Garage Organization 101
Once you’ve organized all other areas of your home, it’s time for the final space: your garage (if you have one.) It can be tricky to know where exactly to begin in this space, but don’t stress! With the right methods and tactics, you can yield an amazing outcome that you’ll be able to sustain for years.
When you have personalized and effective systems in place, your garage will serve your household in ways you never could have imagined, and it’ll be so worth going through the process. If you’re looking to take your catch-all space to a functioning grab-and-go outdoor assistant, follow along our 5-step method to organizing to get your garage in order:
Remove all contents from the space
The very first step to organizing your garage is pulling everything out of the space. Once you’ve done this, determine what you’ll be using your garage for. For you, it could be storage, a car park, a home gym, a workshop, household backstock, or even a laundry room. Identifying your needs will help you prioritize how you’ll set up your garage, and will aid in creating zones and categories that work with these goals.
Categorize & Sort
Once you have everything pulled out of the garage, it’s time to sort through and categorize your goodies! Think about your routine and how you use things as you place like-items together. This is also a great opportunity for you to see where you have unnecessary duplicates.
To help you create your categories, here are categories we commonly find in clients’ garages:
Vehicles
Bicycles
Gym equipment
Outdoor games
Beach gear
Sports equipment
Household backstock
Tools
Household utilities
Gardening
Seasonal decor
Memorabilia
Discard & donate
Once everything has been placed into categories, you’ll be able to distinguish what can be discarded, donated, or stored elsewhere. You should also consider that most garages are not climate controlled, and that linens, flammable items, food, books, and photos should not be stored in the garage unless in weathertight containers.
Add organizational systems
Zoning your garage may sound intimidating, but this is where the real magic happens. Your routine will be made 10x easier with a well zoned-out garage! To zone, think about your flow in the space (or what you want your flow to look like). For example, if you see this being a grab-and-go space for a family beach day, think logically about where you’d be when you’re heading out the door to the beach. To the car in the driveway? Then you might want to place your beach zone towards the front of the garage. And if you’re storing household backstock, you’ll probably want it closest to the door to the inside of the house so you can easily reach for those things in a pinch. Once you create zones, you’ll add products in to contain items and maintain those organizational systems. Here are my Jeneral guidelines for zoning your garage:
HOUSEHOLD MAINTENANCE ITEMS
Store these items on higher shelves to save lower shelf space for more frequently used items:
Hardware
Light bulbs
Tools
Backstock supplies
Extra building materials
BULKY OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT
Store larger pieces like these near the garage door and tight against the wall so that you can take them out easily:
Lawn mowers
Leaf blowers
Ladders
Motorbikes
Bicycles
Generators
OUTDOOR GAMES & BEACH GEAR
Keep these items on the side walls of the garage so that they can be accessed and put back easily:
Beach & lawn chairs
Ice chests
Umbrellas
Wagons
Outdoor toys
Game sets
SEASONAL DECOR & MEMORABILIA
Place these on higher shelves for protection from damage:
Holiday lights
Ornaments
Yard decor
Tree stands
Flags
Wreaths
Birthday decor
Family memorabilia
GARDENING SUPPLIES
Store these closer to where you pull into the garage so that you can grab them when you come and go:
Shovels
Rakes
Seeds
Gardening gloves
Soil
Hoses
SMALL SPORTING GOODS
Store these against walls close to the car for easy access:
Bats
Clubs
Rackets
Sports balls
Shoes
Mitts
Here are our favorite products to use in the garage:
SHELVING/WALL UNITS
CONCEALED SHELVING/STORAGE CLOSETS
WALL HOOKS
TOOL ORGANIZERS
BINS & BASKETS
Maintain
Once you’ve incorporated your categorized inventory into your systems, you will have created a space where everything has a home. With everything in its place, you know where things belong and where they should be put back after use. And when systems make sense to your routine, it’s easy to maintain them without giving it too much thought. You will be able to maintain this organization long-term, and have a permanently streamlined garage space!
For tips, tricks, product picks, and inspiration for home organization, make sure you grab your copy of Life in Jeneral if you haven’t yet and sign up for the LIJ Book Club! There’s a 70 page workbook with exercises to help you work through your emotional barriers and goals in relation to organizing, and of course, step-by-step guidance to do the work. For even more support and encouragement, follow along with the book club on our Instagram, too!