Organize Your Garage Like a Pro
Our garages tend to become the place for “everything else.”
Things like seasonal decorations, tools, out of season clothes, and more end up making our garage a cluttered and unsightly mess. Organizing it can seem like an insurmountable challenge.
The benefits of having an organized garage are immense. Having seamless access to all your tools and hobbies while still being able to park a car or two adds a great deal of utility to your home.
In this article, we’re going to provide you with 6 garage organization tips on how to make your garage work for you – rather than the other way around.
Have a Plan
Naturally, as home organization designers, we’re big on drawing up plans. Luckily, you don’t have to be a professional designer to plan for success. We’re not drawing out detailed blueprints; even just a rough sketch will significantly improve the length of the project and the quality of the finished product.
By sketching out what you want the final product to look like, you can turn what would have been a weekend-long project into less than a full day. By deciding beforehand where you want things to end up, you prevent wasting time moving things around haphazardly, only to end up moving them again later.
Also, by knowing what products you need to meet the goals laid out in your plan, you’ll save yourself multiple trips to the hardware store. Having the items and tools you need ready before you begin will make the whole project less stressful.
Organize by Category
Give each “category” of things its own place. This will help with both the planning and execution phase of the project. When you draw up your initial plans, decide where you want each of these categories to live. Making this decision beforehand will also help you identify what products you’ll need to follow through with your design.
For example, have a dedicated segment of your wall just for gardening and outdoor tools and equipment. Have a shelf just for helmets and other gear. Hang all your sporting equipment together in one place.
Use Your Walls and Ceiling
If you want to be able to park your cars inside or need a lot of open space, you’ll need to take advantage of the walls and ceiling for storage. While custom cabinets or shelving can give you tons of functional storage and take up little space, something as simple as a wall-mounted tool rack will have a significant impact at a minimal cost.
Give each “category” of things its own place. This will help with both the planning and execution phase of the project. When you draw up your initial plans, decide where you want each of these categories to live. Making this decision beforehand will also help you identify what products you’ll need to follow through with your design.
The ceiling is also full of untapped potential. Many affordable products will allow you to store containers along the ceiling, giving you even more storage space.
Have a Game Plan for Disposal
Depending on the severity of your garage organization, it might be necessary to come up with a game plan for disposing of unwanted items. At the very least, have enough heavy duty trash bags on hand to prevent unnecessary trips to the store.
For extreme cases, you might want to consider renting a dumpster or contracting a disposal service. Make sure that you dispose of any hazardous chemicals like gasoline and paint thinner safely and responsibly.
Label Everything for Optimal Garage Organization
This tip is more about keeping your garage organized after finishing the project, which we’ll talk more about later. If your design involves a lot of containers, drawers, baskets, or other similar storage items, it pays to take the time to label each of them.
Because we’re organizing by category, we want to keep it that way. One of the main reasons our garages get so disorganized in the first place is we didn’t have a system that worked, to begin with.
By labeling containers thoroughly we give ourselves the tools we need to keep it organized and prevent being in the same situation six months down the line. Not to mention, other family members who use your garage might not understand your system and the lines between your categories will start to get blurrier as things are misplaced.
Maintain Your Garage
As mentioned before, the primary reason our homes and garages become disorganized is that we didn’t have the right systems in place. Starting from your initial plan all the way to the end of the project, you should be thinking about how your garage is going to grow over time.
Studies have shown that the average American household gains 1,000 pounds a year. You should design proactively so that you have systems that are capable of handling not just the task at hand but are adaptable as you acquire new things.
Every time you pick up new hobbies, purchase new tools or expand any element of your garage, you need to be adapting your garage to integrate those things effortlessly.
Enjoy Your Newly Organized Garage
Having an organized garage that’s both functional and adaptable is critical to maintaining an organized and happy home. Imagine being able to park two cars while still having storage for all of that “everything else.” With the right plan and a commitment to carrying it out, you can add significant value to your home through garage organization.
You don’t need to be a professional designer to get the job done, but you do need to think like one. It all starts with having a solid plan on paper – even if it’s just a crude sketch. Then, you just need to roll up your sleeves and get to work while making use of all the space you have available.
Of course, if you need any help organizing your garage, feel free to get in touch. We’ll even send you a professional garage designer for free to help you with the planning phase. We’ll work together to transform your garage from a cluttered mess to a high-functioning space that’s built to impress.
