Maximize the space in your Garage

How to Maximize Your Garage Space article by Dorothy the organizer

With warm weather comes the need for more garage space or a better use of your space.  Below are my essential steps to maximize your garage space.

(1) Zone your space.   Zones are essential to keep order in your garage.  Assign zones in your garage for each function. Decide on 3-5 zones that match your needs.  A typical example might be separate zones for automobile supplies, sporting equipment, gardening and lawn care tools, holiday decorations, archived paperwork and spare household supplies.(2) Sort Your Stuff.  Sort all items into three piles: keep, donate (or sell), and toss. For items you have decided to keep, sort everything into categories you want to organize “like with like”. Separate your gardening tools from the car maintenance supplies and sporting equipment. If you still have boxes you didn’t unpack when you moved in, there is no time like the present to sort those as well.  (3) Toss the Trash.  Keep a few heavy-duty garbage bags handy as you sort so you can easily toss things away. Be ruthless — get rid of all the broken equipment, rusted tools, and toys that are missing pieces. Haul the recyclables to the curb or to the recycling center.  What should get the boot: outgrown toys, items that are broken beyond repair.  If you have a hard time letting go of things that have sentimental value, snap pictures to keep the memories.(4) Share Your Stuff.  Once you have separated items into groups, and tossed the trash, you may be surprised to see how much good stuff you own. Keep the best and give away the rest.(5) Store Like Items Where You Use Them.  Assign a specific area in your garage for each zone. Gardening tools should be stored together in one place, sports equipment stored together in another. Keep the items you use most in the easiest to reach locations. For example, store your bulk paper goods near the door entrance to your home. In harder to reach places store items you don’t use as often — like holiday decorations. (6) Always Be Thinking About How to Maximize space.   Gardening tools can be stored vertically on secure hooks attached to the walls.   The garage ceiling is a great spot for storing long, flat stuff you don’t use every day, such as ladders and seasonal sports gear. Just make sure that any item you store on or near the ceiling does not interfere with your garage door’s operation and that there is enough clearance to avoid scraping the roof of your car.

DIY Solution for Tool Storage

If you find organizing your tools to be a challenge.  Try this  DIY solution, from Dorothy the organizer, for tools storage.  Simply hang a peg board and put in some hooks. Using a thick black marker, draw an outline around each tool to reserve its location. You will have a tool organization system that not only keeps you organized but alerts you to when the tools are missing. You will find organizing is contagious – once you start – it spreads rapidly throughout the house and other family members will want to join in too. WHAT YOU NEED