A garage is great for storing seasonal items, sports equipment, tools, lawn and garden supplies, paint, bikes, and more. But if you’re not careful, your garage will become so cluttered, it will be impossible to park a car in it.
Watch this video for some garage storage organization tips, including:
Read episode article to find out more.
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If your garage could use a little organization, and most can you don’t want to miss this episode of Today’s Homeowner. We are clearing out the clutter so we can add some organization to a very busy garage.
Hello, and welcome to the show this week. Now a garage of this size should accommodate two cars, but these homeowners are using it like so many homeowners to store different toys, bicycles, lawn equipment, sporting equipment, a little bit of everything.
There are a lot of small projects you can do in a garage that can really help you reclaim your space for your cars to be able to park inside. Now, we’ll show you a few of these ideas we have in this week’s show, and we are going to transform this garage into a more organized environment.
Now, one of the first steps in getting your garage organized is to throw away anything that you have not used in the last couple of years, or you may want to donate it to a local charity. Now the problem with clutter in a garage like this is it ends up all over the floor, taking up all of the available floor space. Now, in their situation, this homeowner has a lot of wall space that we are going to use to organize this garage, even a few things will be hung from the ceiling, which is a great idea to get maybe a bicycle up and out of the way.
Now, one of the first steps that we need to do here is to remove everything out of the garage—most everything—then group it in different groups, such as lawn chairs, sporting equipment, lawn tool, and that kind of thing. Now, in this situation, we have enlisted a buddy of mine, Greg to help me out with this mess.
As we begin moving things from the garage too the driveway, we sort it by categories. By consolidating similar items, we can decide best how to store them. You may also discover a few things you may not know you had, therefore, you can probably live without. With most everything out of this garage, we can really start getting things organized with a few of the tricks we want to share with you.
Now, one thing that takes up so much room in a garage—bicycles. Now, a children’s bicycle, will probably be best to store it right along the wall like this. You can just put the kickstand down, and keep it out of the way of the cars and that leaves it very accessible for the children. But, adult bicycles can be stored very successfully overhead on the ceiling.
Now, these types of hooks that have a plastic coating on them are readily available at the home center. They come in a lot of different sizes, this particular one is just perfect for hooking on the tire of the bicycle, turning it upside down. Of course, you will need to measure the bicycle to be sure you are getting the proper spacing. But more importantly, you will want to make sure that you are hitting a ceiling joist when you are putting the hooks in.
By looking in the attic we can determine what direction our ceiling joists are running and how far from the wall the first one starts. We make a measurement on the ceiling back in the garage and check the location of the joist with a small nail. Then, measure out a few inches on the same joist and do the same thing.
Then we drill pilot hole that are slightly smaller than the ones on the hook. We thread in the first set of hooks, making sure they are deep enough into the joist to be secure. From the first hooks I measure over 48 inches, which is the width I need for the bikes, and should also hit a ceiling joist, since all of these are on a 16-inch center. Then out form the same distance from the wall to the next two hooks. The pilot holes are drilled and the hooks installed as before.
Along this same joist I am measuring out for two more hooks. The hooks that will go in these holes will be used to support hanging plants that will be brought in from the cold weather. We measure and cut a piece of pipe six feet in length, then drill a hole in each end. Small eyebolts are installed in these holes and the bar is suspended by short lengths of chain form the two ceiling hooks.
All right, that should take care of that. This is going to be perfect for hanging the plants or maybe even a snow suit or wet sui, almost anything that you would like to hang out in the garage. And, if you don’t need it in certain parts of the year, then you can simply unhook it and store it whenever you need it.
Now, we will hold off on putting our bicycles up or our plants inside, until we take care of those lawn and garden tools. Greg has already gotten a good start on a system we will use to organize all the lawn and garden tools. Now, this type of bracket is readily available at the home center. A lot of different styles that you can choose, and most are able to be mounted right to the drywall. Now, what I like to do, though, is to mount it to a one by four.
Now, we have taken a one by four and we’ve primed and painted it, leveled it up and then put a screw in every 16 inches. And, this is just perfect to remain a little flexible to move your racks around a little bit if they end up not being exactly where you need them. But once everything is installed like this, it really is perfect for holding things like this, a little shovel or a rake can hook behind it. And the thing that is so nice about it, you are able to display all your tools you have available so that you can see just what you have at a glance.
Well, we have taken care of our lawn and garden tools, we’ve taken care of our bicycles, also the plants. When we come back, we’ll take care of some shelving.
I know there are people who enjoy yard work, but I am not one of them. That’s why I am always looking for an easier way to do a chore like raking leaves. Now the problem is, trying to rake the leaves into a plastic bag like this, the bag never stays open. Of course you can always put the bag in a trash can like this, but that creates another problem. Once you start dumping in the leaves or the grass clippings, especially wet leaves, the bag has a tendency to pull into the can, and then you can’t fill it up all the way. So, here’s a quick and easy solution.
Get a new garbage can and take a utility knife and just cut out the center of the can. Now, the lid has these little brackets and that’s what helps lock it onto the can itself, so you want to make sure you don’t cut those off. So come just inside, and cut all the way around. It does not have to be perfectly round, but as long as it is close. Then, snap it on the can. What that does, it keeps the bag in place.
So now when you rake up leaves and dump them in, the bag stays exactly where you want it. Now, you do have to sacrifice the lid of a new can, but as far as I am concerned, it is a really small sacrifice to make a job like this a lot easier.
There you go. Welcome back to the show. Now, to continue our effort to get everything off the floor of this garage, we are building a section of shelving all the way down this section of the garage—over 20 feet. And we are taking two of them, so we will have almost 40-foot of shelving to accommodate a lot of the things here in the garage.
We stared out by measuring a few of the items that we are placing on the shelves to make sure we have proper spacing. And we decided to go with 16-inch wide shelving, since there are so many large items in a garage. We started all of this process out by measuring down from the ceiling. We marked the height of each shelf on both ends of the garage and connected the points using a chalk line.
Next, we located and marked all the studs and began attaching our 1×2 cleats to the wall. These cleats were primed and painted in advance to save time. And since will not run the whole length, they will have to be seamed at a stud location. Predrilling helps prevents the drywall screw form splitting the cleats as they go in.
On the side walls, short 15-inch cleats will support the end of the shelves. Our wall cleats will support the back side of our shelving. Here’s how we will support the weight of the shelving. These are 1×4’s, that we have nipped the corner off with our miter saw, and we are using these every 32 inches. These will sever as the support for our metal shelf brackets.
The shelf brackets are 11×15, perfect size for what we are doing here, and brackets like this can be put right on the wall. But with the weight we are expecting on these shelves, they just won’t have the support using the surface of the drywall. So, by putting these on the wall and nailing them in to the stud, we know these brackets won’t go anywhere.
So, we’ll go along and install all of these along the wall. That’s quite a bit of work. A scrap of wood on top of the cleat will hold the bracket flush, while Greg drives the screw in. These screws go through the bracket, the 1×4, the drywall, and into the stud. When the brackets are all in, we begin measuring for the shelf boards.
We cut down 3/4-inch particle board in 16-inch by eight-foot pieces, which are also primed and painted. Each shelf will require two seams and we are laying them out to land on a shelf bracket. The boards are curt at opposing 45-degree angles, so the narrow bracket supports both pieces.
While Greg is completing the shelves up above by installing screw through our metal shelf brackets into our wood shelving, I am in the process of laying out the next part of our project, and that’s to build a countertop that will run along the wall that will run about seven feet. Now, this countertop space will be perfect for the homeowners, because it is always handy to have a little space, even if you are not using your garage as a workshop.
Now, the counter will be a little bit wider than the shelf itself and we will have to build it a little differently. We are marking the counter height at 36 inches, so we can clear the mini fridge; and the width at 80 inches, so that we can hit a stud at either end as we attach our cleat.
A vertical cleat on each end will be used to secure a triangular support for the countertop. More 1×4 bracket supports are cut and mounted in the middle. This time, every 16 inches on the studs and the metal brackets are mounted as before. The countertops, as well as the triangular supports were cut from the same 3/4-inch particle board and painted in advance so we could simple set it in place, line it up, and screw it down. The 1×2 band around the counter adds strength and covers the raw edges of the particle board. Greg is taking care of some of the finishing touches on our new countertop, with puttying up all the nail and screw heads.
Now, after we completed building the countertop, I decided to add a little something extra. We took some little pieces of pine, 1×2 and 1×3, and created these little wood runners. And what this will allow us to do is butt our little recycle bin right under it like this. Staying with the theme of keeping everything off of the floor we possibly can. And, as the need arises, more recycle bin drawers can be established all along the underside of the countertop.
Now, we are going to take care a little bit of touchup painting here before we start bringing everything back in. And when we come back, we’re gonna do something to this garage you may have not considered, installing carpet. Stay with us.
Whenever you think about a vacuum cleaner, you usually associate this with it. But did you know, there was a cordless vacuum around way back in the 1860’s. It was a hand pump model and really not all that effective, but you could take it anywhere. Today, there is actually a better choice.
This is a new cordless wet/dry vac from Milwaukee tools. It operates using any of Milwaukee’s 18 or 28 volt slide-on batteries in either lithium-ion or NiCad. And it really has a powerful motor that makes for some high quality and suction.
One of the first things that you will notice is the shape. It looks just like a tool box, which means it is very easy to transport or store. The filter can be washed and you don’t have to change it in between wet or dry applications. It even has this little port right here that doubles as a blower.
Now, the manufacturer says that you will get a longer continuous run time with a 28 volt version; but truthfully, it usually on amounts to about 15 minutes. Still, that’s not too bad, because you won’t use this to clean your carpet, but it makes an excellent addition to your garage or workshop.
We are not done with the garage makeover yet, so stay tuned.
You may have never thought about putting carpet in your garage, but it really makes a lot of sense. Think about it, if you have any type of dirt on your shoes and you walk straight into the house, you are tracking a lot of dirt inside the house. Now, the carpet that we are installing is a very thin type of carpet and it’s an indoor/outdoor. And if it gets a little wet from time to time, it won’t be a problem at all. It is very inexpensive, so it does make a lot of sense to try to take care of reducing the amount of dirt that you track into the house.
Now, we are not going to install the carpet everywhere in the garage, but one six-foot stretch here and then two by three foot stretches on either side of the garage, should be everywhere that foot traffic should take place. We are going to keep it in place using a double sided carpet tape. We will use is sparingly, just along the edges, to keep the carpet from kicking up and causing a trip hazard. Then, if the owners ever want to change it out in a few years, it will be very easy to remove it and put another section of carpet down.
Now, our first step in getting the tape to stick is to make sure this floor is nice and clean. We thoroughly sweep the garage before rolling out a section of carpet across the back wall. It’s marked and cut square on one end, then cut to fit on the other end. The side walls are measured and three-foot sections are cut form them before we begin applying the carpet tape under seams and heavy traffic areas. There we go. With our carpet in, we can start moving a few of our items back in and the carpet really does make the whole garage look a lot better.
Now, one thing a lot of homeowners are finding out about is staining their concrete with concrete stain. Now, this one was done several years ago, and maybe needs just one more coat to really finish off the floor of the garage. Also, staining the floor allows it to be a lot easier to keep clean.
Now all of the shelving you see behind me and that we have built so far is open shelving. There might be a few situations where you want to hide a few things away. That’s where this comes in. This is a great idea with using old kitchen cabinets. If you are renovation your kitchen, or know someone who is, try to hold onto some of the overhead cabinets like this. Secure it well to the wall, then you can kind of tuck away a few things behind the doors. Now, there are a number of readymade cabinets that are available for your garage.
Most home centers stock low priced cabinets that are ideal for this use, but there are also a few higher end systems that can really dress up a garage and allow plenty of flexibility. Many include panels that can be installed on the garage walls form which a variety of cabinets, hangers and racks can be mounted. Some even have rolling lockers and matching appliances.
We mentioned earlier in the show, how convenient it is to use some of the plastic hooks for things like the bicycles that we have hung from the ceiling. We have also used similar hooks, but of a different shape, for lawn equipment that we are hanging here on this wall. And even the homeowner’s surfboards, with a different size hook. We made sure we had a stud to go into. That’s a perfect place to tuck something away like that. Now, you may not have a surfboard, but you may have some skis or some other seasonal equipment—that’s a great way to handle it.
Now, another way to maximize the space in your garage is to use all of the garage. Keeping your car in the garage, but just barely enough where the garage door will close behind it. Here’s a good trick to show you just how far to pull your car in. Now, this is just a piece of fishing string with a practice golf ball tied to the end of it. This is lined up just right so that when your car pulls in, the windshield of the car touches this and you know you are just enough in to close the door and you are still saving as much space as you can here for storage of all the things that you have in the garage.
Now, we are about to fill this garage up and show you just how organized it can be. Stay with us.
There is nothing green about paying bills, unless you pay them online or the company provides recycled envelopes. But you know, there is another envelope you should take a close look at, and that’s the thermal envelope of your home, which is your living space. It is important to have proper insulation, because otherwise you’ve got a real problem with that envelope.
Up to 40% of a home’s heating loss or gain is due to leaks. Insulating the attic is only the start. You need to make sure all gaps around windows and doors are sealed, the areas around plumbing pipes, as well as cooling lines need to be sealed. And don’t forget about any electrical switches and outlets on exterior walls. You would really be surprised at the energy loss they can cause. Simple gaskets can take care of them and it will be one of the cheapest improvements you can make.
Don’t go anywhere, if you leave now you will miss the grand tour.
Well, that’s the last of it, we have everything back in the garage. Now if you remember what it looked like this morning, you can barely even walk in this garage. But removing all of the clutter was just the first step to making this space more useful, functional, and organized.
The floor was covered, because there was not anywhere else to put the stuff, so we created some places. Installing the heavy coated hooks was a big help, and the bar we hung from the ceiling for hanging plants will free up some space, too. We also hung several one by four’s on the wall to serve as a foundation for the garden tools organizing rack we put in.
But the real space saver in this garage has to be the shelves we started on next. We made them pretty sturdy and 18 inches deep, running the full length of the garage. They should hold plenty of the clutter that used to decorate the floor. Out next project was a light duty workbench, and we built it without any supports running to the floor, so we could keep that area free.
In fact the floor was so clear, we decided to add carpet to dress it up a bit. And now that we have the stuff back in, it looks great, and there is actually room for a car or two in this two-car garage. Now, when the homeowners are ready to do a little work out in the yard, they will be able to find the tools they need now that everything’s organized here.
Now, I hope that you enjoyed this week’s show, and hopefully we inspired you to tackle your garage. I’m Danny Lipford, we will see you next week.
If there is a paint brush in your future, tune in next week for tips on how to pain like a pro.
