A garage is often the place where something goes if you don’t know what else to do with it. As a result, garages can become cluttered. Organizing your garage can help reduce clutter and create an orderly space. Your garage will be neat, and you’ll be able to find all your treasured possessions. Here are some tips for organizing your garage.
Table of Contents
- Make a Plan
- Sort Items and Get Rid of Clutter
- Organize Your Garage Into Zones
- Choose the Right Storage Units
- Make Better Use of Your Space
- Make Some Updates to Your Garage
- Replace Your Garage Door With Banko Overhead Doors
1. Make a Plan
As a homeowner, you know how to organize the garage in a way that works for you. Before you begin your project, visualize how you want your garage to look. Make a list of the supplies you need and what goals you have. Here are some cleaning supplies that you’ll need to organize your garage:
- Catch-all basket for miscellaneous items
- Heavy-duty trash bags
- Strong vacuum and broom
2. Sort Items and Get Rid of Clutter
When considering how to organize your garage, start by sorting your items into groups. Throw out toys your children have outgrown as well as broken and expired items. After you have gotten rid of what you don’t want, you need to start organizing the remaining items. Put the remaining non-trash items into two groups: one to keep and the other to donate or sell.
There are also items that you shouldn’t store in the garage. Items to keep out of the garage include:
- Paint: Store paints in a more temperate area, such as a mudroom or even a basement if it’s insulated.
- Refrigerators: During the summer, the refrigerator works overtime in a hot garage, increasing your energy bill.
- Propane: Store propane outdoors, somewhere it will not be close to a spark that might ignite it.
- Pet food: You should store your pet food in a place with a cooler, more moderate climate, like the kitchen. When you store your pet food in the garage, you could leave your garage prone to bugs and animals.
3. Organize Your Garage Into Zones
Once you’ve decided which items you are keeping, you should store them in the following zones to best organize the garage:
- Indoor home items: Store items that you use inside the home close to the door leading from the home to the garage.
- Outdoor tools: You can place outdoor tools in pieces of PVC pipe screwed into the wall, where you have easy access when working in the yard. If you have young children, store any hazardous chemicals away from their reach.
- Children’s toys and sports items: You should store children’s toys in wire wall baskets where the children can reach them.
- Holiday items: You can store holiday and seasonal items in labeled containers in a place you will not need to access every day.
4. Choose the Right Storage Units
When organizing a garage on a budget, make sure you keep everything off the floor. Here are some of the best ways to organize the garage:
- Plastic bins: Purchase clear, stackable, plastic bins with lids. Clear bins allow you to see what’s inside for easy access.
- Clear jars: You could buy clear, visible jars to store small items, like screws and nails.
- Cabinets: Organize the cabinets to access frequently-used items. Store items you don’t use very much in higher or less accessible cabinets. To keep hazardous chemicals away from your children, store them in locked cabinets.
- Old school lockers: Repurpose old school lockers if you can find them. You can assign each school locker to a family member so everyone has their own space for their items.
- Large shoe rack: To tackle a large number of shoes, put a rack in the garage, where everyone can put all their shoes.
- Old crates: Old crates are perfect for storing your shoes and boots. They will also add character and style to your garage.
If you decided to store your shoes in the garage, think about converting part of the garage to a mudroom. Add some steps and a welcome mat, along with some hooks on the wall to hang coats or wet clothes.
5. Make Better Use of Your Space
One of the best garage organization tips is to use the space you already have for storage. Here are some easy ways to organize your garage through the places in your garage:
- Hang items from the ceiling: Hang long and flat items, like fishing poles, from the ceiling of your garage. Hanging these items prevents them from interfering with the opening and closing of the garage door. Hanging items also shouldn’t hit the top of your car when you pull it into the garage.
- Install shelves on the walls: Shelves are less expensive than cabinets. They may make organizing your garage easier. Shelves also make it easy to see all your items at once.
- Put a workbench on the walls: If you have cleaned out your garage to have extra wall space, consider installing a workbench. Buy a workbench that mounts on the wall and folds down. If you’re installing a workbench in your garage, leave space to store screws, nails and other small items.
- Hang a bike rack on the walls: If you have enough space, consider installing a bike rack in the garage. A bike rack is a great parking space for your children’s scooters and bicycles.
6. Make Some Updates to Your Garage
After organizing your garage, you might want to update some items. Here are some common garage organization tips and tricks to keep your garage clean:
- Paint the walls: Painting the walls in your garage gives your space a cleaner look. With a fresh coat of paint, you’ll be more likely to keep the garage clean.
- Clean the floors: You may notice that the old concrete floor looks dull. You can coat your garage floor with a type of epoxy that will make the floor resistant to skids.
- Replace the light bulbs and light fixtures: You may also want to upgrade the lighting in your garage. Lighting upgrades can make a big difference in brightening up this space!
- Replace your garage door: Replace your old or broken garage door that’s taking away from your newly maintained space. Newer garage doors are more efficient and quieter than older models. A new garage door will add to the improvement of your garage area, and making it easier to get in and out of the garage.
Replace Your Garage Door With Banko Overhead Doors
For the best garage install and repair in West Central Florida, contact Banko Overhead Doors. We install garage doors and garage door openers in the Greater Tampa Area. Our professionals are committed to customer service. We will help you find the best hurricane resistant garage door for your needs at the right price. Contact us online or call 844.707.9868.
Additional Resources on Garage Door Tips And Tricks:
- How to Tackle Spring Cleaning
- How to Protect your Garage From Flooding
- 5 Tips for Creating the Ultimate Man Cave
