When considering your garage plan, or if you already have a garage, keep in mind that its functionality depends on its ability to be used. A garage's primary design is to store your vehicle, but unfortunately, many find that they have to expose their vehicles to the elements because their garage is too full of other things.
Many of the garages on the market today can easily fit a vehicle as well as have space for storage, but the fact is that most of these stuffed garages are cluttered due to lack of organization. Garage organization can be accomplished with a plan, focus, determination, and some good old fashioned work. So what is the first step?
Step 1: Formulate a Plan
What would you like to use your garage for exactly? Would you like to have a small workshop within your garage? Maybe store your tools? Or even just your vehicle? Those ideas are all possible with a plan. Once you have a goal, you can start formulating your plan for organization. It can be helpful to write your ideas down and even create some crude drawings or sketches on what you would like each part of the garage to contain.
Take into account the total space that you have available, the space you would need to store your vehicle or vehicles, and the equipment or storage devices you would need in improving organization in your garage. Once you have written down some of these measurements, you can sketch out the basic floor plan of the garage and then draw in items and where they will be placed.
Remember that the drawing need not be professional quality. Just make sure you use accurate dimensions in your ratio and include where all windows and doors are located as to not accidentally block any. Once you have your drawing complete, the next step is to purchase or obtain whatever storage items you might need. This could include a workbench plan and supplies, cabinetry, any specialized wall structures such as a pegboard for hanging tools, and any hardware you will need for the job including tools, materials and equipment.
You might also want to think about any other improvements you would like to make such as painting or sealing your garage floor, or any changes to the garage structure you would like to make.
Once you have the plan in effect and have all of your necessary supplies, you can implement your plan. This is the part of the plan where you will do the physical work. It may be beneficial to request some help if your project is a fairly sizeable one.
Step 2: Time to Take Action
Now is the time to get to work. With some help remove all of the contents of your garage and store them in a weatherproof location. A rental facility may be necessary if you do not have a spacious storage shed on hand. The building and improvement stage can take as little as one day, but if you are making improvements, painting, or building within the garage, it could take considerably longer. After removing all of the items, you may paint the walls, put a protective sealant onto the floor, or start building any organizational items that will be attached to the walls or ceiling.
Set up any shelving or cabinetry as well as your tool rack, workbench and any storage devices after all the paint and sealant are dry. If you do paint or seal, you will want to wait until there are no noxious fumes before doing any intense work in your garage. If you need to paint or stain any storage units after placing them into the garage, wait until everything is smooth and completely dry before the next step.
Step 3: Organize
Bring the items into your garage that you would like to store such as your tools, and shop equipment and other items. You may want to take this time to sort out what you need and what you could do without. Once you have sorted these items into need, don’t need, and un-useable / broken, you can decide what to do with each item. Broken or totally un-useable items may be disposed of or recycled, but be sure to follow the correct codes. Do not throw any toxic chemicals into the garbage such as old car batteries or other harmful substances. Unnecessary items may be donated to a charity such as a Salvation Army store or a local Good Will thrift shop or you may want to host a garage sale to turn a small profit from the items you don’t need.
Now you can begin to store your necessary items in your garage. Hang tools neatly and label any drawers or cabinets. It is a good item to find a sorting system that works well with how you think. You may want to sort items by project such as vehicle tools in one cabinet, carpentry tools in another cabinet, and so on. You can also sort by most and least used items. The items that you use most will want to be in an easy to reach place, not in the very back of your storage compartments.
Step 4: Maintain
Now you will have to maintain your garage organization to prevent overfilling at a later time. If you find that you have too much equipment or items to fit into your garage, you may want to consider other alternative storage methods such as an outdoor storage shed. The key is to keep only the necessities in your garage to minimize clutter and improve spaciousness. Remember, your vehicle is usually more expensive than most of your items in the garage, so take care of it by creating room in your garage.
Build a new garage or replace your current garage with one of our garage plans. Each plan has step by step instructions for you to build your own garage in many different styles to match a number of home styles. Choose a plan based on size, car capacity, and functionality.
