Time to Organize Your Garage or Work Space

How organized is your garage? What about the place where you get things done – a workshop or home office? Has it become such a dumping ground that you are unable to store your car, start a new project, or find any space for productive activities? If not a complete disaster, perhaps this space just needs some reorganization for optimal performance. Either way, here are some tips for getting things in order and taking back control of your garage or work space.

Clean Out

What’s the first step to any big organization project? Cleaning out! Before you can organize you need to toss or donate the things you really don’t need. Set aside an entire day or even a weekend to give your garage attention. Go through everything and put items into one of three piles: keep, toss, or donate/sell. What should you toss? MakeSpace.com details 8 essential rules for reducing things you don’t need in your garage, work space, or home. Start by disposing of outgrown toys, items that are broken beyond repair, expired household chemicals (which may need special disposal), and anything you haven't used in two years or more. Sort the items you are going to keep into categories like sports, tools, etc. for storage.

Draft a Floor Plan

According to This Old House, most manufacturers of garage-organizing systems offer free space planning. You can use their services as you research how to store all your gear and apply the same principles to other rooms or function areas. You’ll need to record your garage or work space's dimensions and note the size and location of windows, doors, switches and receptacles, and (in some cases) how much space your car(s) need. As you plot your layout, plan to store items used together (like sports equipment) close to one another. Place bulky equipment like lawn mowers and snowblower in corners where they won’t get knocked into. Frequently-used items can be stored close to the entrance and seasonal/rarely used items may be placed in harder-to-reach locations.

Must-Have Storage Products

So now that you have your floor plan ready to go, it's time to select storage items. We recommend stackable, clear, plastic bins with lids for all types of items and clear jars for smaller items – these can be food jars you clean out and save after using. It’s important to have a lockable cabinet for storing chemicals and other items you don’t want kids to get into. Be sure all storage units have legs to allow you to easily clean underneath, or perhaps raise them on wood or bricks if they may get wet in the rainy season. For easy access to your belongings, get open shelving that allows you to see what you’ve stored and prevents you from quickly stashing items. Once again, This Old House suggests a number of vertical organizing systems like pegboards that are easy to install for wall storage.

Tip: Once your garage is organized, don’t forget to use WD-40 Company’s 3-IN-ONE Garage Door Lubricant on your garage door’s hinges, door tracks, chains, pulleys and latches to prevent rusting, corrosion, sticking and squeaking.