Ideas to Keep an Organized and Clean Garage 

The garage is a multi-functional space that can be used for storing your car and working on DIY projects. As this space can be used for various purposes, it can very quickly get messy and bring chaos into your life, making it impossible to achieve anything. The chaos is a consistent reminder of half-finished projects and can make finding anything an impossible task. 

It is very possible to turn this around and achieve the dream of entering an organized and useful garage. With a solid plan and a whole lot of determination, you can have a functional and easy-to-use garage! Use these ideas to keep an organized and clean garage to give you a purposeful space. 

Set goals and assess 

Before you begin your organization process for your garage, you need to take some time to make goals and assess your space to see if it can meet your requirements. If you do this, it can help you to have a solid plan of action that is tailored to your needs. Think about what you want out of your garage and the dream goal of how you want to use your garage. Do you want to use it as a workshop or for parking? Or do you even want to use it as an extra storage area or transform it into a games room? 

Once you’ve decided the goals for your garage, it’s time to think about achieving them. Consider what items are essential in your garage by assessing what is already in it and find what you regularly use. Items that aren’t essential or haven’t been used much are best to be discarded or donated. You should also measure your space to determine what storage solutions you can use to make your garage as efficient as possible.

Keep items off the floor

In the chaos of your garage, it’s very easy for items to end up on the floor and stay there. It is important to keep items off the floor to free up space for your car or equipment. Try to avoid the mounting, impossible-to-sort-out piles that can gather in your garage to keep it clean and clutter-free. Having ready-made shelving or cabinets that let you clean the floor space underneath can make the perfect solution for these problems. 

Clear away the clutter

Clearing away the clutter is the first step towards an organized and clean garage space. You need to sort through what is in your garage and determine what to keep and what to get rid of in order to keep on top of the items and have a functional space. Firstly, you need to completely empty your garage so you can visualize the space and have a clean slate. From here, you need to sort through every item one by one to categorize them based on what they are and what they are used for. This could be sorting tools together, gardening supplies, and automotive accessories.

As you are sorting through everything you have, you should look for unused or broken items that can’t be repaired, reused, or recycled. These should be disposed of and slightly used items, or new ones that haven’t ever been used, can be sorted through and donated to benefit others. A great way to decide what you still need and what can be donated or trashed is to create keep, sell, donate, and trash piles. 

Create zones

After you have sorted through your items and decluttered your garage, it is best to make zones to have a very functional and well-designed space. Having designated areas in your garage for certain tasks or storage can create a seamless flow through your garage and give every item a home to live in. This makes your garage easier to maintain organization and cleanliness while making everything simple to find when needed. 

Based on your available space and what you want to use the garage for, you need to choose the best layout for your garage. Carefully think about what will work best for you and your needs and decide where to clearly define zones for project areas, tool areas, gardening supplies, your vehicle, and seasonal items. 

Use shelving

A key way to stay organized in your garage is to use lots of shelving, particularly shelving solutions that use the vertical space available. Having lots of shelving can increase your garage floor space and give you optimal storage space. You can use robust wall-mounted shelves to neatly store regularly used items, such as cleaning supplies or tools. 

You can also have overhead shelves, like ceiling-mounted racks, for bulkier or seasonal items, keeping them out of the way and out of sight until needed. There are also storage cabinets that are free-standing and make a garage storage system all on their own or regular shelving.

Invest in storage solutions

If you invest in storage solutions for your garage, then it will be much more efficient and useful. A very effective way to store items in your garage is by stacking them on top of each other. This can be achieved by stackable storage bins or you could even buy plastic pallets that can hold bulky and weighty items and make it easy to stack them on top of each other. This uses space in a clever way, freeing up other areas of your garage to use for yourself or store other items.

You can even use clear plastic bins and label them, so you know exactly what goes where, making it easy to locate tools or items you need in the moment. Labeling also allows you to put everything back correctly after use to keep your garage tidy. Magnetic strips and racks can also be useful storage solutions for your garage as they can be attached to the walls or the inside of cabinet doors. They can be used to hold small items and metal tools. 

Make use of awkward spaces

The best way to keep your garage organized and clean is to make use of every bit of possible space you can. Maximizing your garage is all about finding unused space and coming up with a solution to use that area effectively. Areas such as corners, ceiling space, and awkwardly shaped compartments of the room can all be used to store things and to work in. Adapt your storage solutions and your working areas to include these spaces so every part of your garage can be used. 

Maintain your garage

Once your garage is organized and clean, it’s essential to keep on top of it to maintain the clear space. Create habits for yourself that you can easily remind yourself to do, and that can be picked up after a few times. This could be as simple as putting things away after use and sweeping or vacuuming the floor regularly to eliminate dirt.  

Use these ideas to keep an organized and clean garage so you can make the most out of this space for whatever you desire. Having a functional and tidy space allows you to have a clear mind and feel stress-free, letting you find items when needed and complete projects.