Organize Your Garage

Living in a neighborhood of townhouses this past year has been quite an experience. Sandwiched in between two other townhouses, we have a front yard of about 3 feet x 10 feet. Also, most of our neighbors do not use their garages for their car. Instead of road rage, we have “parking rage”. The neighbors get upset if you park in their driveway or their one extra parking space.

Why don’t they park their cars in their garages? I have asked a few of them, and they say there is no room in their garage for their cars. I admit townhouses are pretty compact, but I think the problem would be solved if we all could learn to organize our garages better. So here are some suggestions for those that are garage impaired.

There is probably a lot more wall space in your garage than floor space. Utilize it.
Items like shovels, ladders, folding chairs, surfboards (we live in Hawaii), and other awkward items should be hung near the garage door and out of the way. There are several wall organizers at local hardware stores that will help with this solution.

Garden tools like rakes, spades and hoes can also hang on the walls. Also, there are hooks and organizers for the ceiling where you could hang bicycles, luggage or other items that are not used very often like Christmas trees and decorations. The same goes for camping equipment, which may only be used once or twice a year.

Hang baskets on the wall or have a cabinet system for items like beach toys or car wash supplies. Make sure there is a place to hang wet items so they can dry fast.
Store the children’s items within easy reach close to the ground. Keep chemicals, breakables, or sharp tools up high or behind lockable doors for safety.

Arrange items on the shelves by category, putting like items together. To keep the garage organized, it would be best to label the baskets or shelves so everyone knows where things go.

Get rid of clutter! Go through the garage one section at a time, sort items into boxes marked “keep”, “recycle”, “toss” and “fix”. You can either have a garage sale or give the boxes away to a second hand store or someone who might appreciate the items more. Otherwise, put the box on the curb and it will magically disappear when the garbage truck comes by. Thank you very much.

Take the recycled items to the closest bin – your children may even appreciate the few dollars for bottles and cans that are marked “recycle”. This can be a great family project. Use stackable recycle bins to save space.

Put shelves near the entrance of the garage for common items like umbrellas, sports equipment, and backpacks. Put a garbage pail near the door to dispose of rubbish from the car as well as to throw away junk mail as you return from the mailbox.

With a bit of planning, a Saturday’s worth of installing shelves, brackets and hooks, your garage can be an organized place where you can even park your car.