Garages are an excellent place to store items you can’t fit in your house. Unfortunately, that means many of us take the storage space for granted, repeatedly shoving anything unused or temporarily unwanted into the garage. Before you know it, there’s hardly room enough for a single adult to shimmy through the clutter, and you couldn’t even dream of fitting your car inside. If this sounds like your garage, don’t worry. We’ve got some garage organization tips for you.
Things You Shouldn’t Store In Your Garage
Before we dive into garage organization ideas, first it’s important to cover what shouldn’t be stored in your garage. Going through this list will save you time in the long run because you’ll be able to get rid of extra items you won’t have to organize later. Among the things you shouldn’t store in your garage are:
Paint
Your garage is not temperature controlled like the rest of your house. For that reason, it is not a good storage area for paint. Paint turns into a solid when exposed to heat and “curdled” in the cold. If you leave your paint in the garage for too long, it could turn into hazardous material. Do yourself a favor and keep your lovely liquid colors far away from the garage.
Food
You should never store food of any kind, whether it’s for you or your pets, in the garage. Food will quickly spoil in this area where the temperature fluctuates. Additionally, food items of any kind, even bird seed, will attract rodents to your garage. They’ll think you’ve left all those lovely bags of Purina just for them!
Propane
When exposed to extreme heat, your propane could start to leak. Soon enough, your garage will be a fire hazard. For this reason, always store propane tanks outside.
Refrigerators
It’s always great to have an extra refrigerator. However, keeping your extra refrigerator in the garage is not practical. Because most garages lack air conditioning, your refrigerator is going to have to work extra hard to keep your food cold. While it isn’t the worst thing to store in your garage, it certainly isn’t energy efficient.
Paper and Cardboard
Paper and cardboard get damp easily, which can foster mold and mildew growth. Additionally, these materials attract rodents, who prize them as nest materials. If you have to store paper and cardboard, use your pantry or another dry place.
Garage Organization Ideas
Alright, now you know what not to store in your garage. Now you can begin organizing. Here are 10 garage door organization tips:
1. Start With Decluttering
The fewer items you have to work with, the easier it will be to organize your garage. That’s why you should start with decluttering first. Sort through all of your boxes, then figure out what to throw away, give away, and keep.
2. Inspect Your Garage and Perform Necessary Maintenance
If you’re going to go through the efforts of organizing your garage, you want to make sure your efforts are not undone by property damage or pests. Before you start organizing, seal any cracks and holes that could allow moisture to creep in and act as a catalyst for mold growth. You should also install seals around your door to prevent rodents from getting in and warm or cool air from escaping.
3. Choose Practical Containers
What containers you choose depends on what you want to store. For clothes and other cloth items, we suggest large bins that snap shut to prevent everything from getting musty. Small tools can be stored in repurposed jars or bins.
4. Get a Pegboard
Pegboards are a great way to store your tools within easy reach. All you do is hang hooks through the holes, and voila, you’ve got yourself a tool wall. This is a fun, versatile storage choice. Plus, you can paint your pegboard and add a pretty frame around it if you’re going for a specific aesthetic in your garage. The only con of pegboard is that it cannot hold heavy items.
5. Use Labels
After going through the efforts of organizing, you don’t want to have to tear everything apart because you forgot where you stored your monkey wrench. Use labels to keep track of everything. You’ll thank yourself later.
6. Get a Snap-in Bar
A snap-in bar is great for storing long-handled items like shovels and rakes. Unlike hooks, you won’t have to worry about your tools falling off if hung askew. Additionally, the satisfaction of snapping your tools back in after use is unparalleled.
7. Install a Pulley System
Are you tired of storing your bikes where they get in the way? A pulley system is an excellent solution. Instead of having to trip over wheels and side-turned handles, you can walk through your garage without worry. Once your bikes are out of the way near your garage ceiling, you’ll also have extra storage space on the ground.
8. Use Portable Containers
If you’re especially active and do a lot of DIY and gardening, you could take advantage of portable containers. For instance, you could purchase some pretty buckets that you can carry out with you whenever you have to do work. Portable containers can be both decorative and functional.
9. Clean Annually
Let’s be honest. One decluttering and cleaning session won’t be enough to keep your garage free of junk. We always seem to be accumulating more things. To make sure your collecting doesn’t turn into hoarding, go through your garage once a year and decide what you’re going to throw away and give away. This will keep your garage organized longer!
10. Install Garage Door Locks
Sadly, we live in a world full of thieves. If you’ve filled your garage with a bunch of valuable items like bikes, lawn mowers, or power tools, you’ll need to install garage door locks. That way, you won’t have a burglar creep in and trash your garage while looking for valuables. Thankfully, Garage Door Pros can help you keep this space secure.
Let Us Help You!
The team at Garage Door Pros is ready to help our neighbors in Houston, Texas, and surrounding areas. You can count on our team to help you with a wide variety of services, such as garage door maintenance and repair. We can also install weatherstripping and rodent exclusion seals. Contact us today and learn about all the ways we can help you maintain a safe, secure garage!