Organizing Your Garage
As the New Year rolls around, one of the most frequent resolutions, besides weight loss, is getting organized. Last year, I gave several ideas as to how you could organize your home, and this year, its time to tackle the garage! A lot of guys I know tend not to be the most organized people in the world, and need some help knowing where to start. Here's how to get started!
- Set aside a lot of time to do this, possibly a weekend to properly do this project. If you do not give yourself the proper time to complete this project in the first place, you could be setting yourself up for failure!
- Make a list of what category of items you want in your garage, and which ones need to find other homes. STICK TO THIS! If you know what you want in your garage, then it will be easier to sort through everything in the long run.
- Do you see studs in your garage? One way to cover those up and get good use of space is to put up one wall of peg board (or more if needed). Be sure to use 1/4 inch because if you use the lighter stuff, it may break if you hang anything heavy on it. Then, buy an assortment of hooks, from small to large, and hang everything up there from rolls of tape, to hand and power tools.
- For your bigger and bulkier items, make some shelves out of 2x4's and at least 1/2 inch plywood or OSB. Getting bulkier items off of the floor and onto shelves such as empty gas cans and chain saws makes great use of your vertical space.
- Do you have a large toolbox? Start by organizing tools by type; put together all wrenches, screwdrivers, drill bits, and any other like-items. Then label the drawers with a P-Touch label maker or other label-making device. Knowing where your tools live is half the battle; putting them there is the other half.
- Are you finding a lot of nuts, bolts, screws, nails, and any other little fasteners? Use small containers to organize them...use anything from baby food jars, to sour cream containers, and anything else in between. Organize them by type and size and then label them...they will be much easier to find when they are needed!
- For kids' toys, buy an outdoor toy box- they are made of plastic, are large, and work just like your regular indoor toy box. Place anything the kids play with, from sandbox toys to skateboards and roller skates in the box, and teach your kids to continue this habit...it will make the main user of the garage much happier!
- Put hooks in the ceiling for large items, such as bicycles. This once again makes good use of your vertical space.
- Does the man of the house (or anyone for that matter!) have clothing you just don't want in the house? Install hooks for hunting clothing, bulky overalls, heavy duty outdoor coats, and anything else. To keep your house cleaner, have anyone that has muddy shoes change them in the garage first, and keep a pair of clean shoes for them to wear into the house (like flip flops or overshoes...anything that isn't dirty!). Build a rack for the dirty shoes to go...you can even build a bench as a part of this! On the first nice day, take all of those nasty shoes outside and hose them off.
- Consider adding storage above your garage door...that's right, above your garage door! You can build a small shelving system and suspend it from the ceiling, positioning it between the ceiling and the raised garage door. You can store seasonal or seldom used items up there, as it is not the most easily accessible area. This is one of the best ways to take advantage of unused space!
- As you are sorting through your things, purge any items that are broken, worn beyond their use, or that you no longer use. Throw away broken items, and sell any items that you don't need ( or give to a friend in need, or donate to charity!).
