The Most Popular Organizational Tools for Your Garage

Many people build garages for one purpose: they need an enclosed space to park their car in.  And after they start using their garage for parking, they notice the extra space available in the garage for storage. 

So they begin piling stuff up in the corners of the garage – useless stuff they don't plan on using.  Their basement is full, so the garage becomes the new place to store junk.  Eventually, there's so much junk lying around that the car can't even fit in the garage – the purpose of building the garage in the first place.

If you're looking at garages or have recently built a garage, don't let this happen!  Use your garage for car storage and general storage the smart way.  With various organizational tools, you can turn your garage into a haven for both cars and junk.  You know the junk that's important to you!

Below are some of the best organizational garage tools that will make the most of that empty space in your garage.

Plastic Rack

In the picture above, you can see the 5-shelf plastic rack to the left of the door.  Having a 5-shelf rack like this maximizes original storage space on the floor by 5 times.  Also, compared to metal storage racks, plastic ones are about 30-50% cheaper, plus they can support around the same amount of weight.  If you're interested in buying a storage unit like this, go with white.  It will add a clean quality to your garage and won't stick out like a sore thumb.

Peg Board

The peg board is the best way to organize tools and keep them readily accessible.  Whether you have a work bench or not, peg boards offer amazing convenience and storage features.  In addition to hanging small items like screwdrivers, you can also hang hammers, brooms, extension cords and other large items.  There are about a hundred different metal attachments you can put on pegboards.  Get an assortment (they're relatively cheap) and experiment with them to find out which ones are most effective in your garage.

Hanging Ceiling Board

In the picture, this is directly above the door.  Unlike the plastic rack that's designed to hold commonly used items, the hanging ceiling board is meant to hold items used less frequently.  In addition to keeping the items you rarely use out of the way, you can access them easily with a small step stool.

Bike Racks

For a bike being as narrow as it is, it sure takes up a lot of space.  They sit awkwardly when stationed and can take up as much space as two garbage cans.  With bike racks, you can hang numerous ones vertically up and down your garage's wall.  Using a step stool, you can take them down and hang them back up again with minimal effort.

Metal Tool-Hanging Strips

These metal strips are for hanging heavier tools that the pegboard can't handle: shovels, pick axes, branch clippers, etc.  Unlike a pegboard, these metal strips already have the holders built into them.  The holders use spring action, so until you snap a tool in they remain shut.  This feature allows the holders on the metal storage strips to keep a firm hold on the tool.  With tool-hanging strips and the other items listed above, you'll have the most organized garage on the street block and possibly within the entire community.