Your 5-Step Plan for Effective Garage Storage

Is your garage a hopeless mess? Admittedly, it may be a mess, but no matter how cluttered it becomes, your garage is never beyond hope! If you’re looking for a plan of attack to get your garage organization under control, follow this five-step plan.

Remove What You Don’t Need

Empty out the entire garage. As you remove each item, decide what pile it goes in:

• The trash pile is for broken, stained or obsolete items.
• The sell pile is for gently used belongings you no longer use. If it’s been a year or more since you last used something, it probably belongs in this pile.
• The donate pile is for anything in the sell pile that doesn’t get sold.
• The keep-but-relocate pile is for items you want to hold onto, but that don’t belong in the garage.
• The keep pile is for everything you want to keep and store in the garage.

Play the Role of Architect

Measure your garage and draw up a floor plan. Decide where you might install custom garage cabinets and other storage solutions. Working with a professional garage organizer is a great way to tackle this step if you don’t feel capable on your own.

Categorize Items

Now explore everything in the keep pile. Divide belongings up based on when and how you use them.

• What items do you use most often? Keep them within arm’s reach and close to the door.
• What items do you use rarely? Place them up high to free up prime storage space closer to ground level. Overhead storage is a great option if your garage starts to fill up.
• What items do you use seasonally? Have a dedicate space both down near the ground and in the overhead storage area to rotate seasonal items as the year goes by.
• What items do you use together? Create sections for cleaning supplies, gardening tools, sports equipment and spare car parts.

Gather Loose Items

If you attempt to pile all your sports equipment onto one shelf, everything will end up toppling to the floor. Hang mesh baskets on the wall and fill them with balls, gloves, helmets and knee pads. Other loose items do better in clear, stackable storage totes.

Ensure Your Family is Safe

The final step is to ensure you install the right custom garage storage for safety. For example, cabinets with locks hide dangerous chemicals from your pets and children. Slatwall above your workbench keeps sharp sheers and power tools off the floor. And overhead shelves store paint cans, antifreeze and other items well out of reach.

Are you eager to start the process of getting your garage organized once and for all? Boston Garage offers free design consultations to help you decide which custom garage storage solutions you need to get the job done.