I’m always inspired by organization this time of year, especially for one of the hardest working spaces in our house… the garage. I’m sure anyone who has stepped foot in my garage is wondering why in the heck I would write a post on garage organization. It is no doubt a place where I have struggled (all cards on the table, I struggle everywhere, but I really struggle in the garage). The problem is that our garage serves so many purposes, including my “workshop”, which certainly wasn’t planned when we designed our house. Add on top of that the flip house supplies and staging furniture going in and out, and the garage suffers, big time!
The truth is, I like walking into my garage now. I’m excited about it! So I wanted to share my excitement with you in hopes it may help if your garage needs a little love.
The first big step was getting some shelving up. This shelving has been the absolute biggest help of all. Now, instead of things just being piled up on the floor, they have a place to go. It certainly isn’t a new concept, but I love this super-simple plan from Ana White. The shelving goes up super-quick with her neat trick, and you’re on your way to a much more organized space in no time!
I have banged out these shelves in 4 areas of the garage to really take advantage of vertical space. I added a few shelves over our garage sink too. The fact that they are made from wood means you can add in a screw here or there to increase your storage space, like I did with a bungee cord paper towel holder over the sink, or hanging up my garden spreader and helmets.
I have also recently finished my workbench, which I made in January… a year ago! The supplies to make it were a Christmas gift, and I got it all done except for the pegboard on the sides. It is on casters so that I can roll it out of the way when it’s time to park in the garage (or dump other stuff there if I’m being honest).
This is the plan from which I made my bench. I decided to do a slight overhang on the edge of the top to facilitate clamping.
The two shelves were important to me because I have additional tool storage on the bottom.
On the ends, I added a 2′ x 4′ piece of pegboard cut in half for small tool and clamp storage.
Again, I’ve added screws and other things here and there to improve function. I’ve got my square right on the front!
And I like this little bin from Ikea that I can use to hold pencils and other things I need often, like my kreg screw and bit. It pops right out of its holder to facilitate cleaning and getting out the sawdust.
While at first my workbench was where I used my miter saw, I knew I needed a separate spot where I could hold longer pieces of wood, and so I could actually do construction and work on my workbench. Enter last year’s Christmas present! My miter saw stand. Honestly I don’t know how I worked without it. The wheels are key because it folds right up and can be rolled away. It’s also easy to snap the saw off in case I need to take it to a worksite.
So aside from the shelves, I also have a few other things in play. The first is the Rubbermaid fast track system. I have two rails and hang up pretty much all of my lawn and garden power and hand tools, as well as a few random bikes/ toys here and there. It’s a fun system, but it can get pricey.
I just got a few of these tornado hooks and I’ll tell you what… I’m in love!
They are really easy to hang with self drilling screws, and the best part is, they have this little notch in the back that pushes into the drywall to hold it while you’re installing.
One of these ladder hooks holds 3 of my sawhorses. I have another holding two aluminum ladders
and a smaller one holding my painting ladder. They are pretty much instant organization 🙂
Now, I may be saving the best for last. I always have an extension cord strung across the floor, and I constantly have to plug and replug as I switch between tools (like my sander, my jig saw, my miter saw… you get it.)
So I needed something with multiple plugs. I also thought it would be awesome if it had a retractable cord wheel… and viola, I landed on this! It can be mounted on the ceiling and plugged into the garage door opener outlet. Talk about really being out of the way!
Be sure to pin for later!
Here’s to a more organized year! And I’m off to do some more purging…
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Incorporating storage into the workbench itself is genius! Definitely going to give that a try.