Building a new home always brings so much joy. There’s a lot to think of, as planning your house involves lots of time, creativity and effort. One of the thoughts that will immediately come to your mind is whether or not you should add a garage.
Having a garage helps you with your household. First, you can keep your vehicle (or vehicles) locked safely from thieves, weather and other circumstances. Second, you can store any other things in your garage, especially if they are of rare use or just too big to keep at home.
Last but not least it will be possible for you to have your personal space there: you’ll be able to listen to some music quite loudly without disturbing other house residents, make some stuff with your hands (woodcarving, forgery, etc.) and do pretty much anything you could ever think of.
The possibilities for garage customization are, in fact, endless. However, this article would like to concentrate on different garages: their advantages and disadvantages, characteristics and special features.
Regarding the size, garages can be classified as follows:
- Single. A single garage can fit only one vehicle. It also allows some room for drivers and passengers to open the doors and maneuver around the car. Usually, a single garage has a total area of 14 sq.m. As it doesn’t require much space, it can be great for very small lots. The main disadvantage is, you won’t be able to store much in your single garage.
- Double, or a two-car garage. As its name suggests, a double garage will hold two vehicles parked side-by-side. Such garages have either two separate doors or a single door to get your vehicles in. Of course, some extra space to get around the cars is needed, too. As a rule, a total area of a two-car garage is somewhere near 28-30 sq.m. This can also be a good option if you have a really large car (an SUVs, a truck or a van) or if you want some extra space for the workshop.
- Three-car-garage. The most logical assumption is that these types of garages are created for three vehicles, but this isn’t always the case. Three-car garages allow even more room for storage and workspace. The only thing is, they won’t always fit in your lot, especially if it is a smaller one.
- Tandem garages. They aren’t particularly different from double garages, considering that they can fit two vehicles too. But rather than parking them side-by-side, you will park them nose-to-tail because their shape is different and allows only one door for the cars to get in.
Garage Storage Tips to Maximize Space
A garage often becomes a catch-all space in your home. Everything from tools and toys to brooms and bikes gets stored here, which is why the organization is key.
To help maximize space, try these six DIY garage organization ideas.
Declutter the space
Before you begin your DIY garage storage mission, start by eliminating any unnecessary items you don’t use or need. For example, if the kids aren’t playing hockey anymore, donate the gear. Likewise, if you haven’t fixed up an old lawnmower in the last year, it’s time to give it to someone else or take it to your local recycling centre.
If you have many things to get rid of and your garbage service won’t take it, consider using a private removal service. For example, you can buy a giant canvas bag at a home improvement store, fill it with garbage and set up a time for a haulier to come and remove it. Fees apply, of course, but companies like this offer a simple way to rid your garage of junk.
Install a pegboard
A pegboard may be the most versatile of garage storage ideas. With a pegboard installed on a wall, you can hang just about every hand tool or gadget you have; seeing them out in the open makes them easier to find. Get a series of wire brackets to hang basic tools, and buy several hanging baskets that fit on pegboards. They’re great for storing things like nails or bottles of glue.
Add a folding table.
When you have two vehicles in the garage, there sometimes isn’t enough room to do much else. Where do you work? Consider creating a drop-down folding table. Connect the table to the wall with hinges so you can fold the legs under and fold it up against the garage wall when you aren’t using it.
Hang cans of spray paint
If you have a lot of spray paint, buy a hanging shoe organizer at a department store and use it to hold spray paint in your garage.
Utilize the space above your garage doors
There’s a lot of space above garage doors that you can use. Consider installing wire shelves that attach to the ceiling as part of your DIY garage storage plan. Or you can try making some DIY garage shelves. Either way, make sure the shelves are secure before you try storing anything on them.
Measure the available space before buying the shelf to make sure it will fit, and then buy durable tote bags that will fit on the shelves. It’s a great place to store seasonal items, like holiday decorations, that you only need to access once a year.
Hang a utility rack
Rakes, shovels, hoes and brooms all take up space. Rather than lean them against the wall and trip over them, get a utility rack from a department store and hang up any tool with a long handle.
If space is an issue, you can buy individual hooks and hang them in tight spaces, such as between the garage doors, next to the tool bench or near the entrance to the house.
Also, check out this video for additional garage organizing ideas that can help you clean up your garage in no time.
An organized home — clean garage included — is a great place to spend time and make memories. Ensure your house is protected with homeowners insurance that gives you extra peace of mind.
10 Tips For Organizing Your Garage
The following tips for efficiently organising garage space range from simple filing methods to creative uses of overhead space. Also included are tips for cleaning garage floors and painting or decorating the walls to make the space more attractive.
Whether your garage is large or small, you can maximize that space with one or more of the following cool organization tricks for garage areas.
SORT THE ITEMS
Organize the items in your garage by category. Chances are good there are some items that you pull from your garage periodically and other items that you no longer use but still wish to keep. You probably have a number of items that could either be donated or discarded, too. In terms of purpose and necessity, the items in your garage could be sorted as follows:
- Regular: Tools, sporting equipment
- Seasonal: Christmas decorations, fans, wine coolers
- Sentimental: Old photo albums, memorabilia, family heirlooms
- Outdated: Outgrown clothing, old appliances
Once you determine which category each item in your garage falls into, make shelves or reserve cabinets for items in the first three categories. Set aside the outdated items and donate them to the nearest Salvation Army drop-off location.
Paint The Garage Walls
Do something to make the interior walls of your garage more visually appealing. For example, if you paint the walls a striking colour or adorn them with eye-fetching wallpaper, you will be less inclined to allow items to pile up going forward. At the same time, you will be more likely to notice the walls each time you enter the garage, and this will make any future pileups seem like more of an aberration.
For example, a pink or silver garage wall would be hard to ignore. The stark contrast of stacked boxes against such a wall would likely impel you to keep items picked up on a more proactive basis. A wall bedecked with checker-print wallpaper could have a similar positive effect.
In essence, the space inside a garage is unlikely to be treated as an afterthought when space itself holds its own allure.
Add And Optimize Storage Options
Once you divide items by categories of need, place each grouping closest to where the items in question need to be at the time that you use them. For example, outdoor items such as your hose, rake and lawnmower should be located near the garage door. Holiday decorations, on the other hand, should be boxed together on a shelf or in a cabinet near the interior door to your living quarters.
Granted, you do not want to line your garage walls with too many shelves or cabinets, as doing so would limit space for vehicles. Ultimately, the best way to maintain a tidy garage is to organize the things that you do need into specific storage spaces and let go of items you no longer need.
Get Combination Storage
One of the easier ways to organize the items you store in your garage is to buy a multi-purpose storage unit with horizontal as well as vertical storage options. A storage unit equipped with sliding doors could help you optimize space, even in a one-car garage.
In the horizontal half, you could store toolboxes on the bottom shelf, memorabilia boxes on the second shelf and seasonal decorations on the top shelf. Meanwhile, the vertical half could be used to store standing equipment like skis, golf clubs, a rake and a shovel.
Optimize Overhead Space
In garages as well as living quarters, an often-overlooked space-saving option is a space above your head. If your garage has a high ceiling, there is plenty of storage potential that could be harnessed with the addition of overhead storage units.
Along the wall, you could stack a tall column of shelves or cabinets and keep a ladder close by for when you need to access the top shelves. On the upper back wall of your garage, you could even attach a set of cabinets along with the space between the interior door and ceiling.
Use Sporting Items As Wall Hangings
Some of the items stored in your garage could likely be used to liven up the walls. For example, sporting items can serve as visual props and reminders of your favourite sport. Surfboards are a classic example of a sporting item that has visual as well as functional appeal. On the days and months when you’re not out surfing, store the boards vertically with fasteners against the wall for all to see.
Turn Discarded Furnishings Into Storage
If you have an old, long-disused drawer set under those boxes of old magazines and trophies in your garage, those drawers could perhaps be used to empty out those boxes. Instead of having boxes of old miscellanea stacked upon one another, each box could be unloaded into a separate drawer. On top of the drawers, you could place a set of shelves to organize the items you use more regularly, such as tools and bicycle helmets.
Liven Up The Garage Floor
There are many ways to optimize the storage space and revitalize the walls in your garage, but have you considered the garage floor? Truth be told, most people pay little mind to the garage floor, and understandably so. Most garage floors are made of grey concrete and are often tracked with dirt and stained with drops of oil. The thing is, a garage floor does not have to be so bland.
There are several things you can do to make a garage floor more aesthetically pleasing. The two most popular options are tiles and polymer coating, which make garages livelier and dirt less noticeable. The presence of tiles or a shiny coat of polymer also serves as reminders to take the mop out for a stroll on your garage floor from time to time.
Choose Fancy Cabinets
The cabinets that you place in your garage for storage purposes do not need to be bland-looking and strictly functional. Storage cabinets can actually be classy and visually striking. Instead of generic particleboard cabinets, go for something made from \a nice finished wood. For added safety, have the cabinets treated with a fire-resistant polymer
Make Better Use Of Space
Whether or not you opt to use overhead space for storage, the organization of your garage could be a whole lot neater with off-ground storage units. For example, attach a set of cabinets to your garage wall with a foot or two of clearance space underneath. This will make the task of floor cleaning a whole lot easier and also leave space clear for items that must be stored separately, such as oil cans and gas tanks.