BlogHow to Organize Your Garage

The garage is often one of the more crowded rooms in the house, as that’s where we tend to store all our things we rarely use. It's time to organize this space once and for all!

Whether it’s because you just moved or because you can no longer find what you’re looking for amongst all the things that have piled up, it’s important to properly organize this space.

Sorting and cleaning

Sorting your things is an important first step. Get rid of the items you no longer use or need. If they’re forecasting a nice day outside, remove everything from your garage and start anew. Think to yourself, “Do you really use all these things?” Old paint cans can be returned to the hardware store for recycling and duplicate screwdrivers can be donated. If old sports equipment has not been used for at least a year, it’s simply gathering dust.

Take advantage of having your items outside to dust them off and clean the garage at the same time. Don't hesitate to add a fresh coat of paint or choose a new floor covering.

Planning and reorganizing by theme

Think about how you want to use your garage. Are you going to park a car in there? Do you need a fridge or freezer? Will you be doing DIY projects? This will help you estimate how to use the space you have.

Then make a plan. There are websites to help you virtually plan the organization of a garage. Of course, you can also use paper and pencil. Take the actual measurements of the garage. If you park your vehicle in there, be sure to leave about 30 inches around it.

Then it’s time to organize by theme the items that you’ve kept. Use separate zones to organize car maintenance equipment, sports equipment, gardening items, DIY tools, items for exterior and interior maintenance, etc. You will find what you’re looking for more easily and can choose what should be kept close at hand.

Efficiency

If there’s one thing to remember when setting up your garage, it’s to clear the floor as much as possible and take advantage of every square inch of space. To do so, good wall organization is important. Use pegboards for fairly light items and magnetic strips for magnetic tools. Hanging shelves or old kitchen cupboards are also useful. For heavier items, consider using free-standing cupboards or shelves.

Items that are used infrequently or seasonally, such as bikes, should be placed higher up. Brackets can be hung from the ceiling for this purpose, but be sure to respect the weight they can support. As for tires, place them on a shelf near the ceiling.

Finally, if you need a work table, it can be fitted with drawers or folded up against the wall to save space. For your large plastic containers, number them and keep a summary list of what each one contains.

A well-appointed garage will save you time, and you will appreciate its usefulness more.