13 garage organization ideas
At Austin Garage Door Solutions, we see garages in all sorts of conditions, from sparkling clean to cluttered and disorganized. If you have the spring (or summer) cleaning bug, here are some garage organization ideas to declutter, improve efficiency, and make your garage look great!
1. Prioritize your stuff.
The first step in decluttering and organizing your garage is sorting out the type of stuff you have in your garage. Begin by creating piles of different garage items, and placing them together.
Sort everything in your garage, including:
- Home maintenance
- Tools
- Holiday decorations
- Extra storage
- Gardening
- Sports/athletic equipment
Then, prioritize where would be best to place everything, based on how often you use it. If you feel that your garage is particularly cluttered, be ready to pare down a few of your items by either donating or throwing out some of the clutter that you don’t use.
2. Make accessibility key for children’s items.
Keep sports gear, kids’ bikes, and frequently used items by your kids near the entrance of your garage. This allows for children to reach their play things easily without them having to navigate through your whole garage. Keeping the hockey net in the back of the garage may make some sense given its size, but when your child tries to carry it between two cars to get it into the driveway, it’s hard to avoid a scratch on the side of your car.
3. Hang your tools on pegboards.
Pegboard is a cost-effective way of displaying your tools, gardening equipment, and other items readily. Pegboards are a garage standard, and rightfully so, as it can be easily changed around to add or remove space, and are key to organizing your home tools.
4. Keep your holiday decorations out of reach.
Your garage storage should have a hierarchy of usefulness. You’ll want an easily accessible place to keep the weed killer so you can stay on top of those cracks in your sidewalk. On the other hand, your holiday decorations are only used once a year, for a set period of time. These can be put away in a less accessible storage area than your more frequently used items.
5. Don’t store food, cardboard, or paint in your garage.
Critters love cardboard. And in the Texas heat, food and paint will not last a summer. Keep these items in your closet, or pantry to prevent heat or unwanted animal guests from damaging them.
6. Donate anything you don’t/won’t use.
Garages should not be a place where your most sentimental items are kept, so you can allow yourself to donate the baseball tee your son and daughter used when they played tee ball six years ago; or that impulse tennis racket you got after watching a particularly exciting Wimbledon tournament.
7. Keep your bike out of sight.
Bicycle thieves thrive in Austin, and with good reason. Don’t let a potential burglar see your bicycle. Hang it up obscured from the view of any windows into your garage. This provides the double benefit of saving you room, and keeping your bike safe from theft.
8. Be practical about where you’re putting everything.
Can your store your not often used kayak on the ceiling? Probably. But how hard and heavy is it to get it up there? So much that you’re not going to want to get it down? As much room as it might save, it isn’t helpful in the long run.
9. Buy all your storage boxes at once, and buy quite a few extra.
As the years in your home go on, no matter how much you throw out, you’ll still find yourself with more and more items in your garage. Five years from now, when you need a place to store your newfound birdhouse collection, it may be difficult to find the storage box you bought today. Buy sturdy, bug resistant plastic containers, and make sure to buy extras for the years to come so your storage will be future-proof.
10. Label everything in boxes.
You don’t want to spend hours looking through your storage boxes without knowing which box holds what. Get a piece of paper and tape it to your box. Keep a pen nearby to cross off and add any items that will eventually go into your garage storage. It will save you time and energy with searching for things.
11. Give your interior walls and floor a paint job.
Painting concrete floors can prevent mold, and make it easier for you to clean. Keeping the walls painted as well can add a layer of warmth and comfort to an otherwise bland space.
12. Get ceiling storage.
Hanging items from your ceiling is a cost-effective way of maximizing the space in your garage. Keeping your unused items (i.e. holiday decorations) on the ceiling will save you space, time and resources.
13. Always have a clear surface to work on.
When you have a home project that needs worked on, make sure you have a tool bench, or designated space clear at all times to make sure you can conveniently and efficiently work through your project.
Follow these tips and your garage organization will greatly improve, giving you a great space to work, play and live in.