.Guest Blogger: 5 Tips for Garage Organization on a Budget

 Guest Blogger #726, Entry #1701, October 8, 2012

There might be a reason why you’re garage door is always closed: Does it look like a tornado blew through it, filling it with clutter.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. In addition to attics and possibly basements, garages are hands down the most disorganized room in any home. Your car takes up a majority of the space and then you do your best to cram everything that’s left — tools, bikes, sports equipment, lawn mower — in the little space that’s left.

If you’re ready to finally organize your garage, but don’t want to break the bank, here are five tips to keep everything within budget.

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Shelves, shelves and more shelves

It’s a mystery to me why homebuilders don’t install shelves right away with a garage. The main reason why garages become so cluttered is because people aren’t stacking things. You can maximize your space by using shelves.

The cheapest shelving solution is a 2×4 wood shelf. The 2×4 is very common and can be found at any hardware or wood retailer. If built correctly, you can rest assured that your 2×4 wood shelves will hold more than 600 pounds.

If you’re not a handyman, hardware stores also sell easy-to-build plastic or metal shelving solutions. Beware, though, that these probably won’t hold as much weight as a strongly built wood solution.

Hanging Bars

You’d be amazed how many things you can hang flush against the wall or from the ceiling of your garage. By screwing in some thick pins into your walls, you can easily hang things like a ladder, snowshoes and gardening equipment. And not only will you be creating more room, but you’re also organizing your tools.

Make sure to put stuff that you don’t use as often higher up — when you need it, simply get out a ladder.

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And don’t be afraid to use every nook and corner of the garage. If it doesn’t interfere with your garage door, then it’s fair game for wall-hanging.

Even More Creative Hanging

If you’re really ambitious, there are multiple ways to hang anything from bikes to crates on the ceiling.

Most hardware stores sell cheap bike hooks that simply screw into the wood on the ceiling of your garage. Measure the length of your bike(s) and screw in two of the screws, which then allows you to hang your bike by the tire spokes.

Things like Christmas decorations can be hung by installing 2×4’s with lips on the side. Put two of them together so that the lips catch the crate, allowing for easy sliding access, and that clutter will be out of your way until you need it.

If you haven’t caught on yet, wood solutions are probably the cheapest route to go when organizing your garage.

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Small Tools

Organizing the bigger items in your garage is the easy part. Things get complicated when you need to figure out where to put the nails and screws, screwdrivers, hammers, etc.

The cheapest way to organize your tools is by using a pegboard. You can buy a pegboard at any hardware retailer for next to nothing. Most hardware stores will also sell you hooks to put on that pegboard, allowing you to hang your tools in any which way you desire.

Oh, and pick a fun color! It really brings your garage to life.

Clean House

Let’s face it — there’s plenty of stuff in our garage today. What’s the cheapest and most beneficial way to organize it? Throw it out.

You’ll be surprised what you find in your garage once you finally decide to pull the trigger and organize away, you’ll find plenty of things that you just don’t need. This should be your first step because it will make the rest of your organizing endeavors much simpler.

Once everything is organized, you can finally breathe. You officially have a garage that you can be proud of.

Sarah Bolt is a home organizing guru who helps people at Steel line garage doors make the most of their garage.

For more garage ideas on Stagetecture, click here.