The following article is partnered with Oliwia Zawadzka.
Although many homeowners seem to forget about the garage, it is actually one of the most useful spaces in your home. There’s so much that you can do with it – storing the car is just the tip of the iceberg. You can use it as an entertainment room, home office, home gym, or even convert it into a movie theatre. The truth is that the only limit is your imagination.
Some people prefer to keep it simple and use their garage as an additional storage space – which is completely fine. However, in this case, it is important to have a plan of action – more precisely, you should know where to keep all the items so that the space is still organized. If you just keep throwing stuff in there without caring where it lands, the garage will quickly become cluttered – and then finding anything there will become mission impossible.
If you are someone who struggles with keeping their space clean and organized, don’t worry – that’s precisely why we are here. Keep on reading to find what we consider to be the best tips to maximize the space in your garage. So, let’s just get started.
Tip #1: Install Garage Cabinets
As several garage door manufacturers say, if there is still no form of cabinetry in your garage, it’s high time to change that. Cabinets are a must in every garage – especially in the ones that also serve as a storage room. Not only will you be able to keep more stuff, but it also won’t be in plain sight, meaning that the whole space will seem bigger than it actually is.
When it comes to where to get them from, you have two options. You can either buy a complete unit from the store, or if you feel like DIY-ing, you can build each garage cabinet from scratch. There are plenty of instructions online that perfectly explain how to do it step by step.
Tip #2: Use Wall Space
Many people don’t realize how much space they are wasting by not using the walls for storage. And we’re not only talking about the cabinets. There are plenty of items that can be hung on the wall with hooks – for instance, bicycles, gardening tools (such as a spade, shovel, rake, etc.), extension cords, or even spare wheels.
By using wall space, you are keeping the clutter off the floor while still having everything visible and easy to reach.
Tip #3: Add Ceiling or Overhead Storage
When you don’t have any more wall space to use, it’s time to go higher – literally – and use the space above your head. This is one of the best ways of storing seasonal items, such as skis, snowboard, surfboard, and so on.
When using the overhead space, make sure that you’re using sturdy racks and that you have a safety net placed under the items – especially if you live in an area that is prone to earthquakes.
Tip #4: Get a Magnetic Board for Very Small Items
Sometimes, it is simply impossible to locate every bolt and nut there is, even if you are very careful about where you place them – since they are very small, they are very easy to lose. However, there’s a solution to that problem – a magnetic board. Just place all of the tiny elements you have on it.
This is especially useful if you are working on something – you can place all the items you need to complete the job on the board, and therefore have easy access to them.
Tip #5: Think About Adjustable Shelving
Another good way of storing seasonal items, such as clothing, is to use adjustable shelving. You’ll have more flexibility, and you’ll be able to move around your storage boxes as needed. This is especially useful as some items occupy less space than others – for instance, summer clothing, which are mainly t-shirts, shorts, and dresses, will not take up as much space as winter clothing, which includes heavy jackets, sweaters, and boots.
There are plenty of ways in which you can incorporate adjustable shelving into your garage, one of them being installing open wall shelves with wooden strips. You can place the items you want to store inside large plastic containers and move them around when needed.
Tip #6: Keep the Wires In One Place
Your garage might look extremely cluttered if you have tons of wires laying around – it also minimizes the floor space that you could use for cabinets or boxes. So, it is only natural that one of the ways of maximizing your garage space is by getting rid of all the unnecessary wires located on the floor.
How can you do that? It’s actually very easy. Tie the wires with a paper clip or with a zip tie, and place them in one of the drawers, so that you know where they are when you need a specific one.
Tip #7: Create a Foldable Workbench or a Mobile Work Area
This space-saving solution is useful if you or one of your family members uses the garage as their workshop or wood-crafting area. When choosing a foldable workbench, opt for one that is wall-mounted – after each use, just put it back the way it was before. If you can’t seem to find one that you’ll like, you can always build one yourself. Just like with the cabinets, there are plenty of articles online that explain step by step what you should do to build it.
If you aren’t really keen on the idea of a foldable workbench, you can always build a work area with wheels – it will make a lot of things easier, and you won’t be forced to stay in one corner. What’s more, you can use the work area as storage space to keep all of your most-used tools.
The Bottom Line
We hope that after reading this article, you have a better idea of how to organize your garage so that you can maximize the space in it, as well as realize that there are plenty of areas that are sitting unused while the clutter keeps growing.
Although it might appear challenging in the beginning, keeping everything organized and hidden is not that hard – as long as you know what you are supposed to do, of course.
There are plenty of garage storage ideas that you can actually execute yourself – an example of such are garage cabinets. Thanks to the internet, building something from scratch is easier than ever before – after all, there are plenty of instructions online. All it takes to access them is one Google search. Good luck.
Oliwia Zawadzka – a freelance writer based in London. In her free time, she enjoys coming up with new ways to make other people’s lives easier through simple improvements.
