A clean garage not only looks good but also enhances functionality and efficiency. With proper organisation and quality storage solutions, you can easily locate tools, have more room to work, dispose of unwanted items, and even inventory your possessions.
Efficient storage isn’t just about organisation. It’s also about saving space and easy access to your tools. Here’s what you need to know about efficient storage for organising your garage space.
Assessing Your Needs
Your first step in organising your garage into an efficient space is to empty it! Working with a blank canvas (as much as possible) will help you see what your space looks like when it is empty and conceptualise what it could look like more easily. If you don’t have the luxury of emptying your garage, move as much as you can outside and/or away from the walls.
The open space will allow you to see what you’re working with and design the garage of your dreams from scratch. During the clear-out, you’ll be able to assess what your tool quantity is, if you’re missing anything critical and if any are broken that need to be (or can be) repaired or replaced. Make a list! This will help you be more organised when reconstructing your space.
Any large tools that are broken (air compressors, etc), or any large pieces of furniture that are beyond salvaging can be picked by a company that offers rubbish removal in Sydney. If you come across items like this, set them aside and arrange for collection.
Categorise your tools based on how frequently you use them and their size. This will help you re-stock your garage efficiently when the time comes.
Decluttering and Sorting
Before you organise your tools, you’ll want to find an effective method of decluttering them. Perhaps you have old tools you’d forgotten you owned or two of the same type of tool. Or, you were gifted a tool you already owned for Christmas without the heart to throw it out. Either way, why would you need two of the same type of tool? Be gone!
This rather brutal decluttering will help you sort through your tools much faster before organising your space. The categorisation will help you once you’ve decluttered! We suggest the following categories:
- Hand tools
- Power tools
- Gardening Equipment
- Hardware
Sorting things in this way is simple and makes things easier when it comes time to store your tools.
Wall Storage Solutions
Wall storage solutions offer some of the most efficient use of ‘dead space’ in a garage. Walls aren’t often thought of as options for storage solutions. But they can be some of the most potent and space-conscious storage solutions.
Figure out what you will store on your walls – you can buy wall-mounted bike racks, or mount tools on the wall using hooks (if your power tools have the appropriate handles). Lightweight items such as fishing rods can be stored on the wall. You don’t want to store any heavy items on your walls – so push mowers and heavier grass trimmers shouldn’t be stored vertically. Aside from the risk of injury should they fall, they can compromise the structural integrity of your garage and reduce the aesthetic appeal.
Efficient wall storage solutions include:
- Pegboards
- Wall-mounted shelving
- PVC Slatwall Systems
These are great for storing smaller tools like hammers, staple guns, drills, etc.
Utilising Shelving Units & Cabinets
Shelving units and cabinets provide the ultimate wall-backed storage system – and you’re not restricted to one type of cabinet. If you use your garage for specific functions like a mechanic workshop for a small-engine repair side hustle or light in-home construction, you may need more heavy-duty cabinets than others. Cabinets like these can vary in size and price as they are made with different materials. Some offer locking systems, roller drawers, and waterproof and/or fireproof features.
When it comes to shelving units, you’ll want to decide what type of shelving units you want – metal or wood – and whether you want them to open-concept shelves or be enclosed shelves. They also come in variable heights and are often adjustable. Having shelving at head height is probably the safest option, although you lose the convenience of being able to store lesser-used items higher and lose space on the lower shelves.
When throwing out the old cabinets (if you’re remodelling), contact Cheapest Load of Rubbish to collect the old, rusty metal cabinets.
Maximising Vertical Space
If you have a smaller garage by square footage but with a high ceiling, you’ll want to maximise your vertical space and use it intelligently. This could mean leaving the ceiling open – rather than putting in a loft space and storing excess lumber in the rafters. Or, if you’d rather finish the ceiling, you can use overhead storage units or ceiling-mounted racks for things like bicycles.
Making the most use of your vertical space will help free up floor space for a small table and some chairs for card games or just a space to relax inside the garage. Or to use as a dedicated workspace. As with any overhead storage unit, safety should be your top priority. Ensure your overhead units are installed (or at least checked over) by a professional.
Toolboxes & Portable Storage
When it comes to your garage, there’s probably no more quintessential item than a toolbox or two. Toolboxes and portable storage are the backbone of any workman’s garage. Toolboxes come in various shapes and sizes and are sometimes made of plastic or metal – newer toolboxes tend to be made of plastic. They should be used for the most common tools you always need access to, as well as smaller hardware like nails, screws or mounting hardware such as L-brackets or hinges. Consider that you may need to take your tools to a job site, so choose a toolbox that will be easy to transport, pick up and move around.
Toolboxes can be stored on shelving or the floor and are generally easy to move around your garage.
If you have an old toolbox that’s been dropped one too many times and is cracked or otherwise broken beyond repair, don’t forget to set it aside for collection by rubbish removal in Sydney, along with some of your other broken tools.
Labelling and Organisation
One of the most important next steps in your garage makeover is to ensure that you label your storage areas or containers. This will help you locate your tools faster and with ease. Print your labels and laminate them if possible – this will waterproof them and protect them from environmental damage. Be sure to use a command strip or glue to stick them more permanently to the surface – and ensure that the surface has been cleaned.
You can create clear labels simply with the wording for the tool or hardware – for example, your 4×3/4’ wood screws could be labelled as such. Alternatively, though perhaps more complex, you could use a colour-coded system – all hardware is tagged with a green label, whereas all drill bits are tagged with a blue label and so on. While colour-coding can be slightly less specific an organisation technique, if it works for you, it works for you!
In whatever way you decide to organise your tools, having an effective labelling system is paramount to bringing order to chaos. If you had your tools and hardware spread everywhere before re-organising, the last thing you want to do is return to that hellscape of lost bits and missing screws.
Safety Considerations
As with any space in your home, you’ll want to ensure that everything you put up in your garage is safe for use and for others to be around. Whether you’re storing potentially hazardous chemicals like propane tanks in a cabinet, use overhead storage systems or have tools with sharp points. All should be stored securely and safely, and all possible safety measures should be implemented for hazardous materials.
Remove blades from tools like electrical saws, use sheaths for knives and other bladed instruments and store them in an enclosed toolbox. Keep screws and other sharp-point hardware in a locked toolbox. You should also mount cabinets directly into the wall to prevent them from tipping over. If you use oil or slick material in your day-to-day work, clean it up immediately or use a powder-based substance to absorb it, if necessary.
If you have old, rusty saw blades or knives, or other sharp objects lying around, get rid of them! Nobody wants to cut themselves on a rusty and risk a tetanus infection.
Even if you’re just an at-home tinkerer and have visiting family, friends, or children, ensuring their safety and yours in your garage is paramount. Don’t skimp on safety to save money when purchasing new lockable toolboxes or cabinets!
Maintenance and Regular Organisation
Now that you have a freshly organised space, it’s up to you to keep it that way! Whether your organising took you one hour or one day, keeping the space clean and organised in the way you want, will help your peace of mind, productivity and the overall functionality of your garage.
Taking the time to re-organise will allow you to take stock of what you have but don’t use and can give away or throw away (using Cheapest Load of Rubbish’s dedicated Sydney rubbish removal service).
Whether you’re a work-from-home mechanic, carpenter, metalsmith, or just a person who likes to keep things in their garage, an organised space will help you to be more productive. Spend a weekend re-organising and re-imagining your workspace as a peaceful, calm, efficient and effectively organised garage, then make it so by implementing some (or all) of our tips!
