Sometimes a garage will become a catch all for all of the junk and the loose items that do not have a home. While it is good to get it out of sight, tossing things out in the garage only hides the problem and makes the garage less functional. If you use your garage and have tools stored in there, then having a messy tool area and garage can make your life more frustrating.
With some simple tools and tricks you can keep your tool section in your garage organized along with the rest of your garage. Many of the same principles will apply to the junk and the tools. If you find yourself not being able to get to the tools you need because of clutter, then this article can help you reduce your mess.
Throw Things Out
While this sounds simple, many people struggle with being able to get rid of the items they no longer need. Whether it is a broken tool or one that you simply have never even opened. This migrates into other areas of your garage and you may find yourself keeping toys your children no longer need or things that you no longer use.
Take some time and work to go through your tools and through the rest of your garage and purge the things you do not need. Be really honest with yourself. Think about the things you really use and do not dwell on the “what-ifs”. If you have had something in your garage for a few years and have never used it, then it might be time to consider parting with it.
Throw out other trash that you find. Especially in your tool section, you may have loose wires and plastic bits that were trash from a previous project. Make the time to vacuum up the space and give it a good deep cleaning. This will set your organization up for success.
Vertical Storage is a Game Changer
If you do not have any vertical storage, now is the time to start. Having vertical storage in a garage is especially useful. It gets things off of the ground to give you way more floor space and if you have wall storage in front of your workbench it can give you quick and easy access to tools and supplies.
Getting wall hooks is perfect for hanging cables and tools on. You no longer have to stuff things places, you can make things easy to get to by investing in some shelving and some hooks. In addition, you may also want to look at getting pegboards for more wall storage. They can be helpful when it comes to organizing tools and other gear.
Stackable Bins Make Organizing Even Easier
When you have vertical storage, you can also get bins for storage. If you are getting bins, make sure that they are stackable. Having stackable storage bins is great for storing things that you need, but maybe do not use all the time.
Storing holiday decorations or sporting equipment in bins keeps everything together and it will be easy to grab when you need it. If you have various sized extension cables that you may not use regularly, you may want to wrap them with reusable cable ties and then store in a labeled bin. Using cable ties can help with organizing your cables in bins is good because it prevents cables from getting tangled when they are in a box.
Other Storage Ideas
If you are storing a lot of nuts, bolts, and various types of screws you will want to keep them together in ways that makes sense. You can get plastic storage bins, but also consider making use of jars and other small containers with lids so that any small tools cannot get lost.
You will just need to take time to be creative when it comes to finding the right solutions for you. If you do a lot of woodworking, then you will want to create organizational systems that make sense for that. If you do a ton of welding, then adjust your methods to fit that. Just make sure that you are giving yourself enough space to work.
Final Thoughts
Organizing a garage and tool area can be a huge undertaking, but it does not have to be. Just move slowly and steadily and be honest with your needs. It will take work, but if you stick with it, you can have a space that is easy to work in and is clean.
