How To Organize Your Garage
Has your garage gotten a bit out of hand and you want to know how to organize your garage? Garages are sadly the dumping ground for all the stuff you don’t know what to do with, the junk no one wants to deal with, and things that are supposed to be elsewhere but never quite made it there. That is on top of what actually belongs in the garage which can make these spaces quite the challenge! Have no fear…read on for our best tips on how to organize your garage!
Getting Started
1. Create your plan of action to organize your garage
Your garage can only hold so much so planning ahead for what you actually want to be in there is key. This will help determine what stays and goes – and also start to assist with space planning. What you store in your garage may not be the same as your neighbors – it’s really connected to how you and your family use the space and what hobbies & interests you all have. A lot is dictated by available storage space in the house – often the garage ends up becoming overflow storage for household items as well as typical garage items.
Think through how you want your garage to function in terms of the types of things you need to store as well as how often you need to access those things. For example, holiday items are only once a year so these don’t need to be front and center. And if you’ve got kids, their gear will change regularly as they grow and their interests & needs change.
Pro Tip:
- This is the time to think about your infrastructure in terms of shelving or storage, and if you plan to do upgrades like epoxy floors or paint. This impacts how long the process may take to organize your garage.
- Creating a diagram of your garage - even a simple one - can be useful when thinking about space planning and layout.
Edit & purge
2. Sort like with like, then declutter to organize your garage
Often people try decluttering by walking around getting rid of things randomly, but the key to successful editing is to focus on grouping like with like so you can see exactly what you have. We typically start with a larger sort with broad categories, then fine tune once this is done. If you’ve got folding tables and some sort of bin to sort into (old totes or cardboard boxes work just fine), this can really help the process.
Once you’ve got things grouped together, then declutter by evaluating whether each item deserves a spot in your garage – it needs to earn it’s way in not end up there by default or a lack of decision making.
Toss the low hanging fruit like broken toys, tools you never use, old hobbies, outgrown sports equipment, etc. Then weed out anything else that doesn’t serve your current lifestyle and circumstances like yard tools if you have a lawn service or car repair if you take your vehicle in for all services.
If you’ve got a large volume – this is a great time for a junk pickup.
3. Evaluate your infrastructure - and add as needed.
Most garages are sadly lacking in sufficient storage and shelving so this is the time to determine what you need based on what you have left after your editing. For less frequently used items, overhead racks can be ideal and for more easily accessed items, setting up wall mounted or free standing shelving around the space is key. Our post “10 Top Garage Organizing Solutions” with our fave garage organizing systems has lots of great ideas! When adding shelving or cabinetry – be mindful of where the vehicles are parked making sure car doors can open easily and there are walkways available when they are parked! Thinking outside the box can be really key if you want to organize your garage.
If you are in the Nashville area, a company like Premiere Garage can give you a finished look with built in cabinetry, epoxy floors, and more.
Tips & Ideas
- using the vertical space in a garage gets things off the floor which is why slat wall or wall tracks are great
- be realistic about what you actually need and will use - your garage isn't a dumping ground and should be treated like any other room in the house
- if you don't need to park vehicles in all of the bays in the garage - consider turning one section into a room by adding shelving units to create a 'wall'
Pro tip: Add our fave 'Costco zone' shelf by the house entry door!
Organizing The Garage
4. Use clear bins that stack and are consistent in size/style.
A mish mosh of bins of varying sizes and colors creates visual chaos in a garage. It’s super tempting to use whatever you have on hand but take our word for it – consistent storage bins make the difference between a space that feels organized or not. We often use these Hefty bins or HDX totes. Don’t forget clearly labeling – we use the 18mm black on white labels on our Brother PTouch label maker for high visibility. You can also hand write large labels on index cards and tape them inside or out using packing tape.
5. Create zones based on the current needs and uses.
Zoning your garage is critical to making it actually function. Once you’ve got your infrastructure sorted out and things grouped, binned and labeled, think about who is accessing each category and how frequently you need to get to it. This will dictate where things need to live.
Pro tip: If you have a fridge in your garage – this is best placed next to the Costco zone, ideally near the house entry.
Zones we often set up in garages:
- Drop zone! Setting up a spot by the entry door for grocery bags, umbrellas, sun screen, and the like can be great for quick grab items.
- Costco! If you buy in bulk or bring home large quantities of things like paper towels, tp, waters, snacks, etc, having a shelf by the entry door to stash these items can really free up space in your kitchen and act as a back stock area.
- Garden! If you love to garden - keep all of that together ideally near a wall track where the yard tools will hang.
- Tools/hardware! Some of you have more than others but most of the time a simple workbench or tool box will suffice. If you've got a larger volume, adding a slat wall or pegboard along with tool drawer units can be super helpful.
- Holiday/out of season! This is usually in an overhead rack or upper shelves for holiday storage and things like camping or ski gear.
- Overflow household! This is often bulky kitchen items, seasonal decor, blow up mattresses, and the like.
- Bikes & sports gear! Storage for this depends on how frequently it's used and who is using it. For littles, having it low and easy to grab is key for tidying up. This may also include stadium chairs, tailgating items, or coolers.
- Toys & kids gear! This changes regularly as kids grow so multifunctional storage solutions are key with a combo of shelving & wall tracks.
How To Organize Your Garage: Spring ReFresh Edition
Getting your garage organized for spring (or any time) can be a game changer for how your family functions and take a ton of stress off your mind in your day to day. We’d love to help so just drop us a line!
