Tips For Organizing The Garage

Use hook-shaped bike hooks to hold ladders, lumber, screens, and other hard to store items from the ceiling in the garage. The ceiling is the "5th wall" of your room and is often overlooked as a place for storage.

Divide the garage into zones. Use each zone for storing a different type of item. Zone one might be for sporting equipment. Zone two might be for gardening products and tools. Zone three might be for repairs and home improvement. Make up your own zone names.

Once you've removed everything from the garage and swept the floor, you'll be able to quicklly move items into respective zones you've delegated for their use. If you have children or a husband, you might need to put a sign with the name of the zone so others can put their items away when they are finished using them.

I move items no longer good enough for use inside my home into the garage if I feel it can be used there for storage. So far, I'm using an old shelving unit that was used for storing my children's toys when they were little. It is painted a bright yellow and livens up the garage. What do you have that you can use in the garage? Do you have an old book case? Do you have an old dresser? Be creative and repurpose those items.

I have metal shelving units on the cinder block wall of the garage. On the walls shared with my house, there are homemade shelves of particle board. I don't suggest particle board. These haven't worked best, but after 40 years they're still there. If you can afford it, I suggest plywood for homemade shelves.

Under these shelves I have 5 gallon pails and repurposed plastic litter containers to hold balls, bats, baseball gloves, etc. My bird seed is stored on the top shelf in several old popcorn tins that I have saved over the years. I try to keep all my bird feeding supplies together. Also, I keep my cat's extra litter boxes, carrier and supplies together right under the bird feeding items.

I have an area on the wall dedicated to hanging shovels, hoes, picks, saws, etc. Its a 2x4 with two nails for each tool to be stored. The tool can be hung with the head of the tool between the two nails. this hasn't worked well for us because people who use the tools don't put them back where they belong.

Also, we've acquired more tools than there is room to hang there. I've acquired an extra plastic garbage can that I found alongside the road in front of my house. I live in a rural area and think it must have fallen from someone's truck. It does not belong to a neighbor. I've read in magazines that one can stick the tool handle first into the garbage can as a way to store tools. I'm going to try that. Also, don't forget that if you store tools top down in sand with a little oil, it will prevent rust.

Source: Gardening magazines, and Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

By Carol Swanson from Wyoming, PA