How to Organize Your Garage: Tips for Decluttering & Storage

Ready to update your garage organization system? Find a garage layout that uses vertical space to free up your garage floor. Make the most of your next home decluttering project with these 23 budget-friendly, DIY, and simple garage organization ideas.

Clean Out Your Garage Before Organizing

No matter how clean you think your garage is, there’s still a chance you might have items—like expired first-aid kits or broken tools—that you don’t need. One of the best garage organization ideas is to start by cleaning out the entire garage! Here are steps to clean your garage:

• Take inventory of what you have
• Throw out any expired or irreparable items
• Organize remaining items into three piles: keep, sell, and donate
• Prepare your items for a garage sale
• Figure out what to do with your belongings after decluttering
• Sweep out any debris and wash and reseal your garage floor, if possible

Set Up Zones

When starting your garage makeover, sort and store items by category in easily-accessible zones so you can quickly grab what you need. Keep tools and other car care products like washing fluids, sponges, and rags together on a designated shelf for your next DIY car wash. Or group and store camping gear and recreational equipment, seasonal decorations, and backstock into their own area of your garage.

Hang Pegboards for Wall Organization

Using pegboards is an easy way to incorporate hanging storage in your garage for lightweight and smaller items. This garage storage solution is great for massive storage walls, keeping tools over a workbench, or adding a coat and bag rack next to your door. Customize and arrange your tools to your liking on a pegboard by including specialty hooks, shelves, baskets, and more.

Install Slat Walls for a Fully-Customized Garage

For items that can’t fit on a pegboard, another simple garage wall storage idea is to build slat walls. This wall-to-wall storage method is best for larger, heavy-duty items and can be added anywhere in your garage. With the ability to add or take away hooks and shelving, you can mix and match the layout of your garage storage products. You can even add track systems to slat walls for storing leaf blowers, ladders, baby strollers, and more off your garage floor.

Build Cabinets for More Vertical Storage

Garage cabinets are one of the best ways to organize your garage, no matter the size! This garage storage system allows you to tuck away unattractive items like paint cans or cleaning supplies out of sight, which helps make the space look nicer and more organized.

Add Wire Shelving Along Walls

If you’re looking for budget-friendly garage organization ideas, consider using wire shelves instead of cabinets in your garage! This garage organization tip is great for storing a variety of items—from gardening supplies to seasonal decor. Wire shelving units provide the strength of metal shelves, but without the bulkiness. Regardless of whether you choose wire shelves or metal shelves for your garage, be sure there’s enough clearance underneath them to make sweeping your garage floor easier.

Try Cubbies for Family Garage Storage

If your mudroom is a drop zone for shoes, coats, bags, and other random items, reclaim the space by adding garage cubbies just outside of your home. This outdoor organization method is one of the best ways to organize your garage because each member of your family will have a special place to put their belongings.

Utilize Storage Containers

One of the best ways to organize a garage is to put everything into plastic storage containers. Be sure to use labels on the outside of each bin so you can find items faster! When you’re organizing a garage during spring cleaning, try to store similar items in the plastic storage containers, and then put the items you need to access less frequently in harder-to-reach places.

Use Rollout Bins for Garage Accessories

Rollout bins are one of the best garage storage drawers you can use to avoid leaving towels and oil rags lying around your garage workbench. Instead, install slide-out bins along the walls for easy access to your garage inventory. This garage storage option is particularly useful for creating dedicated space for messy items.

Create Space for Sports Gear Storage

Roller skates, skateboards, hockey sticks, and other sporting gear take up a lot of room. Make an area specifically for sports equipment storage to keep them organized and ensure a family member doesn’t trip over them! Keep basketballs, footballs, and volleyballs out of the way by hanging vertical racks, nets, or baskets on your available wall space to keep your garage floor obstacle-free. To maximize garage space even more, use angled wire shoe shelves for cleats and sports shoes or paneled walls and a variety of hooks like double hooks and j hooks to store canoe paddles, surfboards, or other sports equipment.

Take Care of Winter Gear Storage, Too

Make the next time you pack for the slopes and other winter-related activities stress-free by storing snow sports equipment in the same area of your garage. Try using a board fitted with baskets and hooks for winter hat and glove storage. For bulky items, use metal bracket shelves for snow boots to dry off, and a sports hook and panel system to keep your ski and snowboard gear off the ground after a lengthy day on the slopes.

Move Bikes to Overhead Storage Racks

One of the best ways to store a bike in the garage is to get them up in an overhead storage rack to free up floor space. Need more garage bike rack ideas? A vertical bike storage rack is great for keeping bikes organized yet accessible. You can add hooks to an already-installed garage slat wall or add a motorized bike rack designed specifically for lifting your bike off the ground with ease. Plus, many of these bike storage solutions can double as ways to effectively store canoes and kayaks!

Get Creative with Large Lawn Equipment

Big lawn equipment like lawnmowers, snowblowers, weed whackers, snow shovels, and wheelbarrows take up a lot of garage space, so it’s worth considering where to place them when decluttering and reorganizing your garage. One garage storage solution for lawn care tools is a pulley shelving system, where you can easily move heavier items from an upper shelving unit to the garage floor. Another garage storage idea for larger lawn equipment like trimmers is to utilize hooks and hang them on the wall vertically.

Organize Small Yard Tools with Wood Pallets

If wall space is at a premium and hanging yard tools isn’t an option, another garage tool storage idea is to keep everything against a wall with wood pallets. Wood pallets are an extremely durable option to put on the floor or sit against the wall. Plus, this garage tool organization system requires just an anchor or two to help keep the pallet upright.

Add a Magnetic Strip to Organize Work Tools

An easy garage storage solution for tools like wrenches, chisels, scissors, screwdrivers, and more is to use a magnetic strip above or along the side of a workbench! This helps you ensure you don’t have to dig through drawers by keeping your tools nearby and visible.

Make Screwdrivers More Accessible

Since screwdrivers may be more difficult to hang compared to hammers or power tools, it’s a good idea to add screwdriver holders. You can purchase holders created specifically for this purpose, or you can DIY your own solution for garage tool storage!

Use PVC as a Tool Organizer

If you have extra PVC lying around in your garage, don’t throw it away! Try organizing items using extra PVC pipe for garden tool organization. This is a perfect solution for storing long-handled tools, brooms, and rakes, and will ensure you have convenient access to your tools at low cost.

Don’t Forget Mini Storage for Hardware

Need garage organization ideas for smaller hardware items like nails, screws, and washers? A repurposed library card catalog has cabinets that are the perfect size for holding your nuts and bolts, and you can further organize the cabinets with labels. Another simple garage organization idea is to utilize the compartments in a clear tackle box! If you want DIY garage storage ideas, try building a wall-mounted swivel rack to create a bolt organizer. Or make wooden storage bins beneath your garage workbench using scrap wood.

Store All of Your Tape in One Spot

One of the simplest ways to organize your garage is to keep all of your tape in one place around your workbench! You can even organize the tape by putting electric, duct, and scotch tape on different pegs on a peg board. This garage storing hack also saves rolls from taking up space in drawers or tubs.

Make Cord Cleanup Easier with Retractable Reels

Putting away extension cords can be a hassle. One garage storage solution that can save yourself time and garage space is getting a retractable cord reel! That way, you only pull out the amount of cord you need and then roll it right back up when you’re finished with the task.

Keep Paint on Easy-to-Reach Shelves

If you need quick access to your paints, store them on easy-to-reach shelves! Repurpose old spice racks for a simple garage storage solution for smaller paint cans and spray paints. To ensure the proper storage of your heavier paint products, then consider placing those bulky cans and tubs on a sturdy gladiator shelving unit to keep your garage floor paint-free!

Hang Ladders from Raised Shelving

Make small garage organization easier by hanging your ladder on the wall! Storing your ladder by letting it stand upright can take up valuable floor space. By hanging your ladder vertically or horizontally, you free up space for other items.

Leave Room for Garbage Cans & Recycling Bins

As you’re thinking about different garage storage layouts, be sure to leave space for your garbage cans and recycling bins! As more cities switch to large 30-gallon containers, leave enough room in your garage to store bins easily after dropping them off or rolling them back from the curb.

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