Steps To Solving All Your Garage Storage Problems

It is often amusing to think of how versatile a garage is. You walk into a garage, and besides a vehicle, you will find almost everything you can think of. Old photo frames, cartons of clothes waiting for their departure to a thrift store, books long discarded; you name it! We often treat our garage as a dumping ground, and the storage problems that come with it are inevitable. However, nothing lasts forever, and you can rest assured that once you go through this article, your garage storage problems will also disappear into thin air. All you need is the right storage, and your garage will go from drab to fab in no time! But first, we need some organising done! Let’s take a look at what meets your needs.

Organise your Garage

You walk into your garage, and it seems like no storage space is left there. The shelves are toppling over, the closets can be barely closed, the drawers are cluttered, and you can only stand and scratch your beard. Well, the solution to this might be easier than you think. While your garage may be crammed with everything under the sun, it is a place that can store more things than any other area in your house. You need to plan it out and spruce up the dump yard into a functional, neat, and organised storage space. It is natural to wonder where to start, considering the sorry situation of the area, but to get a job done, you need to start, and that’s what we are going to do. The organising process begins with sorting the clutter and ends with a space you can walk freely in. Operation: Declutter the garage, coming right up!

7 Steps to Solving your Garage Storage Woes

Think of the options

It’s not the time to rush. Instead of getting a bunch of storage items that ultimately prove counterproductive, sit and take a good look at the space. Strategise. Visualise how the place will look once it has been cleared out and how easy it will be to park your vehicle in it without being scared of knocking something over. Once you have this delightful image in your mind, use that to inspire yourself. Let it be the light at the end of the tunnel. A solid self-motivation session later, compartmentalise your garage into specific areas. 

For instance, your sports area should contain all your soccer balls, cricket bats, golf clubs, and Frisbees. Similarly, your flower pots, sacks of fertiliser, garden hose, and shovel should go to the gardening area. In the same way, make other areas for festive decorations, old books, artistic trinkets, and everything else. Once you have sorted the categories, assign these areas separate corners in the garage. If you need items from a particular area daily, keep them close to the entrance. You can shift the ones you barely use backward. 

We usually overlook how much room a garage has when we look up, and it’s time we change that. Using vertical storage leads to using more space. For instance, the Moduline Pro 10 Piece Cabinet Combination PGC014-01X has cabinets you can install on the wall. Now you do not need to worry about cluttering the floor when your wall cabinet can take care of the excess items. In such spaces, you can keep holiday items or things you do not need more than once or twice a year.

Another option is to get a sizable shelf that allows you to maximise the usage of space in your garage, like the vidaXL Storage Shelf Racks 2 pcs Black 1102.3 lb 39.4"x15.7"x70.9" Plastic 276261. With a whopping height of 131.5”, it helps you organise your stuff without cluttering the space. 

Empty it

Take everything out of the garage and lay them out on your lawn, driveway, or in another room. While carrying this task out, sort things into their categories. Bring all the CDs and DVDs together, group your sports equipment, and so on. It will make your job easier when you bring them back to your garage.

Clean the garage

This goes without saying, but sweep the garage clean with a broom and remove the cobwebs, dried leaves, dirt, and grime from every forgotten corner. While at it, consider covering the walls with a fresh coat of paint to spruce up the look effortlessly. 

Decide what to keep and what not to keep

While you sort your items into categories, take the opportunity to check if they will prove useful to you anymore. Check their condition, and if they are beyond repair or will not be of use anymore. If you tend to be attached to things, follow this rule while you try to discard things-- anything that hasn’t been used in the past year has no place in your garage. It is up to you to decide what you wish to do with those items-- discard them, recycle them, sell them, or donate them. We suggest you sort these items according to the purpose they will serve once they move out. 

Gauge your storage equipment

Once you have a fair idea of your things, assess your storage needs. For instance, your garden tools can find a place in a garden trolley like the vidaXL Garden Hand Trolley Green 551.2 lbs 145509 or a smaller, foldable one like vidaXL Folding Hand Trolley Steel Blue 143779. Similarly, you can keep your tools together in a storage cabinet like Beta Tools Cargo Evolution Without Panels C53. On the contrary, if you like to carry your tools to different areas of your house depending on what needs fixing, get a trolley like Beta Tools Two Module Tool Trolley C41S. In addition, cabinets for your sports equipment, steel shelves for crates, and additional shelf kits are smart options to buy. 

Shop smart

Whatever organisational items you do not have, you can list them and get them from the Garage Department. Whether you are searching for a sturdy workbench or your sacks of fertiliser need a compact rack, you can buy the items you need accordingly. Since you have already listed out the things you need, you will not end up buying more than you need. 

Consistency is classy

While garage storage problems can be solved with the right tricks, you also need to ensure that the space looks nice, and for that, you need consistency. Choose storage shelves, cabinets, and racks of similar colours and types. You can also curate a consistent theme with your vehicle to enhance the look of the garage.

What Should You Discard?

While you decide what you keep or lose, certain things can be a risk in your garage. Listed below are a few of them:

• Canned food: The temperature conditions of a garage are never appropriate for canned food. The containers might get rusty, and you will end up with spoilt food.
• Firewood: Besides being inflammable, firewood is a thriving place for pests. Keep them away from garages to avoid any risks.
• Propane tank: These should never be kept in closed spaces. Leakage can lead to fire hazards and asphyxiation, so always keep them in outdoor spaces.
• Electronic devices: Donate old devices like keyboards, mice, and gaming consoles. The high humidity and temperature in a garage spell disaster for them and increase the risk of internal damage. Insects might also get in and make a home in the internal parts of the devices.
• Paper: Books, catalogues, and documents attract mice and chewing insects in no time, so we suggest you keep them out of your garage. 

What Else to Keep in Mind?

• Open shelves are a smart choice if you want all your things to be in plain view. However, it also means that those things will most likely be layered with dust if not cleaned frequently.
• Closed cabinets and shelves, on the other hand, keep your things free from dust. If you do not want to open and shut every door to see which cabinet is equipped with what, you can label them for easier access.
• Always remember that it is not about ‘the more, the better’. Instead, invest in things you need. For instance, get deep shelves for large items, tall shelves for maximum space usage, and small cabinets for tools. 
• Get lockable cabinets to store dangerous tools and chemicals and keep them out of reach of pets and kids. What looks good may not necessarily be functional, so go for one that serves the latter purpose. 
• The lower shelves of a cabinet should not be used to store sharp or inflammable things.

Conclusion

You might organise and reorganise your garage, but it will keep going back to square one if you do not maintain it. Instead of dumping an item after use, keep it where it was. Dust the place regularly, and ensure your vehicle has enough space to move in and out of the garage. To solve all your garage storage problems, shop here now!