The garage: from graveyard to grandstand
It's that time again! Summer is nigh, and we are planning vacations and day-trips and jaunts to the local watering hole. We're taking inventory of our bathing suits, coolers, SPF, and tackle boxes. We're trying to remember where we stored our roller blades...Ah! the garage!
*GASP* The garage! Our house's graveyard, the black hole into which we cast all the oversized, oddly-shaped, unwieldy and frustrating what-do-I-do-with-this items we own. And somewhere in the hole are the fishing poles and skates and pool floats we want.
...Somewhere...
...Pool floats are cheap. We'll buy new ones instead of having to put ourselves through the ninja-warrior gauntlet that is climbing over piles and piles of undefined and forgotten stuff-mountains in the garage.
...Sound familiar?
what a garage is and is not
Our fearless leader Whitney has big feelings about garage organization. I'll be quoting her extensively throughout this blog. Without further ado:
"According to Merriam-Webster, a garage is a shelter or repair shop for automotive vehicles, but we all know it tends to be where we place items we don’t know what to do with, which can quickly spiral out of control, making for an organizational nightmare."
Here are some items (besides cars) that are commonly stored in garages:
-tools
-sports equipment, like bikes and kayaks
-auto supplies
-home maintenance items, like ladders and mowers
-gym equipment
-bins of memorabilia
-bulk paper goods, like toilet paper
-second fridge or deep freezer
-shoes
-trash cans
-bins of holiday decor
And the garage is a good place to house each of these things! But what we want for you is to be able to maximize the space and functionality of your garage--to have an actual system--turning it from a graveyard or black hole into a space that you can actually use and feel good about.
Oh yeah, and we want you to be able to park your car in there, too. In this unreliable central Texas weather, we want you to be able to protect your expensive car from the elements, because, truly, your car is worth more than your sports and gym equipment and all your power tools combined.
Sound good? Ready for some organizing tips?
tools
"The garage is a great space to store tools, but if they aren’t organized, finding what you need becomes so much of a hassle that you may find it easier to run to your nearest hardware store to buy another one, which is no way to live! We once had a client with 6 drills for this very reason.
Pegboards are an affordable way to organize your smaller tools so you can see everything you have right on your wall. We highly recommend this tool bench for storing extra small tools, power tools (it even has a built in power strip!) and miscellaneous items like sandpaper, trimmer line and hardware."
My (Katie Beth's) husband has one of the aforementioned tool benches. He is a woodworking hobbyist, and therefore has lots of small tools. The shallow drawers are indeed useful for keeping his sandpaper collection contained, and the deep drawers allow his bottles of wood glue to stand upright, reducing the likelihood of leaking. (He asked me to organize all his tools and bench for him last weekend. SWOON.)
We also have gym equipment in our garage. Pegboards are great solutions for hanging exercise bands and other small workout items for easy accessibility. Pegboards are truly multi-functional!
use the walls
"We love using Rubbermaid FastTrack systems to hang all kinds of items on garage walls. Think yard tools, beach gear, sports equipment, bikes, ladders, etc. They have multiple sizes of tracks and a variety of hooks depending on what you are wanting to hang."
If you're wanting even more flexibility and frills, think about the Gladiator GearWall system, which has similar hooks as the Rubbermaid, and also has shelves, baskets, and cabinet options for the tracks. My favorite feature is the shoe rack, which can be mounted right next to the door. If you're a no-shoes-indoors household, these shelves can keep multiple pair corralled and off the floor. Organize them in such a way that each family member gets a shelf!
If you don't want to have to look at all your items every time you leave the house and you'd rather have them hidden, opt for a freestanding cabinet. (Just don't forget to use bins on the shelves to keep your categories maintained.)
Your inventory will determine whether you go for single tracks or a whole wall of tracks. Regardless, having your items off the floor and systematically stored and displayed (or hidden) will make a huge difference in your space.
use the ceiling
"If you don’t have room for shelving with your cars parked in the garage, overhead storage racks are wonderful for storing bins of holiday decorations, keepsakes and other items you may not reach for on a daily basis." You can even add hooks along the edges and hang things like bikes or ladders, especially if the rack is against a wall.
Psst...there are even motorized versions if you wanna get really fancy.
add some shelving
If you're thinking you'd like shelving mounted to the wall, consider the Elfa Classic or Elfa Garage + systems. They're durable and customizable, allowing you to shuffle the height of the shelves depending on your inventory. (The Garage + line also offers tracks and hooks.)
If having mobile shelves seems more useful for your space, "we also use these Seville Classics shelves a lot and love that they are on wheels so you can move them out of the way when needed."
employ weathertight bins
Any item kept outdoors is at risk of elements and bugs. Your memorabilia and holiday decor especially deserve some extra protection. We love these Weathertight totes--they stack really well on each other, and are available in ten different sizes!
more tips
Create zones: Just like any area of your home, your garage should be organized into zones. Perhaps your tools and home maintenance items take up one wall (make sure you're close to an outlet, so that charging power tool batteries is easy!), your sports gear is along another wall, and your holiday decor sits prettily on a ceiling-mounted rack. Having an all-encompassing zone for each category reduces even further the friction of finding what you need.
Hardware mini-storage: As easy as it is to throw nails and screws in an old coffee can, that only makes it harder to find what you need down the road. Consider a small-parts drawer system or an interlocking box to keep the bits and bobs organized.
Trash cans: "To free up space, consider storing your trash and recycling cans on the side of your house. An added bonus of doing this is that your garage won’t stink and it keeps flies away. If you can’t store them behind your fence, there are plenty of great trash can storage sheds you can find to keep your HOA happy!"
Clean off the floors: After you've hung or boxed or shelved your items and they are no longer sitting on the floor, take a moment to either sweep or leaf-blow out the dust and detritus. A dead-leaf-free floor is the cherry on top of all the work you've done!
Your garage deserves as much organizing attention as any other area in your home. Just don't forget to drink lots of water and take air conditioning breaks while you work! Or, if it feels overwhelming and you'd like some professional assistance, email Whitney at hello@simplifiedaustin.com to set up a consultation. We love giving garages some TLC!