Garage Organization Ideas

Garage organization ideas aren't hard to find, but you need a plan. The hardest part of many things in life is where to begin, and garage organization is no exception.

If you go stand in your garage and look around long enough, you’ll eventually get some ideas you can use.

However, your feet may get sore because it’s going to take an awful long time to get it all figured out. Instead of approaching it that way, you can save a ton of time and effort by taking an inventory of what you’ve got.

Yes, an inventory! It may sound sort of formal, and, I suppose it is. But you know what? It’s the easiest and fastest way to get started. The idea is to jot down whatever you see in your garage. Don’t worry about being too detailed. For example, just write down ‘hardware’ instead of nails, screws, washers, bolts, nuts, anchors, etc. You’ll be surprised at how fast you’ll be done.

Once your list is complete, it’s time to make it smaller. How? Get rid of junk!!! I can all but guarantee you have junk in your garage that you haven’t used, aren’t using, and won’t use. You know what it is. It’s not at all difficult to identify. It’s most often found on the bottom of a pile, or in the very back of a deep shelf. There are many options you have for getting rid of junk, but you won't choose any of them until you are ready to part with it, which is the true key. The easy part is finding it, but the hard part is letting go.

The idea is to either put it to use, sell it, donate it, or trash it. You won’t get anywhere in the process until you get rid of the junk. I can’t stress how important this step is.

So, now your garage is junk-free. Way to go! Now what about all the leftover stuff? Relax. You’re well on your way to realizing the potential of your garage. It’s time to go back to your inventory list. Cross off all of the items you got rid of. Now, it’s time to consider who, what, where, & how. Oh, in case you’re wondering, ‘when and why’ just aren’t relative here.

Who?

Who does the stuff on your list belong to? This is an important idea to consider because you want to make sure it is easily accessible for that person. For instance, you don’t want your six year old to have to climb a ladder to retrieve her roller blades. Write down what belongs to whom.

What?

What sort of stuff do you have? Get several different colors of highlighters and begin highlighting the stuff according to what it is. Make all your garden items green, all your tools yellow, sports equipment blue, or whatever colors you wish. The idea is to group your items!

Where?

Now that you have everything grouped, it’s time to decide where to put it. You won’t be able to keep everything perfectly organized by group, but you will be able organize most of it by group. For example, because of the shape and/or size of your garage, you may have to store one bicycle on one wall, and a different one on a separate wall. That’s OK! The point is to stay focused on the big picture. So, get out another piece of paper and draw the shape of your garage. No, you don’t have to be an artist! The idea is to draw the basic shape of your garage floor. Then, using the same highlighters you used for grouping, color in the area of your garage that you want to call home for your stuff. Just a simple dot or checkmark is fine. Don’t worry about wall and ceiling space for now.

How?

Well, now you have an inventory of the stuff in your garage, you know who it belongs to, you have it grouped, and you know where it’s going to live. Wow! Now, it’s time to figure out how it’s going to live. This brings us to storage. Storage is composed of shelves, cabinets, systems, hooks, trays, crates, boxes , and bags. Take another look at your inventory list. Jot down how you’d like to store everything you’ve grouped. For instance, do you want to store paint on a shelf, or in a cabinet? This is where your creativity comes in. How you store your stuff is entirely up to you. The key is to make sure everything on your list is accounted for.

Congratulations!

In your hands, you now have an accurate, colorful plan to organize your garage. Keep in mind, this is only a plan, and it’s OK to modify it as necessary. The important thing is that you have a plan. Without a plan, you have no direction, and that only leads to more frustration and clutter.