Haven’t used the item for a year? Consider tossing it—unless it has sentimental value, of course, says Brown. Once you have everything sorted, you can determine how much space each category will need and start to organize accordingly.
Think about using every part of your garage, from floor to ceiling. There’s a lot of hidden space you may never have thought to use, and you can find creative ways to utilize every single space.
• Use wood or metal shelves to store smaller bins, cleaning supplies and other items.
• Add racks on the wall to hold bigger tools such as rakes, shovels and brooms.
• Install hooks to get bicycles off the ground and out of your way.
• Attach budget-friendly pegboards to walls to help maximize floor space. You can add hooks to hang up tools and garden supplies, or use magnetic strips to hold smaller metal objects.
And don’t let the corners of your garage go to waste. Add cabinets, a workbench or your toolbox to these areas. You can also build corner shelves to hold smaller items, says Brown. This will give you more storage space without interfering with parking vehicles in the garage. You can also use those shelves to store sports equipment so it’s out the way but still easily accessible.
Don’t forget about all that overhead space. Consider attaching tracks to your ceiling specially made to hold large storage bins. This definitely helps save on floor space. You can also build wood storage shelves and mount them to the ceiling support beams to hold boxes of seasonal decorations, baby clothes or other items that you don’t need access to on a regular basis.