Complete Garage Makeover: Better Storage & Garage Organization

Garages are one of the most multifunctional rooms in a home. Their intent may be to store cars, but they often house much more than that. Garages often serve as storage for hardware, sports equipment, children’s toys and gardening tools or an escape from the world. You may even need to rent a neighbor’s garage to store your items or vehicles! Give yours a complete garage makeover and improve your garage storage an organization!

The trouble, however, is keeping everything organized. Fortunately, there are many options and garage storage ideas out there that can help you do just that.

Prepping for a Complete Garage Makeover

Before you jump headfirst into remodeling your garage to allow for better storage, first consider what you will need to organize your clutter. Getting your garage organized and back into order is a major task in itself. You might consider hiring someone to help you! However, once you have gotten rid of anything you won’t need, you can begin to look into storage equipment that will help you better organize your belongings.

According to sparefoot.com, you can spend anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars on storage units and cabinets for your garage. Storage equipment can often be found at home improvement stores, like Home Depot, Lowe’s and IKEA. There are countless storage options available at each of these stores, each varying in functionality and sleekness.

Freestanding Shelves: Freestanding plastic or metal shelves are often placed against the wall of a garage.

Overhead Storage Unit: Overhead storage is an option for those who don’t have any space left on the walls or floors of their garage. Because these units are less accessible than other storage options, items not frequently used should be stored here.

Modular Storage Units: Lining up modular cabinets is a great way to keep storage items out of sight. Perhaps the most visually appealing option, modular units can also be locked if you plan on keeping anything valuable in them.

Garage Storage for Bikes

Whether you routinely ride your bike or only take it out every once in a while, bikes are an awkwardly shaped item that can take up an unnecessary amount of space in your garage. Familyhandyman.com recommends saving space and minimizing clutter in your garage by installing a bike mount and storing your bike up and off the garage floor. Here are several bike mount recommendations listed on their website:

Use a Pulley: If you intend to use a bike mount, familyhandyman.com suggests, installing a pulley system that will allow heavy bikes to be lifted off the ground with a limited amount of effort.

Action Hook: Try installing a claw-style bike hook to your garage ceiling or rafters for easy bike attachment. This mechanism, made by Gladiator, is sold at Home Depot.

Bike and Accessory Holder: The OneUp Bike Holder by the brand Topeak allows you to keep your bike and accessories in one place while also keeping them off your garage floor.

Freestanding Bike Stand: If you are not looking for the permanency of installing a bike rack, a freestanding bike rack is recommended. The sleek design of the brand Michelangelo’s Freestanding Bike Stand allows you to store bikes in a non-permanent way that will not take up room on your garage floor.

Heavy-Duty Hook: Perhaps the most common and cost-effective approach to installing your own bike rack is to look no further than a heavy-duty rubberized hook. These hooks are made to be screwed into a stud or rafter and require minimal installation. Depending on the size of your garage, these hooks can either be placed on the wall or ceiling. Heavy-duty rubberized hooks can be found at most home improvement stores.

Bike Butler: If you are frequently using your bike but also looking for a way to save space, the Bike Butler is the way to go. The device includes a single attachment piece that you place on your seat post for easy detachment.

Floor-to-Ceiling Bike Storage: Another non-permanent way to install a bike rack in your garage is to try the floor-to-ceiling tension bike rack. This rack can be placed anywhere with a firm ceiling and can extend to 10 feet.

Garage Storage for Tools

No garage would be complete without the common addition of a workspace; however, without a place to store tools and appliances, workspaces can often be more effort than they are worth as everything becomes out of place. Lowes offers five tool storage solutions for those looking to reduce clutter and better organize their space for tools within their garage.

Tool Cabinets and Chests: Lowes recommends looking into large-capacity steel cabinets and chests to help store large tool collections. Deep drawers can be used to hold bulkier tools and appliances. Shallow trays make it easier to find smaller items, such as wrenches.

For even more storage space, stationary chests can be easily stacked on matching wheeled cabinets.

Tool Boxes: If space is of the essence in your garage, a smaller alternative to a tool cabinet is a tool box. According to Lowe’s, cantilever trays or bins, commonly seen on tool boxes spread outward when open, giving a clear view and easy access to its contents.  

Hooks and Wall Hangers: Wall-mounted hangers keep tools within reach and can help to minimize clutter in your garage. Hooks and hangers also make it easy to redesign your space as you please. Lowes recommends looking for wall-hanging kits that include hooks, hangers and pegboards that are easily expandable as your tool collection continues to grow.

Garage Storage for Toys and Balls

Most parents can agree that once their children are old enough to play with toys, there is little to no space left for anything else. With vehicles, tools and other equipment being a necessity in your garage, here are several ways to decrease the amount of space needed for children’s toys.

Wheeled Toy Designated Parking: For a creative change in self-storage, HGTV recommends painting colored lines (or using colored tape) on the floors of your garage to serve as designated parking spots for children toys with wheels.

Toy Bins: Labeled bins can hold smaller items such as sandbox toys, sidewalk chalk and bubbles, according to HGTV. Consider painting metal bins with chalkboard paint or using easily recognizable colors to label bins. Labeled bins make it easy for kids to easily distinguish and put their own toys away.

Wall Storage: Hooks and pegboards are easy ways to create wall storage within your garage. While they have many uses, they can also serve as storage for toys when installed lower to the ground. HGTV suggests hanging backpacks, hula hoops and jump ropes on the walls to create additional space.

Beach Bags: Keeping ready-for-use beach bags in your garage can help you save time and space. HGTV recommends hanging mesh bags and plastic tubs on garage walls for storing sand toys, goggles and other swimming gear.

Seasonal Items: One way to keep your garage free of clutter throughout the year is to change and manage toys as seasonal transitions occur. Installing a shelf for interchangeable bins filled with out-of-season items is one way to stay on top of and organize toys year-round.

Ball Storage: HGTV recommends repurposing rolling laundry baskets to store balls of different sizes. Balls can also be stored in baskets that hang on garage walls or slide into open shelves.

Garage Storage for Kayaks

Kayaks, while fun to have, can take up a large amount of room within your garage. Most of time kayaks are kept in a corner or are pushed against a wall, but according to seakayakexplorer.com this could cause damage to your kayak. Instead of having your kayak taking up space in your garage or running the risk of damage, here are four ways to best store your kayak in your garage.

Rack Storage: If space is not an issue and you have multiple kayaks to store, seakayakexplorer.com suggests buying or taking the time to build a rack. This will allow your kayaks to be stored upright and will help to make them easily accessible.

Overhead Suspension System: If space is an issue, an overhead suspension system is a popular way to store multiple kayaks without taking up room in your garage.

Upright Storage: If you are low on wall or ceiling space, upright storage for your kayak may be the way to go. This option is best if you have only one or two kayaks.

Sling Set: If you prefer to store your kayak on the wall, a sling set will allow your kayak to be stored off the ground horizontally.

Garage Storage for Golf Clubs

For golf fans, keeping all of your equipment together in one place is important. If you have not already, the preferred method for storing golf equipment is to keep it within a golf bag. However, if there is not enough room in your garage for said golf bag you might look into installing wall shelves or hooks that will easily hold your equipment while keeping it off the ground.

Heavy.com provides a list of the five best bag and equipment storage organizers for your golf clubs here.

Garage Storage for Shoes

If you’re someone that takes your shoes off in the garage before entering your home, garage storage for your shoes is a must. Here are a few solutions suggested by thespruce.com to help declutter your garage of shoes.

Make or Purchase a Shoe Rack: Because it easy to let your shoes slowly accumulate in your garage, a shoe rack is a simple solution to help get unwanted items off the floor of your garage. Thespruce.com recommends either purchasing or making your own shoe rack out of household materials.

One of the projects listed on their website showcases a shoe rack made out of PVC pipes that have been cut and glued together. While this won’t fit every kind of shoe, it’s a good place to start organizing your growing garage shoe collection.

Wire Shelving: Wire shelving is a great alternative for storing your shoes in your garage. Wire shelving is easy to install and is relatively affordable. This option also allows for open and visible storage of your shoes, making it easy to grab a particular pair.

Keep Shoes in a Basket: If you are low on wall-space or are looking for a more functional way to store the occasional pair of shoes in your garage, a shoe basket is an easy and inexpensive way to maximize garage organization.

Garage Storage or Self Storage

If remodeling your garage for storage space isn’t an option for you, there are other alternatives. Self-storage has been a popular option in recent years, with residents looking for additional space to keep their belongings.

One up and coming self-storage company is Neighbor which allows you to look for people in your community that may be renting storage space within their home. Neighbor takes the work out of finding a self-storage unit and allows you the chance to connect with those around you.

Whether you are looking to remodel your entire garage or not, these suggestions are beneficial to organizing your home for optimal storage potential.

It is also important to remember to go through your belongings at least once a year to donate or get rid of anything no longer needed.