• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • ABOUT
    • About Me
    • Policies
      • PRIVACY POLICY
      • DISCLAIMER & TERMS OF USE AGREEMENT
      • DISCLOSURE POLICY
      • COPYRIGHT POLICY
  • BLOG
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ORGANIZATION
    • Organizing Projects
    • Organizing Process
    • Organizing Products & Tools
    • Habits & Routines
    • Productivity
    • Paper
    • Photos
    • Information
    • Kids and Families
    • Holidays
    • Preparedness
  • HOME DECOR
    • Decorating Project Gallery
    • Home Staging
    • Tips & Tricks
    • Home Improvement
    • Tools & Inspiration
    • Shopping Guides
  • DECLUTTERING
    • Decluttering Tips
    • Turn Clutter into Cash
  • CHALLENGES
    • The 40 Bags In 40 Days Declutter Challenge
    • The Organize and Refine Your Home Challenge
    • The 10-Week Digital Photo Organizing Challenge
    • The One Pile at a Time Paper Declutter Challenge
    • The Organize Your Holiday Challenge
  • SHOP
  • PRINTABLES VAULT
    • Become a VIP
    • PRINTABLE VAULT ACCESS
Refined Rooms logo.

Refined Rooms

Organizing, Decluttering & Home Decor Blog

Ideas for Garage Storage: How to Maximize Valuable Space

Garage, Organize, Organizing Products & Tools

organized garage with ceiling and wall storage solutions.

Garage space is prime storage real estate — use these tips and ideas for garage storage to maximize this valuable storage space in your home!

According to a recent survey of homeowners, 25% of homes with two-car garages don’t park any cars in their garage.  The purpose of a garage is to protect your vehicle (typically one of your largest investments) from the elements, but instead, many of us tend to view the garage as a dumping ground for clutter.

What a great reason to make “optimizing garage storage” a priority on your To-Do list.

The Saturday following Labor Day has been earmarked as National Clean Out Your Garage Day, which serves as the perfect opportunity to roll up your sleeves and tackle this often-neglected space. 

Are you shuttering at the idea?  

Perhaps a bit of visual inspiration (mixed in with a few helpful ideas for garage storage) will serve as the motivation you need to complete your garage overhaul during the weekend (so that you can finally reclaim your parking space.

Ideas for Garage Storage: How to Maximize Space

 

Use Garage Wall Space for Storage

organized garage with all items storage on wall and ceiling.

PHOTO SOURCE

The most important rule of garage organization is to clear everything off of the floors as much as possible.  Items should be stored vertically on the walls.

There are countless wall storage systems for residential garages on the market that enable homeowners to take advantage of every square inch of vertical space.

 

Use Garage Ceiling Space for Storage

organized garage using ceiling storage system for storage.

PHOTO SOURCE

Don’t forget that there’s usually valuable storage space to be gained above your garage doors via ceiling-mounted shelving.

 

Create Garage Storage Zones

organized garage with wall storage system for garden tools.

PHOTO SOURCE

This image illustrates another primary rule of thumb for organizing a garage — create zones for the various types of items that you store in the space.

For instance, most garages will have a Lawn & Garden zone and a Tool Zone.  Other typical zones might include:

  • Sports Equipment
  • Kid’s Toys
  • Car Care
  • Chemicals/Paint
  • Gardening Supplies

(see my garage organization tutorial for a more comprehensive list of potential garage zones).

Use Plastic Storage Containers in the Garage

 organized garage utilizing ceiling and wall storage solutions.
PHOTO SOURCE
 
 
One final tip for organizing the contents of your garage is to use plastic storage bins (as opposed to cardboard boxes).  Cardboard typically does not fare well in environments that are not climate-controlled–such as garages, attics, and basements.
 
In addition, critters tend to gravitate toward cardboard, which can lead to some not-so-pleasant surprises when you go to retrieve the contents of those boxes in the future.
 



 

I hope you found these storage ideas for the garage helpful and inspiring! Looking for more garage organizing inspiration? Check out my Garage Organizing Products Shop, as well as these posts:

  • Smart Garage Organization Ideas & Step by Step Tutorial
  • Garage Organizing 101: Pro Tips
  • Organize Your Garage with Monkey Bars Storage

 

Ready to get epically organized?

Get access to 100+ printable pages to help you organize your home and life!

Welcome, Insider!! Look for a welcome email that includes the password for my free resource library full of organizational printables created just for my subscribers!! ** If you don't see it initially, please check your SPAM folder **

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

3 Comments

Previous Post: « Back-to-School Countdown: Tips for a Smooth Transition – Part II
Next Post: DON’T HAVE SPACE FOR A HOME OFFICE? THINK AGAIN! »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. Ricardo Brown says

    June 9, 2019 at 2:02 am

    I had a similar problem with my mother and her boyfriend, who served time in the military. He had a bunch of friends who passed away. Being that, he also accumulated a lot of memorabilia from his fallen comrades. I suggested that he clean the place once, but gave me a look that I won’t forget.
    Shortly thereafter, during a small stint at a reunion for fallen soilders, I called for the services of Jux Los Angeles, a garage and attic cleaning / reorganization company, based in southern california. My mother’s boyfriend wasn’t pleased with what I had done at first. As a week passed by since the renovation, much to his chagrin, he had to tell me that the place looked so different and that now, he has a place where he can honor his brothers and sisters; in his garage ( I made it extra special and hung up some uniforms his comrades wore on the garage walls…)

    Reply
  2. Doug says

    December 13, 2017 at 2:36 pm

    Agree with everything here. Especially like the tip of using plastic bins instead of cardboard… makes sense. Good tips, and overall nice blog with your other organization/productivity posts as well!

    Reply
    • Natalie Gallagher says

      December 14, 2017 at 9:32 am

      Why thank you Doug!

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

Welcome!

Natalie Gallagher of Refined Rooms Blog.

I’m Natalie & I’ve never met a label maker I didn’t like!

I’m a former professional organizer who blogs about all things home organization and decluttering. I also share my great affection for home decor and productivity hacks here, with occasional DIY projects thrown in just for fun!  Learn more about my story here!

BECOME A VIP

GET ACCESS TO MY ORGANIZING PRINTABLES VAULT

PRIVACY POLICY
By opting in, you agree to receive my newsletter and ongoing resources. Unsubscribe at any time.

SEARCH BY CATEGORY

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Footer

DISCLOSURE

This site contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission, but it won’t cost you a penny more). Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

COPYRIGHT

I love it when you share my tips, ideas and inspiration! Please keep in mind that all images and text on this site are the property of Refined Rooms, unless otherwise stated (regardless of whether photos are watermarked or not). Feel free to use one image, provided that a link back to my original post is included. Please do not remove any watermarks, crop, or edit any of my images without first obtaining written permission from me. All free printables are for personal use only. Pinning is always welcome and appreciated! Thank you!

Privacy Policy