How to Organize the Garage

Are you stumbling over bikes, suitcases, camping gear and boxes filled
with assorted junk while your new car sits in the driveway or out in
the street? If your garage resembles a rummage explosion, it's time
to organize. You may even be able to put your car back in its rightful
home--and find that tennis racket that's been missing for two years.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Sort through the clutter. Discard what's broken and sell anything that you're not using. See 1 Get Organized, 12 Get Rid of What You Don't Want and 95 Plan a Yard or Garage Sale.

2. Concentrate on reorganizing the stuff you want to keep. Group like things together. For example, store everything for auto repair in one area, sporting gear in another.

3. Use large stackable plastic bins for small items such as camping gear, craft supplies or hand tools. Buy lockable bins if they contain valuable or dangerous items such as power tools. See 144 Organize Camping Equipment and 133 Organize Craft and Hobby Materials

4. Attach shelves or cabinets to your garage walls, or put up freestanding units. Store the heaviest items on the lowest shelves. If your garage is barely big enough for the car, hang shelves on all three walls above car-roof height.

5. Hang rakes, brooms, shovels, folding lawn chairs and other flat items on the walls. See 115 Organize Gardening Tools.

6. Hang bikes on hooks from the ceiling along the side of the garage, or over the hood of your car. Install a floor-to-ceiling bike rack if you're storing bikes for the whole team. See 142 Store Bicycles and Gear and 489 Win the Tour de France.

7. Lay 3⁄4-inch (2 cm) plywood in the rafters and create a storage loft. Run a ladder up the wall into the loft for easy access.

8. Build a low storage platform that the hood of your car slides under if you're really pressed for space. Use it to stash stuff in what would otherwise be empty air (unless you're hanging your bikes there).

9. Consider erecting a metal, vinyl or wood shed if you have a yard. Then move tools, gardening supplies and the lawn mower out of the garage. Many home supply stores, such as Lowe's and Home Depot, offer ready-to-assemble kits, or shop online at sites such as ShedShop.com, ShelterWorld.com and ABetter Backyard.net/storagesheds.html.

Tips & Warnings

• When you clean your garage, take everything out and put it in the driveway. Clean, air out and check items for damage, then put it back in.
• Avoid the temptation to use your garage to store things until you can put them away properly.
• Install adequate lighting in your garage with easily accessible light switches.
• Lay a doormat next to the door of your car. Wipe your feet when you get in or out of the vehicle. Put another mat by the door from the garage to your house, and use it religiously.
• Bolt a 2-by-4 to the floor for use as a tire stop. Or hang a tennis ball from the ceiling so that it just hits your windshield when you pull into the garage.
• Never run cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, lawn mowers or other gasoline engines in your garage.
• Keep gasoline, kerosene, paint thinner and other flammable items in locked, wellventilated storage separate from the house.

[stephprry]

on 12/11/2008 Really great tips and ideas! I especially like the tip about keeping a mat by the car door...why didn't I think of that?

[JoannaB]

on 5/8/2008 Great tips!