Garages are usually the largest single room space under the roof of the average American home today and not all homeowners actually use their garage space to park cars in. Many prefer to use their garages for extra storage space, an office, a gym, a workshop, or a place for the kids to play in. However, if you do want to use your garage to park your car as well as use the space for extra storage duties, you’ll have to put your priorities in order to make the most of the space you have. You can’t put everything into one place, so an important step toward using your garage space efficiently is deciding exactly what you will need to keep inside it in addition to your car or cars, depending on the size of the garage you have.
Most Americans have a bad habit of keeping too much junk inside their homes and garages these days, so getting rid of the useless and unwanted items in your garage is a big first step. A second important element is the way you will organize and store the stuff you do decide to keep in your garage along with your vehicles. After you have categorized and organized the stuff you do want to keep, you will be ready for an efficient garage organization project.
Installing orderly cabinets and pegboard on the walls is a great way to transform your garage into a more useable space. Cabinets can be an expensive proposition if you decide you need professional items custom made just for your garage, however the big home improvement stores all have a good selection of pre-made garage cabinets and there is also the option of building them yourself if you are handy with tools. If those options don’t fit your needs, you can also shop online for inexpensive cabinets. Installing pegboards on the garage walls is also great way to save space and make room for loose tools and hardware. Pegboard wall systems are also available in many sizes and different materials enabling you to choose the type that best suits your personal storage needs.
Garage storage racks and open shelves are also good options, especially in smaller garages that don’t have a lot of room for large cabinets. Durable garage storage racks can be mounted along the walls or even overhead to free up space and store items that are not used on a regular basis, like seasonal sports equipment and children’s bicycles. Most home improvement stores have good selections of different garage storage rack systems that are affordable and can still hold a lot of weight, and if you can’t find what you want locally, shopping online will usually yield a system that fits your needs. Almost any type of open shelving system can also be easily added to your garage space to serve as storage space and they are great for storing boxes and other large items that would otherwise take up too much space on the floor or workbench. There are many options when it comes to organizing your garage space and most of them are far less expensive than installing custom-designed storage units. The best news is that you can find just about everything you will need to get the job done right at your local home improvement store, and that can help you save a lot of money on shipping and handling too.
