Garage Storage Systems

Does your home have a garage? Do you actually park your cars inside or does your garage hold everything but your automobile?

If you are like many other Americans, not only will your car not fit inside your garage, but you also try to avoid the garage altogether. Every time you are forced to look for something in there, you take a quick look around the neighborhood to make sure no one is looking before you open the garage door.

While many others suffer with the same problem, there are some simple solutions and many wonderful garage storage systems available to help you clear out the clutter and be able to once again use your garage for it's intended purpose, to house your cars.

One of the main reasons for clutter in a garage is not having a clearly defined storage system. Without proper storage areas, you will usually just take items into the garage and put them in the first empty space you find. That works until you run out of space or need to find something you previously put in the garage.... then you have a problem.

The first step to ridding your garage of clutter is painful, but necessary, clear everything out. Once you have cleared everything out, decide what you will be keeping and what you no longer use or need.

Once you have decided what you are keeping, sell, give or throw away everything else and begin grouping like items that you are keeping together. When you have all your former garage clutter sorted and grouped, you will have a good idea of the different storage areas you will need to establish. Make a list of these along with any other additional storage areas you would like to create.

When listing needed storage areas, make sure that you designate areas for the most common items such as gardening tools and supplies, sports equipment, pet supplies, vehicle supplies, holiday decorating items, and garbage and recycling areas.

There are many tried and true as well as some really innovative options for organizing your garage. These options range from simple DIY shelving and cabinets along with a few wall hooks for hanging things to complete modular garage storage systems that incorporate all the aforementioned items and more.

Your budget and perhaps your level of DIY ability along with your list of what you need storage for will all help in determining the best course of action for creating storage for your garage. Many of the modular storage systems are created for specific storage needs and make the task of selecting your storage system quick and easy.

Shelves and storage cabinets can be installed as wall mounted or as freestanding and both options take advantage of the vertical space in your garage and free up floor space.

Shelves and cabinets can be constructed of several different materials including wood, plastic and metal.

Many shelving systems have adjustable shelves which allows you to adapt the shelving to your particular storage needs so there are no worries over items being to tall to fit on the shelf.

Make sure that the shelving and cabinets you purchase are well built and sturdy and also the proper size for the types of items you will be storing.

Storage cabinets come in several different sizes and types. There are cabinets with open storage areas as well as closed storage areas that may include locking mechanisms.

If you will be storing potentially hazardous things such as pesticides or any chemicals make sure that you have locking cabinets for storing them.

Hooks and specialty brackets can also be installed on the walls for storing such things as your gardening tools, hammer, screwdrivers and other frequently used tools.

Overhead storage is great for bulky or oddly shaped items as well as seasonal items like holiday decorations that are not used very often.

There are a variety of different systems that can be utilized for overhead garage storage. The first is a shelf type of system that hangs from the ceiling. A ladder is required to store and retrieve items from the ceiling shelf.

There are also bracket or track type systems that allow you to store the ever popular plastic storage totes. The plastic totes fit between the brackets and are really great for someone who already uses totes for storage and needs to free up floor space.

As with the ceiling shelf, you will need to use a ladder when storing or retrieving the totes. There are also sytems that don't require you to climb a ladder and raise and lower by means of pulleys.

Whatever method you decide to use to organize your garage storage, remember that in order for garage storage systems to work, you must use them.

Make sure everyone in the family knows what items go where. Label boxes, bins and any closed containers to make it easier for the whole family to store and find needed items. You might also consider labeling open storage areas as well.

Having a well organized garage will mean you can once again park your car inside and you will no longer dread the thought of finding previously stored items.