Garage storage

How to organize your garage the right way

When it comes to tackling home organization from the top down, it’s not uncommon for people to save the garage for last. This isn’t because garage storage isn’t important, but rather that the task of organizing it all seems a herculean effort, and you aren't even sure where to start!

We’ve put together a garage storage checklist to help on your organization journe:

1. Start by sorting your items into piles

If you have outdoor space to work with and can complete the sorting process in one day, we find it works best to take everything out of the garage. As you’re removing things from the garage, add them to piles with similar items. For example, you might want to create one pile for hand and power tools, another for sports equipment, another for lawn supplies, and so forth.

2. Consider what you’ll keep, toss and donate

Take some time with your family to carefully review the contents of each pile, further refining each into items you plan to keep, items for disposal or recycling and items suitable for donating. 

You don’t want to invest in garage shelving only to quickly fill them up with broken and outdated items or excess duplicates. If your sorting has revealed that you’ve somehow accumulated 10 pairs of gardening gloves, five snow shovels and 12 Halloween lawn ornaments, be honest with yourself about how many of each you truly want and need. Are they all worth the space they’ll take up in your garage storage cabinets?

3. Choose the right garage storage that meets your needs

Once the ‘toss’ items have been disposed of and the ‘donate’ items are on their way to finding new homes, look at your ‘keep’ pile with fresh eyes. Once you’re certain everything left has made the cut, consider which storage options and methods make the most sense for you. Keep the overall square footage in mind, as well as how you want to ideally use the space.

You’ll also want to keep your family’s safety in mind when choosing how you’ll store certain items. For example, if you have young children, you’ll want to keep potentially dangerous items out of reach in a locking garage storage cabinet or hang garage shelves high.

On the other hand, you’ll want to keep items your children will be using easily within reach. Dedicate one of the lower shelves in your cabinet to sidewalk chalk, outdoor toys, kid-sized gardening tools and more.