We’d all love to have a sprawling garage space that can comfortably shelter all of our stuff. Plenty of space for cars, lawn mower, snow blower, shovels, sporting equipment, gardening materials, storage bins, and a host of other items we’d rather keep in our garages than in our homes. But, a large garage is a luxury, and most of us have to make do with a smaller one-or-two-stall garage.
But fear not. Just because you have a small garage doesn’t mean that you can’t have a functional and efficient storage system in your garage. Here’s a few tips to help you organize your garage to maximize your space.
Before you start an organization project in your garage, you should start the process by taking the time to clean it. Start by taking everything out of your garage. Back out the cars, take out the storage bins, even empty the walls if you have equipment hanging on them. A proper clean involves ceiling, floor, and walls. Sweep the floors, eliminate cobwebs and dust buildups, scrub dirt deposits, wipe down any of the storage units or shelves you may have in the garage. Try and use an old broom or a swiffer for to take care of the high, hard to reach areas of your garage.
Some other things you’ll want to keep an eye out for are oil stains, loose nails and screws, and any evidence that rodents may have found access into your garage. Check the corners of your garage for rodent remains.
Once you’ve finished cleaning, organize all of the stuff you removed from your garage into piles. It’s important to determine what you must keep and what should be thrown out or sold. Which leads us into the second tip.
Take a long look at your piles. It can be hard to sort through your stuff to choose winners and losers, but even the most optimized storage systems have a limit to how much stuff you can store into them. Start by getting rid of everything that’s broken. Got an old stereo you’ve been meaning to repair for a few years? Chances are if you haven’t fixed it yet, you won’t in the near future. Depending on the insolation that your garage has, harsh temperature swings and humidity could have impacted some of the stuff you’ve been storing, adding to your list of broken items.
Throw out the garbage and then move on to the working duplicates. It’s unlikely that you’ll need that second claw-hammer or that fourteenth string of Christmas lights. To get rid of redundant items, host a garage sale or donate to a local charity.
Now that your garage is clean and you know exactly what you’re going to store in there, it’s time to create garage zones. Garage zones are a great organizational concept that will improve your storage efficiency, and make it easy on you when you need to find something you’ve stored in your garage. Each zone should serve as a related grouping area. Every homeowner will have different stuff that they’re storing in their garage, but some options for zones can include:
Start with the basic 4 zones above and then work outward from there. Once you have everything sorted begin assessing how much space each zone is going to take up, and then plan accordingly.
Once you have your zones mapped out, you’re ready to start putting stuff back into the garage. The zones will help your garage stay organized, but you also want to maximize your storage capacity.
To do so, use the vertical space your garage provides. When possible, hang items on a wall. Use hoods and hangers to store your tools on the wall as a opposed to a bulky tool chest. For storing cleaning supplies, seasonal decorations, or old clothes, deploy some wire shelving or an adjustable wall storage system that features shelves. If you use a storage system that has closed door or bins, tag each area with a labeling system that works for you. By doing so you’ll save yourself loads of time down the line when you’re searching for an item.
By following these steps you’ll be well on your way to a functional and organized garage. However, if you’re looking to take your garage storage to the next level, let us help you out! Schedule an appointment with Harkraft today to get your garage project underway. We’ll work with you to select the storage solution that works best with your garage.
