How To Organize The Garage

The garage. If you find that something doesn’t have a place to go in the house, this is normally where it will end up. This can take over your garage before you know it! This doesn’t have to be the case, though. With some organizing tips and solutions, you can reclaim your garage.

This was the case with us recently. We were remodeling our basement, and as we cleaned everything out, it ended up in our garage. The result was total chaos and mess.

I stood at the entrance, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff that had accumulated. Boxes of old photo albums teetered precariously atop bins of holiday decorations. Our bikes were buried under a mountain of outgrown kids’ clothes and toys.

My husband and I decided to tackle it one weekend, and the result was amazing! We discovered that with the right approach and some clever storage solutions, even the most cluttered garage can be transformed into an organized, functional space. I’ll walk you through our process, sharing the tips and tricks we learned along the way.

Other organizing ideas:

Before you begin, you might want to print out the garage organization checklist for this project. Click the image below to find out how you can get your copy.

When my husband and I decided to tackle our garage, we quickly realized this wasn’t a small project. To be honest, it took us about half a day on Saturday and a few additional hours on Sunday afternoon to get it done – so probably 8-10 hours in total. The time it’ll take you depends on how much you have to clean out and how big your garage space is.

1. Clear everything out

We started by removing everything from the garage and setting it out on the driveway and lawn. (Make sure there’s no chance of rain that weekend!) This step was eye-opening. Seeing everything spread out made us realize just how much stuff we’d accumulated over the years.

2. Deep clean the space

With the garage empty, we took the opportunity to give it a thorough cleaning. We power-washed the floor to remove all the grime, but you could simply sweep it out and use a garden hose to clean up any messes. Don’t forget to sweep out the corners where cobwebs like to hide. Trust me, starting with a clean space makes the organizing process so much easier.

3. Add organization spaces

This is where the fun begins! We invested in two hanging shelf racks from The Home Depot. They weren’t cheap, but they’ve been worth every penny. These racks attach to the ceiling studs, and you can adjust both the height and width. They’re perfect for storing bulky items like luggage, coolers, and camping gear.

My handy husband also built a floating shelf across the back wall of our garage. It’s amazing how much usable space you can create from what was previously just wasted air! If you’re not DIY-inclined, you could hire someone to install something similar

We also attached 2×4 to the wall of the garage (into the studs with large screws). We purchased brackets so that we could hang our tools, such as shovels and brooms. That way, they were up off of the floor.

We purchased a shoe rack for his boots so they could be put up off the floor. We also added a magazine rack to store our grocery sacks (so we can easily grab them as we head off to the store each week).

Finally, since I have a very handy hubby, he built a shoe rack and a sports gear storage box! These keep the kids’ boots and shoes off the floor. It is also helpful for the kids when they are done playing ball because they know exactly where to put their items away!!

organize the garage storage ideas to try

There are so many different ways you can organize your garage space, so you might check out Pinterest or your local home improvement store for storage solutions.

4. Sort and organize

This was the most time-consuming part. We went through every box and pile, deciding what to keep, donate, or toss. We tried to group similar items together – all the holiday decorations in one area, camping gear in another, and so on. Here’s a quick guide we used:

Keep:

Items we use frequently
Seasonal items we still use
Tools and sporting goods in good condition
Paint colors still in our home (we labeled cans by room name)

Toss:

Anything broken, damaged, or leaking
Old paints and chemicals (disposed of properly, of course)
Random pieces we couldn’t identify

Donate:

Anything we were keeping out of guilt but never used

Old tools we no longer used

Toys and camping items the kids had outgrown

5. Return everything back into the garage

I will be honest and say that this is the longest part of this project. The reason is that you will be going through many boxes and piles of “stuff,” and it may take time to go through it all. Keep items such as sporting goods, tools, seasonal items, camping gear, automotive, etc. together.

The more that items are kept in a central location, the more likely it is they will be more easily located when needed and then returned to their home when they are dong being used.

6. Arrange for donation pick-up or drop-off yourself

Many times, there are charities looking for good useable items for their store. You can contact one of them about scheduling a pick-up of the items you do not need. They will come and take them away and leave you a receipt for tax purposes (so make sure you keep a list).

You may also know of a location where you can take these items yourself. You may have to temporarily house them in the garage while you wait to get rid of them, but try to do it as quickly as you possibly can.

The AFTER of our clean and organized garage space!!