When it comes to organizing your garage, it can seem like a completely daunting task. It may feel overwhelming, and you might not even know where to start. Fortunately, help is available. There are plenty of great garage organizing tips you can use to make your space look good, be able to find everything, and still have room for your car. That’s great news for anyone who has recently bought a home and is trying to get things moved in, but it’s also important for current homeowners who really need a cleaner, less cluttered garage. No matter how much stuff you have or how long it has been in need of organization, you can get your garage looking just the way you want it and keep it organized easily.
1). Can you use vertical and ceiling space as much as possible?
When you’re buying a house you probably aren’t thinking about the open rafters or the drywall ceiling of the garage. Those just aren’t big on your list, because there’s so much else to consider. That ceiling room, though, can be huge when it comes to storage. So can the open spaces between the wall studs if your garage is unfinished. Putting ropes across the space lets you store all kinds of tall tools there like rakes and shovels, and they won’t fall out onto the floor. If you don’t have open studs and your garage is finished, out, you can do something similar with wire racks or with posts and ropes. That doesn’t take up much room because it’s not very deep, but it’s an inexpensive way to get a lot of your things tucked away safely.
You can do the same type of thing on the ceiling. By securing storage options like wire shelving to the rafters, you can put items away up on top of everything. They won’t be unsightly if they’re well-organized, and you can get to them easily with a ladder when you need them. Try to put things up there that you aren’t going to need too often, since you don’t want to be climbing a ladder every day to get them. Storing summer gear in the winter and winter gear in the summer can be a great use of your garage’s ceiling space.
2). How can you declutter and pare down what you’ll be keeping and organizing?
As you go through and begin to organize, you might find that you have a lot of things you really don’t need. If that’s the case, it may be time to hold a yard sale. Not only does that give you less stuff to store, it gives you more money in the budget to buy what you need to store what you have left. Be honest about the things you’re keeping, and whether you really need them. You might be surprised what you can let go of, so you can make more room in your garage and your budget. Then you can better organize the things you’re keeping, helping you have a great looking, neat garage even faster than you might have expected. You can also donate items that don’t sell, so you don’t end up with boxes or bags of clutter.
3). Should you put together shelves from found material, or buy them second-hand?
Shelving is probably going to be a big part of keeping your garage organized. It’s not an inexpensive option in many cases, though, because you want good, solid shelves that will last for a long time. You can’t just put up some particle board, especially if you live in a climate that’s damp. One of the ways you can save big on your shelving is through buying shelves used, or making them from reclaimed materials. If you watch the papers and the internet, you can run across people needing things torn down and hauled away, and people wanting to sell things cheaply just because they need to get rid of them. You’ll have some competition, but if you’re patient and quick you may find some shelving you can use or some wood you can make shelving with. A little bit of clean-up and some paint, and your shelves will look as good as if you had purchased them brand new.
4). Can you store unneeded things in plastic bins on open shelving?
No matter what kinds of items you need to store in your garage, you want to make sure you can protect them from the elements without spending too much on storage solutions. A lot of people are uncertain about shelving because they are worried about dust, rodents, insects, and other problems. If you use open shelving and plastic bins, though, you’ll protect all of your things from harm and still not have to spend a lot on storage solutions. Cabinets will cost much more than shelves and bins, and the bins will seal tightly to keep everything inside them safe from harm. They are also easy to label, so you won’t forget what you have and can find it quickly.
2 Point Highlight
There are plenty of great garage organizing tips you can use to make your space look good, be able to find everything, and still have room for your car.
No matter what kinds of items you need to store in your garage, you want to make sure you can protect them from the elements without spending too much on storage solutions.
