outdated baby equipment, etc.) Doing this before you begin sorting will help make decisions easier. Remember your beautiful, expensive car is sitting exposed to the weather for this stuff.
- Give Away–-Stuff still in good condition, but you don’t use it. If someone is storing things in your garage, call them to remove them.
- It doesn’t belong in the garage.
Get the family involved in the process to help speed things along. Assign each person a specific task and/or section of the garage to declutter.
Once you have removed everything but the Keep pile. Sort your belongings into groups–for example, lawn and garden, toys, car care, sporting equipment, recycling, pool supplies, tools and hardware, holiday items, etc.
Planning storage space
Open your car’s doors and mark clearance space around your car with tape or chalk. At the front of the car, include enough space to walk comfortably past. Remove the car from the garage and mark clearance space around your water heater, washer, dryer, and any other appliance stored in your garage.
The leftover space you have after marking space for your car and appliances is your available space for storage. Measure the depth. This measurement is the max depth your shelves, tables, etc., can be.
Helpful tip: While the car is in the garage, suspend a golf ball from the ceiling to touch the middle of the windshield. The ball will alert drivers when to stop.
Helpful tip: If your garage is small, cut pool noodles in half and use them as wall bumpers.
Designate areas
Create zones for your groups. For example, lawn supplies by the back door, bikes on a wall by the garage door, camping gear on shelves, etc. Keep flammable materials far away from appliances with flames.
Use narrow spaces, less than twelve inches, for hooks or storage between the wall studs. Keep the hooks high so heads and eyes won’t bump into them.
Use areas two feet or wider for bulky items you can’t get off the floor, such as lawnmowers, trash bins, etc.
Cleaning the Garage
Before stacking everything back into the garage, sweep the floor and remove stains. Eliminate oil stains with dish soap, coke, or GoJo hand cleaner. Wipe off containers and remove cobwebs.
Garage Organization Tips
Gardening and repair work requires a workbench. If you lack space for a permanent table, you can use a rolling cart; two sawhorses, and a door; or build a flip-up table.
Gardening tools storage
Long handle tools
Store long-handle garden tools such as rakes or spades in a tall garbage can or use pieces of a hose or PVC to mount to a wall. Or store the garden tools in an old file cabinet, in an old golf bag, or between walls studs. Use hooks screwed into the studs with bungee cords attached or nail strips of wood between studs to hold tools against the wall.
Short handle tools
Store your garden hand tools on a peg board, in a pot, in a shoe organizer, or hanging from the tongs of an old rake.
Helpful Tip: inserting your garden tools into the sand will remove soil and moisture.
Garden twine
Put twine balls in a funnel, pull the string out from the bottom, or hang the balls on narrow rods.
You could also use plastic containers with lids nailed to a shelf. Poke a hole in the bottom of the container to pull the twine out.
Large, bulky garden items
Wheelbarrows
Secure wheelbarrows to the wall with two slide locks.
Folding lawn chairs
Hang folding lawn chairs on homemade pegs that are placed high on the wall.
Garden Hose
Nail a bucket to the wall and wrap your hose around it. The bucket can hold sprinklers.
For more Gardening Tool storage ideas, please visit Dobibe Pinterest
Toys/ Sporting Equipment
Bikes
Hang your bikes up on hooks. Buy those used for extension ladders rather than curved hooks as they hold items better. Again place the bike hangers high to avoid heads. Make a homemade one out of pipe pieces.
Fishing Pole
Use PVC to hold rods.
Bats, rackets, and paddles
Store between wall studs using strips of wood or bungee cords attached to hooks screwed into the studs. Tall garbage bins, old file cabinets, and golf bags can be used to hold the equipment.
Balls
Store balls in a net laundry bag or a garbage pail. You can nail a square of wood between studs and another two feet higher. String bungee cords between and store balls in this cage.
Tools
Hand Tools
Many organized garages use pegboards to hold miscellaneous tools. If you don’t have space for a large pegboard, you can make slide-outs made of pegboard, create a track pegboard system and attach it to the sides of cupboards or storage units.
Drills
Create a station for drills made of wood or can use PVC and slide the head into the pipe. Station this close to an electrical outlet.
Pliers, Wrenches, and other small handle tools
Hang over a wooden strip attached to the wall.
Screwdrivers, wrenches, and paintbrushes
Old tie racks get a second life when used to hang small tools on, such as screwdrivers and small wrenches.
Use a magnetic knife holder for screwdrivers, lightweight wrenches, and paint brushes.
Nails, screws, and other small fasteners
Store in plastic bins, flip boxes, jars with the lids nailed to the bottom of a shelf, muffin tins, or lightweight plastic containers with lids. Glue a washer to the bottom of the containers and attach it to a magnetic knife holder.
Tape and spray cans
Tape
Thread on an old hanger or on a rod. Or make a box to hold the tapes with a hacksaw blade attached, making the tape cutting easy.
Spray Cans
Store spray cans in a shoe organizer, in a used plant pot holder, or lined up in a gutter.
Extension cords, pipes, dowels, and wood
If you lack available space for floor storage, wood can be stored in between wall studs using wood slats or bungee cords to hold in the space. Store pipes and dowels in triangles of lattice attach to the ceiling or attach a Quik-Tube to the ceiling to store wood or pipes in.
Don’t store your extension cords over hooks. Use a chain or a bungee cord to attach. Or create a power cord caddy.
For more ideas, please visits Dobibe’s Pinterest page, Tool Organizing.
Storage tubs
Garage storage may include items such as clothes, holiday items, camping equipment, etc., stored in plastic tubs. Try not to stack the containers and build a wood or PVC shelving. Create a shelf over your garage door or design a ceiling-attached track. Don’t store heavy items above your head.
Misc storage containers
Long flower planters, wire baskets, and mesh hanging bags can be repurposed for storage.
Organizing your garage does not have to be difficult. You can organize your space in many different ways, depending on what you have and what you need to store. By using pegboards, storage containers, and old tie racks, you can easily organize your garage in a way that works for you.
FAQ
I have a lot of small items, where should I store them?
Small items can be stored in plastic bins, flip boxes, jars with the lids nailed to the bottom of a shelf, muffin tins, or lightweight plastic containers with lids. Glue a washer to the bottom of the containers and attach it to a magnetic knife holder.
I have a lot of heavy items, where should I store them?
Heavy items should not be stored above your head. They should be stored on the floor in a storage container or on shelves.
I don’t have a lot of space in my garage, what can I do?
If you don’t have a lot of space in your garage, you can try to organize items vertically. This means hanging bikes up on hooks, storing balls in a net laundry bag, and using old tie racks to hang small tools. You can also try to use storage containers that can be hung up on the wall or ceiling.
For more information, please see:
How to Organize Your Garage Nearly on Any Budget
Do you have more ideas on how to store your belongings? Please comment below.
Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed this blog post, please give it a share!
See also:
20 Places to Donate Your Stuff
Dobibe Pintrest Garage Organization
Dobibe Pintrest Garage Organization Tools
Dobibe Pintrest Garage Organization Gardening
0 Comments