Organizing The Garage

By Cyndy Ratcliffe

The job of organizing the garage can be an overwhelming one. After all, this area is out of public view and we tend to fill it up quickly, often without a lot of thought to placement. Select one area at a time to work on, keeping in mind that it doesn’t all have to be done in a day.

Start off with the tools you need to simplify the process:

• Boxes for “give aways;”
• Boxes for “repairs;”
• Bags (large ones) for “garbage.”

A good way to get a handle on the set up of your garage is to think in terms of “categories.” You may have any of the following categories: gardening, sports, workbench, pets, holidays, cleaning, painting/staining, or camping/outdoor activities.

Resist the temptation to purchase organizing bins and hooks until you have sorted the items into their categories.

Now, select one small section of the garage and begin sorting, item by item, and determine what to keep and which category items fall into. To determine if any item is a keeper, ask yourself three questions: Do I use it? Do I need it? Do I love it? If you answer no to all three questions then that item goes in the “give away” box, or the garbage. If you want to keep an item, but it needs to be repaired, place it in the “repair” box. The more you can get rid of, the less you will have to deal with later. Be careful that you do not catch yourself saying “Well, I may need it one day …” Eighty percent of what you think you may need in the future, you most likely will not. As you determine the items that you are keeping, sort them into their appropriate categories. Establish the category piles in the middle of the garage, or out front if there is not room down the middle yet. Right now you are just determining what to give away, what to toss, and what to keep, as well as in which category each item will be. Work your way through the entire garage with this sorting process. When you have completed the sorting process, take your “repair” box to the car to deliver the items to be repaired next time you are out. Do the same with your “give away” boxes in order to take them to your favorite charity. Remove the garbage from the garage area. What remains are the piles of items in their categories.

Now it is time to set up “zones” in the garage. A zone is simply an established location to store one particular category. Determine the best location for each of your zones, keeping convenience and practicality in mind. For instance, the garden zone should be near the garage door closest to the outdoors. The zone by the door leading into the house should have items you need to use in the house regularly; perhaps this area is the cleaning supply zone.

But how do you keep the garage maintained with so many people using it so often? A good rule of thumb for garage storage is to store items so that they are easy to store and easily retrieved. Keep simplicity and ease of use in mind as you make your storage decisions. The less steps involved in putting an item away, the more likely all family members are to do it. Utilize open containers without lids where possible, allowing family members to simply “toss” items back into their locations. This is especially important with children in the home. Also, be sure that each child is able to reach what he or she needs to take out or put away.

If you attach pegboard to one entire wall you will achieve even more success in items being put away in their spaces. Be sure as you put the board up that there is space between the wall and the pegboard in order for the hooks to easily be placed. Anything on a peg hook requires just one simple action. For example, a dog leash stored in a drawer requires an individual to pull the drawer open, roll up the leash, place it in the drawer, and then close the drawer (that’s a lot of steps!). If you simply have a hook for the leash, all you have to do is hang the leash on the hook. With large items such as brooms, put the heads alternating on the board for better use of the space. Outline the items you have placed on the board with a permanent marker for repeated identification (this is called shadowing). This reminds everyone which items go where on the board. Keep small children in mind when placing the items on the board … they should be able to reach what they need, but certainly this does not include sharp tools.

Getting as much as possible off the floor is another important goal in organizing the garage. Recognize how much wall space is available and utilize shelving, pegboard, tool racks, or hanging brackets to store anything you can on the walls. Large items such as bicycles, lawn chairs, push brooms, and ladders can take up a lot of floor space, but all of them can also be stored on the wall. Don’t forget to look overhead into the rafters; this is great storage space for skis or any other long flat items that are not used regularly.

When deciding on shelving, keep in mind that wire shelving allows dust to fall through the shelves, whereas full board shelving collects the dust. Use shelving units with doors only for items you need to keep dust off of, like rarely used kitchen appliances.

If you end up having to stack numerous boxes on top of each other, realize that retrieving the one on the bottom requires moving all those on top. Instead, use a shelving unit and put each box on a shelf above the other. When you need the bottom box, it’s simple to take it off the shelf without moving any others. Be sure any boxes you use in the garage will hold up in the heat and humidity of North Carolina, especially if important papers are being stored in them. Many boxes are created for just this purpose and are found in office supply stores. A great way to label these boxes is with the clear CD pockets that you can purchase at any office supply store. They have a peel-off sticky side and a clear vinyl “window” in which to put your label.

Small galvanized steel cans work great to contain dog food, cleaning rags, or sand for cleaning up grease spills. Put the cans on wheels for more ease of use.

Well, that’s it! A little planning, organizing, and installing and you too can have a garage to be proud of. Heck, you may even want to leave the door open this summer just to show it off!

Cyndy Ratcliffe of Organizing Solutions, Inc. helps businesses and homeowners organize their time, homes, and offices. She can be reached at 919-612-3953.