Monday, February 3, 2014

How To Plan Your Garage Makeover

By Joseph Kraehenbuehl


Are you overwhelmed by the piles of clutter in your garage? This might have begun by just dropping a few things by the wall. Now the mess has become a hazard and is upsetting the use of your garage. Your garage started out like an empty cube. Just four empty wall surfaces with a floor and ceiling. It has plenty of room, yet zero shelves on which to place possessions.

Get your stuff off the floor and start enjoying your garage again by installing racks, shelves, hooks, etc. in that simple cube. Consider how many fixtures are in your bathroom and kitchen. What have you put in your living room and bedroom to make space for storing stuff? It's time to do the same for your garage.

If you would like your garage to become organized, you need to add a few fixtures and furniture to your garage. This is a deluge of storage options that may help you in claiming back the garage. My recommendations should inspire you to sketch plans for your freshly organized garage.

First look for a space 6 - 12 inches narrow. This is the ideal location for a tool hanger, hooks, or pegs. Larger spaces from 12 - 16 inches are good for adjustable wall mounted shelves. Shelves can be wire or wood. Wire keeps you from piling small things on the shelf which should be consolidated in bins. Wire shelves also do not collect as much dust. Wood has a more solid look. If you buy manufactured shelves they will be more expensive than wire. Simply cutting a 4x8 sheet of plywood into 12 or 16 shelves is the most economical , although rugged, solution.

Place all of your small and medium things on this type of shelving. Group similar things with each other to create storage zones. Make use of totes and bins to gather related small things. Put in free standing shelves for larger heavier possessions, where you have 18-24 inches of space.

Install cabinets to hide your belongings. Attach smaller cabinets to the wall, or else opt for full-height free-standing cabinets. A fun and personalized way to separate people's stuff is to get a few lockers. Installing a workbench creates a space dedicated to projects. Dedicated space will motivate and facilitate the completion of those projects. Add a pegboard overhead to hold small hand tools. Mark around each tool with paint or marker to denote where each tool belongs.

Clear as much floor space as you possibly can. Hoist the bicycles onto a ceiling or wall with a rack or lift. Comparable solutions are available for hoisting canoes to your ceiling. Invest in hanging garage storage racks to create more space for seasonal and seldom-used possessions. Cut out the ladder work by purchasing a motorized platform. Collect small gadgets in transparent totes. Remember to label all the bins with large writing so objects will be easy to find.

Take the time to create a plan before you go shopping. Make a rough sketch of your garage. Locate the different sized areas as suggested above. Identify which solutions above are right for you based on the measurements of your garage.




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