028: Home: Garage
- Why organize the garage?
- Creating Zones
- Maintaining an organized garage
Why Organize the Garage
It helps to find tools and supplies quickly.
It helps to allow room for important and expensive items like cars.
A garage is so big that it’s easy for it to become a store-all for everything. Prioritize to decide what you want to use your garage for, and plan to fit those needs.
How to Organize Using Zones
Divide the garage into zones of similar items like camping, home repair, auto repair, yard supplies… If you’re visual, you can sketch it out on paper first to make sure all the major zones have a location.
Open buckets are an easy system of organization, because it only takes one step to put items away and kids are more likely to keep up that system. Some things may need a lid, and those things may not be used quite as often.
Items that get used more often need to be in an area that is easily accessed. Items not used as often can be put on the back wall or higher shelves.
Peg boards above work benches are nice for organizing tools. Tools are easy to see when hanging on a peg board, and they are easy to put up and away.
Maintaining the Organized Garage
It is very common for garages to slip into disarray. Any clean surface tends to invite items to collect.
Consistently put items back where they belong.
Realistically, it may need 2-3 times a year where you tidy up. But if you keep up with it regularly, then each tidy up session won’t be too overwhelming.
Some people don’t store much besides their cars in their garage, and so maintaining that kind of organized garage is easy with less items to worry about.
A garage can be a great storage space, but if you’re not careful it can get out of hand. In order to make the most of this area, keep it organized.
The image in this email is titled, “Shut in garage” by Les Chatfield and can be found on flickr.
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