17 Secrets to Organizing Your Garage

Garage "Before"

Garage "After"

Have you ever wondered why we only have garage sales and not bedroom, living room or kitchen sales?  It’s probably because the garage is one big storage facility…a place where we tend to just put whatever we don’t want, don’t need or don’t know what to do with.  Now granted, the garage is meant to store things like…a car (wink), but that doesn’t always happen. Instead the garage often becomes a cave where, you think you know what’s in there but you’re not quite sure.  And quite frankly, you’re just a little bit afraid of what you might find once you venture deep inside it. Well, don’t be afraid. It’s a perfect time to organize your garage and get on with your summer!

Determine your needs for the space.

Assess your space for how you will be able to use it & identify any limitations or repairs it may need.

Develop a plan of action.

Edit and purge your space.

Then organize, contain and maintain.

1.Take advantage of vertical space.  Slatwall and hooks can do wonders for you.

Two different types of wall mounted tool holders.

Slatwall used to store skateboards and helmets.

2. Have a trash can near your door to the house and your workbench area.  Seems like a no-brainer but having trashcans accessible in your garage will greatly cut down on clutter and trash.

3. Use plastic or metal containers that won’t deteriorate or attract critters like (soft canvas bags and cardboard boxes).  

Plastic bins used to store keepsakes.

4. If you have attic space, install strong plywood across the rafters to store less frequently used items. Install a light if possible to see better. (Note: be careful of weight restrictions on rafters. Also keep in mind that a lot of attics aren’t temperature controlled and can get extremely hot and cold.  Use caution when storing delicate and fragile items like photos, documents and keepsakes in the attic).

5. Use sturdy shelves for your heavy equipment. Stock your shelves like a grocery store: most popular items on the middle/easy to reach shelves, less frequently used items on the top shelves, and heavy items on the lower shelves.

Sturdy shelves with labeled containers.

6. A workbench with drawers is great for storing frequently used tools and supplies. You can also use slatwall to hang your tools if you don’t have a workbench with drawers.

Workbench with drawers and slatwall.

7. Rolling toolboxes with drawers are nice too.

8. Sort everything into “like” categories. Some common categories in a garage include: electrical supplies, plumbing, tools, power tools, garden supplies, painting supplies, woodworking tools, crafts, cleaning supplies, carcare, keepsakes, Christmas and holiday decorations, hardware and household items, sporting equipment, camping gear, etc.

9. Don’t forget about the ceiling.  You can make great use of ceiling racks for added storage.

Ceiling racks located above garage doors adds a lot more storage.

10. Avoid too many toolkits and toolbags.  Nothing is more frustrating than having to sort through five different tool bags just to find the right-sized wrench.  Instead of trying to figure out which bag a particular tool goes in, keep your loose tools sorted into “like” categories in drawers or on a shelf.  Going to a single bin with all the wrenches is much easier than sorting through several bins or bags to find what you need.

Tools sorted in drawers and labeled.

Labeled bins in drawers

11. Keep hazardous chemicals together and out of reach of little ones. Consider a locked cabinet.

12. If possible, keep bikes close to the garage opening so you can get them in and out easily.

Slatwall used to hang bikes.

13. Big garbage cans or stands work great for corralling brooms, rakes, shovels, picks, etc.

This stand works great for holding outdoor tools.

14. Consider colored bins for holiday storage. Pink or yellow for Easter; orange and black for Halloween; brown for Thanksgiving; green and red for Christmas.

15. Or…to keep a uniformed and streamlined look; use the same color bin for all of your storage containers.  

Same bins make your space look cleaner and streamlined.

Same brand and color of storage bins creates a clean look.

16. Label your containers.

Labeling containers makes it easier to find and replace your belongings.

17. And lastly, just because it’s a garage, doesn’t mean you can’t make it look nice. Sure the custom flooring and cabinets you see in the pictures above are stunning, but even on a limited budget you can make your garage look nice by simply painting the walls, staining the concrete floors and hanging up some art.

Well, there you have it…17 Secrets to Organizing Your Garage! A word of caution though, it’s starting to get hot. Get Simplifized is a Professional Organizer service in San Antonio, so you can bet we’ve certainly done our fair share of organizing garages in 90 and 100+ degree weather! If it’s hot in your neck of the woods, try to work in the cooler times of the day, plug in a fan and don’t forget to stay hydrated!

Oh, by the way I’ll be posting ome more pictures to my boards on Pinterest so if you’re a pinner I’d love for you to stop by there for a visit too!  If you have any garage success stories or challenges I’d love to hear them!  If you’re in the San Antonio area and are looking for a Professional Organizer then Get Simplifized is for you!  Give me a call at (210) 692-4063!  Enjoy!