Is your garage a haven or a horror? Too often, we just shut the door and forget it when we walk into the house. But it’s so much easier to keep a garage organized if there are places to put things away. Our garages are full of tools, sports equipment, gardening and lawn paraphernalia, and hopefully, the family car. Start your garage organization by utilizing every surface— floor, wall, and ceiling space. Shelves, racks, and cabinets can help you efficiently use wall space. Pulley systems can lift bikes, skis, and other things right up to the ceiling, so they’re out of the way until you need them. Whether you decide to use individual units, or an entire garage organization system, you’ll enjoy having a place for everything, and everything in its place. Take a look at some of the best garage storage ideas. You might actually park your car in the garage now!
Let’s face it. For most of us, the garage serves as a dumping ground for old paint, broken toys, and boxes of clothes awaiting a ride to the local thrift store. No wonder our vehicles feel the squeeze—provided they can fit inside the garage at all.
If the thought of organizing your garage fills you with dread, take courage. Here’s how to break the task into three steps, so you can curb the chaos once and for all:
1. CLEAR THE CLUTTER
Begin with a serious cleaning, if possible hauling everything onto the driveway. Group items you’re eliminating into four piles: toss, recycle, donate or sell. “Be brutal when you are sorting,” advises Erin Gentry, Associate Public Relations and Consumer Engagement Manager at Rubbermaid. “Get rid of anything you haven’t used in the past year.” If parting with perfectly good items proves paralyzing, find motivation in a moneymaking garage sale or gain satisfaction from helping a favorite charity.
2. MAKE A PLAN
Now that the garage is empty, avoid the common mistake of hastily rushing out to buy organizational products. First consider whether the space could benefit from a fresh coat of paint.
3. CHOOSE TAILORED SOLUTIONS
Now that you have a plan, put it into action with smart organizational products that require minimal effort to use. The good news is there are plenty of options, from inexpensive DIY hooks and chrome racks to customized, professionally installed systems priced in the thousands.
Wall systems, wrap any or all sides of your garage with panels that can be outfitted with your choice of accessories, including ball holders, bins, cabinets and hooks. Though some systems can be priced in the thousands, they do offer excellent flexibility and get everything organized and off the floor. Models that use tracks or rails are easiest to install.
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