In a world where we’re expected to act fast, choose wisely + live a magnanimous life, there’s always that one place where things feel — imperfect. 

When it comes to our homes, for a lot of us, that place winds up being the garage. Which is ironic because the last thing we want is to feel like we’re drowning in clutter. Lets face it, it's only going to get worse + we’re reminded of this painful reality  every time we pull that Uber luxury + fancy eye watering mom wagon of ours into the garage. 

At Elegant Simplicity, John + I don’t subscribe to creating the illusions of a picture perfect home. In fact, designing or organizing a home you never want to leave is so much more than surface level illusions of pretty. 

Instead, it’s about understanding how you live today (may God be our witness)  + how you want to live for tomorrow. This way, bridging the gap between these two worlds with timeless style + livable luxuries feels like a cake-walk. Our goal is to help you create a home that looks great, works well + functionally conforms to the whims of your everyday needs. 

As your decluttering bestie, we’ve put together our best garage storage ideas that are  guaranteed to make your 3… 4… 5… stall garage more functional. But first, we need to tackle the steps to getting your garage organized.

CREATE YOUR GAMEPLAN OR ROADMAP

First things first, our proven 4 step organizing method begins with creating a custom game plan or what we call an Organizing Roadmap (psst… make sure to click that link to grab yours). 

One of the reasons the garage almost always gets ignored is because it’s for the most part, out of the way. Which allows this area of our home easily to morph into a black hole. A catch-all with no defined purpose. And this my friend, brings us to w-h-y our first priority is identifying goals in terms of how you want to use the space.

For instance, John + I park our car in the garage + we store all of our gear for outdoor activities in this part of our home as well. Everything from biking, camping, hiking + grilling to washing the car and yard maintenance. But, space permitting, it’s important to realize this isn’t the case for everyone which is why getting clear on the purpose of your garage + how you want to use it — even if it’s serving multiple purposes –– is so important. Regardless of size, you still need to clearly identify the type of activities living in your garage.

To get you started, here’s a brief list:

• Tools

• Gardening + Lawn Care

• Automotive

• Sporting Equipment

• Outdoor Activities (camping supplies, bikes, etc)

• Kids Toy Storage

• Holiday Decor

DECLUTTER 

I know... it sounds daunting but regardless of how many stalls your garage has, if you're going to organize it –– the right way –– we always encourage our clients to remove everything. Because it’s only after clearing things out of corners, cabinets + off of those dusty garage shelves that you can really begin to see the space with clarity + objectivity.

SORT 

After working as a professional organizer for over a decade, we know that people rarely realize how much stuff they’ve actually accumulated until it’s out of hand + that’s why they reach out to us for help. As we work together, part of our organizing method is to begin grouping items into categories by asking 3-simple questions.

• Do I use it?

• Do I need it?

• Do I love it?

This step is one of the most critical steps to getting organized, because anything that gets 3-no’s isn’t worth holding onto + you can easily let go of these items by putting them in the donate, trash or recycling pile. Once you’re all done — those donate, trash + recycle piles can be cleared out of your space allowing you to move onto the next step.

CREATE ZONES + PUT IT BACK

With everything grouped into simple + clearly defined categories based on like items, it’s time to roll up your sleeves + start putting things back together in a way that makes sense for you. But first, break each area of your garage into smaller bite-sized- activity zones. Begin by dividing your garage based upon the areas you identified in your roadmap (example: tools, sports + outdoor activities, etc). Regardless of how you organize your garage, be it cabinets, shelves, racks etc — the most important thing is that in the end, everything makes sense for the way you + your family plan to use the space. 

Professional tip: keep things you plan to use most often easily available. This way, you don’t need the ladder every week to get something down off the top shelf :)

And this my friend, is a brief overview of some of the most important aspects of our proven organizing method which has been refined over the years + to this day we follow it to a “T” when working  with clients. So, don’t be shy, if you’re not sure where to dig in first or need help know that we’re here for you boo! But for now, let's get you thinking about some of the different garage storage ideas you could integrate + use to make those zones even better!

GARAGE STORAGE SOLUTIONS BY ACTIVITY

TOOL STORAGE

If you’re like most, any tools you have are going to be stored in your garage except for when you’re using them. And while for some, your tools could take up the majority of your garage, for many this will be just one section of your garage that we’ll want to make sure we designate not only enough space for everything to live but ensure that we have ample storage bins, containers, hooks etc. to keep things organized.

Trust me,  my brother, David, has just about every woodworking tool known to man (and no, I’m not kidding — he has a full two stall garage that would make Tim “the Tool Man” Taylor  extremely jealous). But to his credit, he’s gone as far as printing custom 3D containers + labeling them with the exact size + qty of each item that lives inside. Yep, organizing runs in the family *wink* and in this case, he’s dedicated his entire garage to one clearly defined focus: tools. He also went on + took it a step further by creating zones within his garage for things like wood working, 3D printing, drills, bits, etc. 

*sigh* What can I say other than –– this big sis is proud!

Ok, back to how you can organize your tools. Consider a workbench with an open counter space to work, drawers with bins in them to organize + store both tools as well as nuts, bolts, screws, etc. And, a great place to store tools that are too bulky for drawers is in either cabinets or with a wall mounted shelf. Be it a track, a slatwall or good old fashioned pegboard there are so many ways to make your tool zone functional for you.

GARDENING + LAWN EQUIPMENT STORAGE

For obvious reasons like tracking dirt/mud or grass clippings into your garage having your yard tools inside the garage is a pain + not the most ideal situation. That said, it's not uncommon + there are a couple of ways to keep it neatly organized. 

One of the biggest things you’ll want to keep in mind (pretty much anywhere in your garage) is that if you can maximize vertical space + keep things off the ground your life is going to be a heck of a lot easier when it comes to maintaining a clean garage. In other words, hang as many shovels, rakes, or power tools for the yard as you can. 

Again, the slatwall system or an adjustable track with hanging clips is a great way to utilize all that wall space in your garage. In fact, John’s done a great job of organizing the overflow of “essential” tools for himself as well as for Brooks, our 2 year old son, who has to have a baby version of every tool his daddy has :)

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES + SPORTING EQUIPMENT STORAGE

Things related to outdoor activities like biking, camping or even outdoor furniture that you bring in during the winter time as well as sporting equipment like balls, bats, gloves, etc are an essential part of almost everyone's garage. 

The problem is oftentimes there are a lot of these items + take it from this momma… it only gets magnified once you throw kids in the mix which is why. Fortunately, there are a couple of pretty fundamental things you can do to organize these guys.

When it comes to bikes, scooters, ski’s, snowboards etc, if you can go vertical + in any way possible, use the wall space of your garage + you will be pleasantly surprised how much more usable real estate you gain back once things are off the ground + hung up on the walls. You’re probably tired of me mentioning a slatwall or track system by now but the versatility is great! All you do is mount them on the wall, anchor them into the studs of your garage + then (like magic) you can hang almost anything your heart desires.

When it comes to camping or sporting equipment in general, we’ve found that the best way to store these is on shelves in either large totes + containers or in bags that are placed inside garage cabinets as they are self contained. This way  you won’t have a ton of loose items that may eventually get lost. Plus, the next time you’re pitching your tent in the wilderness you can feel confident that you have everything you need + that you won’t be left scratching your head, trying to figure out how to make your tent pop-up without the poles :)

KID TOY STORAGE

The most important thing to know about kids toy storage is that you need to decide whether or not you want your kids to be able to access these items themselves or will it require the help of an adult. For us, we’ve zoned a certain area of our garage where Brooklyn can easily get to his bike, four wheeler, sporting equipment, baby-sized yard tools, etc. This way, when we’re playing outside + little man decides to shift gears — he has access to getting them. But this philosophy serves double duty because when he wants to switch activities or it’s time to go inside, he’s able to put them back himself. As a parent, even though he’s only 2, we’re teaching him how to maintain organized garage storage.

So, you ask, what’s the best way to store kids toys? In our experience, closed cabinets are fantastic because while everyone knows they’re there, you don’t have to look at anything that’s living behind closed doors on the shelves. Similarly to outdoor activities, self containing them in bins, bags or containers is the most efficient use of space + usually the easiest.

HOLIDAY DECORATION STORAGE

Although we only use this stuff for a handful of weeks each year, identifying a zone in your garage (or even the basement) for all of your celebration + holiday decor will make pulling them out + putting everything away So. Much. Easier. Not to mention a lot less work each year. 

In our opinion, bins are the best way to stow away your holiday decorations because you can categorize them by ornaments, lights, balls, garlands, tabletop decor etc. We like to store them high up on a shelf or in an enclosed cabinet which leaves room below for all the things you use more frequently. The last thing we want is to fill up that valuable real estate with items we only use once a year.

Plus, if you’re using overhead storage racks in the garage, a clear bin allows you to see what’s hiding inside -OR- another great trick is to actually label both the sides + the bottom of the container...this way you can quickly + easily read the labels and find what you’re looking for...say next December?!

BIN STORAGE

When it comes to storing bins in your garage you really want to consider investing in totes, bins + containers that are all the same size for these 2 reasons:

ONE, even in the case where you don’t fill an entire bin, it leaves you plenty of room to grow. But TWO, also because it creates uniformity to your garage storage which maximizes space + makes stacking a cinch… ‘nuff said :)

LABELING STORAGE

It would certainly be a shame to sit back + watch as all of your effort go to the wayside simply because you couldn't remember or didn’t know where something goes. And instead of putting it away where it belongs (like you’re supposed to), you quickly set it down or shove onto a shelf or wherever else it fits. 

You see, whether you have open shelving or an enclosed garage storage, labeling = success. In fact, it actually plays a h-u-g-e part in terms of maintaining those beautifully organized systems that you’ve worked so dog-gone-hard to create. Oh + did I mention, labeling also makes it almost foolproof easy for anyone else (including other family + friends or even the housekeeper) when it comes figuring out where something belongs. 

At the core, garage clutter itself is the unfinished business of life + while most of us don’t realize it until it’s a disaster to look at, the affects it has on our lives are serious. In fact, sometime ago we wrote a really in depth article that dare I say it… dives into how clutter affects your home, your life + your mind. If you haven’t already, give it a read.

And my friend, if you need some help knowing where to dig in first or you simply want there alongside you, culling through the clutter + making sure things get set up the right way — schedule your FREE Clarity Call to get started.