Garage Storage Solutions
The garage... most often the place where everything ends up because you've run out of room in the rest of your house. It turns in to a catch-all for anything and everything that doesn't have a place in your everyday routine.
The biggest problem when it comes to organizing your garage is the accumulation of "stuff", some necessary and some not so necessary. These ancillary possessions don't have to be thrown away, given away, or sold at your next garage sale, they just need a place to be stored. Once everything has a place, the garage can do what it was originally intended to do, hold your vehicles and a few things you need for outdoor activities such as sports equipment and landscaping tools.
The first problem you need a solution for is where to put everything. A garage has more wall space than floor space, so your first step should be to choose what to assign to that space. Also, the ceiling is a valuable spot for storing things. With the placement of a few hooks, the ceiling can store bicycles, ladders, and lawn tools out of the way.
A storage shelf installed on the ceiling of the garage is an ideal location to keep items that are used once in a while or a few times a year, such as Christmas decorations, camping gear or screens and storm doors. Storage totes are ideal for seasonal items to protect them from cold and moisture that is present in garages.
Adding shelves will provide plenty of space for fertilizers, pesticides, car care products, flower pots etc. It's a good idea to arrange these items on the shelves by category, putting related items with each other. It's also helpful to group smaller items into boxes and bins that sit on the shelves. Drawers, bins and boxes should have labels which identify their contents. Clear plastic storage boxes are also good for organizing because you can view the contents making it easier to find what you're looking for.
As you sort through the contents of your garage, you will quickly realize that a lot of items need specific attention. You may also decide to designate a certain area in your garage as a workshop or a spot for a particular hobby or sport. Whether your sport is tennis, skiing, golf, bicycling, or something else, an organized look can be accomplished with this equipment when it is stored on the walls rather than scattered about on the floor. Rope-handled tubs are also helpful for storing all the various balls needed for sporting activities.
For the handyman, there are a number of ways to store and organize your equipment. First and foremost, a workbench is a good way to get some control over the tools and necessary extras for this hobby. If you're just looking for a place to organize your tools, nails, nuts and bolts, a rack or tool box may do the trick.
The garage is typically used as the storage area for gardening equipment. If you have a green thumb, you'll need a place for preparing your plantings as well as ample storage space for potting soil, pots, watering cans, etc.
A combination of bins and crates can be used to provide an area that doesn't use a lot of floor space. Of course, very little gardening goes on in the garage. But the tools for the job are best stored there. A rack or tool strip on the wall of the garage can accommodate your gardening equipment. Individual hooks can also be used to store landscaping tools such as rakes and shovels.
Last but not least of organization dilemmas found in the garage revolves around the subject of recycling. With today's concerns about the environment, recycling is becoming more common. Recycling bins are most often kept on the floor which can take up valuable storage space. You can reduce the amount of space used for recycling by utilizing stackable recycling bins.
