If your garage has become a cluttered and disorganised dumping ground where it’s impossible to find anything, it’s time to take action.
Use these seven tips to transform your garage from a chaotic space into an orderly storage area.
Organise your garage into zones
Before you start reorganising the contents of your garage, group similar items. For example, sort sports equipment, outdoor furniture, woodwork tools, gardening tools, and holiday decorations – and designate an area of the garage for each of these types of items.
Creating zones for specific items will help you keep the space tidier, but will also make it easier to find items when you need them. Don’t forget that you can also use vertical and overhead space for storage as well.
Use vertical space for storage
Garages have more wall space than floor space, so look for ways to incorporate vertical storage. Think about installing floating shelves or cabinets, stacking containers. Install hooks on the walls for hanging tools such as rakes, brooms, shovels and hose pipes.
Pegboards, slatted walls, and mounted hooks work well for storing smaller items such as garden shears, screwdrivers and pliers. You can even trace the outline of the item onto the wall or pegboard behind, so that each item has a designated spot that’s easy to locate.
Make the most of overhead storage space
If possible, make use of overhead storage in your garage by building a loft area in the rafters, or suspending shelves of pallets from the ceiling. You can also create more storage space by installing ceiling hooks for hanging bicycles, fishing rods, luggage and other items.
Install a wall-mounted workbench
If you need a workbench but your garage is tight on space, consider installing a wall-mounted table that can be folded against the wall when not in use. This is a great space-saver.
You can even use the wall space behind the table to hang your tools for easy access.
Get creative with containers
Use old tubs, jars, buckets and other containers to neatly organise the contents of your garage. For example, you can keep nails in a peanut butter jar, store leftover paint in a jam jar.
Keep your spray paint cans in a hanging shoe organiser, or store scrap wood in a bucket or old paint drum. If you’re storing screws, nails, drill attachments or other small items in old jars, nail the lid of each jar to the underside of a shelf to save surface space.
Make space for sports equipment
Keep your sports equipment organised and out of the way by hanging bikes from the ceiling, mounting a basket on the wall for storing balls, and installing hooks on the wall for fishing rods, cricket bats, hockey sticks and similar items.
Label everything
Once you’ve sorted out where everything goes, make your garage user-friendly by labelling everything. This may seem tedious, but it will save you time in the long run.
Demarcate specific zones in the garage with tape, label every container, and trace the outline of tools so that you can quickly find whatever it is that you’re looking for.
Affordable storage with XtraSpace
Even with the best organisation, you might have too much to store comfortably in a garage.
Alternatively, perhaps you’re considering renovating your garage so you can rent it out or add to your living space.
Either way, XtraSpace offers the ideal storage solution. We provide secure, easily accessible self-storage units, ideal for storing items that might otherwise clutter up your garage or home. Call us on 0861 250 259 for more information or find a branch near you.