Your Garage Organized!
Everyone uses their garage for different things, some as a glorified storage room, some are pristine with nothing but a car sparkling away in the centre and some have everything from toys, bikes, Christmas decorations to garden furniture, old paints and awnings stored away in them.
The latter is the type of garage where you struggle to find anything at the time you need it, a rake, shovel, pain brush, string - I mean anything! And what's worse, do you have to climb over or move items like bikes, buggies or lawn mowers to it? Well if your garage sounds like the one I've just described ie you can't even get your car inside it anymore then you need to organize your garage as a matter or urgency.
I mean, the whole purpose of a garage really is to protect your car from the changing weather conditions but yet so many of us leave our car outside and cram the garage full of items that quite often we don't need to keep anyway!
Here's a few helpful suggestions for your if you would like your garage back!
Obviously your first decision has to be along the lines of what is the purpose of the garage? Is it to house the car or is it to store other items or both?
Once you've made that decision then you need to work out the amount of space available. By this I mean, if you want to store your car in the garage then of course you are going to have to find somewhere else to store the items that you keep in here. A car takes up most of the space in the garage and you need to be mindful of opening and closing doors safely and without damage.
On the other hand if you decide that your garage is for storage and only storage then you have other decisions that need to be addressed too, like what kind of items are going to be stored in there? Maybe you'll use it for just storage in general or possibly specific outdoor items like garden furniture, toys, buggies, lawn mowers or bikes?
Then make a list of all the things you want to use your garage for and all the things you would like to store there.
Follow that by working out which part of the garage will be used for which function and what type of things you would like stored in various areas within the garage. List any additional tools or materials you may need to accomplish this.
You'll probably find that you're going to need to purchase additional shelving, storage, racking, bike racks, tool organizers, hooks, etc. And of course make sure you've got the correct tools to install all these new fixtures.
Set aside a specific time to start sorting and categorizing items and make sure you allow sufficient time to do it.
Use containers or designated areas on your driveway to help you sort and organize. The key is to empty your garage completely to begin with and then sort items into piles of like items with like items. This will give you the opportunity to really look at how much stuff you have and help you identify items that are broken or no longer wanted and get rid of those things. Give your empty garage a good sweeping or cleaning too. You want a nice clean surface to work with. If you have the time maybe add a quick covering of paint to the walls.
If storage is still an issue, remember to make use of vertical space. The walls and ceiling are a great way to increase available storage.
There are many types of shelving from free standing to floating, organization grids, cabinet systems, hanging bin systems or hanging bike racks available to help maximize storage capacity.
Once you've sorted everything into the respective categories you can then see how much area is required for each pile. You also need to bear in mind the extent of which each category is used. There's absolutely no point in putting the bikes at the back of the garage if they get used every day and of course kids bikes want to have very easy access so that they can get them out and put them back themselves!
Smaller items are best of kept in drawers and labeling each drawer will help other people find these small items as well as acting as a reminder as to where to put them back when they are finished with. By using some of if not all of the above suggestions then you'll be able to store you car in the garage once again if you wish and if not, at the very least you'll know exactly what you have in the garage and enjoy the new found feeling of being able to find what you want when you want! Imagine that feeling every time you open the door and you walk into your clean and organized garage and know that you did it all on your own.
The latter is the type of garage where you struggle to find anything at the time you need it, a rake, shovel, pain brush, string - I mean anything! And what's worse, do you have to climb over or move items like bikes, buggies or lawn mowers to it? Well if your garage sounds like the one I've just described ie you can't even get your car inside it anymore then you need to organize your garage as a matter or urgency.
I mean, the whole purpose of a garage really is to protect your car from the changing weather conditions but yet so many of us leave our car outside and cram the garage full of items that quite often we don't need to keep anyway!
Here's a few helpful suggestions for your if you would like your garage back!
Obviously your first decision has to be along the lines of what is the purpose of the garage? Is it to house the car or is it to store other items or both?
Once you've made that decision then you need to work out the amount of space available. By this I mean, if you want to store your car in the garage then of course you are going to have to find somewhere else to store the items that you keep in here. A car takes up most of the space in the garage and you need to be mindful of opening and closing doors safely and without damage.
On the other hand if you decide that your garage is for storage and only storage then you have other decisions that need to be addressed too, like what kind of items are going to be stored in there? Maybe you'll use it for just storage in general or possibly specific outdoor items like garden furniture, toys, buggies, lawn mowers or bikes?
Then make a list of all the things you want to use your garage for and all the things you would like to store there.
Follow that by working out which part of the garage will be used for which function and what type of things you would like stored in various areas within the garage. List any additional tools or materials you may need to accomplish this.
You'll probably find that you're going to need to purchase additional shelving, storage, racking, bike racks, tool organizers, hooks, etc. And of course make sure you've got the correct tools to install all these new fixtures.
Set aside a specific time to start sorting and categorizing items and make sure you allow sufficient time to do it.
Use containers or designated areas on your driveway to help you sort and organize. The key is to empty your garage completely to begin with and then sort items into piles of like items with like items. This will give you the opportunity to really look at how much stuff you have and help you identify items that are broken or no longer wanted and get rid of those things. Give your empty garage a good sweeping or cleaning too. You want a nice clean surface to work with. If you have the time maybe add a quick covering of paint to the walls.
If storage is still an issue, remember to make use of vertical space. The walls and ceiling are a great way to increase available storage.
There are many types of shelving from free standing to floating, organization grids, cabinet systems, hanging bin systems or hanging bike racks available to help maximize storage capacity.
Once you've sorted everything into the respective categories you can then see how much area is required for each pile. You also need to bear in mind the extent of which each category is used. There's absolutely no point in putting the bikes at the back of the garage if they get used every day and of course kids bikes want to have very easy access so that they can get them out and put them back themselves!
Smaller items are best of kept in drawers and labeling each drawer will help other people find these small items as well as acting as a reminder as to where to put them back when they are finished with. By using some of if not all of the above suggestions then you'll be able to store you car in the garage once again if you wish and if not, at the very least you'll know exactly what you have in the garage and enjoy the new found feeling of being able to find what you want when you want! Imagine that feeling every time you open the door and you walk into your clean and organized garage and know that you did it all on your own.
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