Garage is basically the storage place for your home. You store things there to use on next occasion, or to declutter your home. To organize your garage on a budget, start with basic cleaning and decluttering of existing items. Keep your garage clean and dry to avoid fire accidents.
As you already know, organizing your garage on a budget is not a one time idea to get results, it is a constant effort and time taking project to perform. I am here to share my quick tips, budget friendly hacks and some DIY ideas to organize your garage on a budget, that too in a short period of time. Let’s take a brief look on all of these!
First Things First!
Make Time For The Task
Certainly, there are some necessary steps to perform any task, for unique, creative hacks with budget control and time saving results you must follow these footsteps to get the big picture done! Select a special day for this cleaning and organization, and devote yourself to this.
Decluttering & Categorization
Start with decluttering every single item you have in your garage, and manage to have things that are in healthy condition. Make sure to categorize items in different categories, this will make easy for you to divide and store. Specify a different place for sports equipment, tools, supplies, and clothing according to their quantity.
Vertical Storage & Shelves
Most of the items do not need much space, but a separate space. You can adopt vertical storage ideas for space saving and creating zones. Invest in dividing shelves some more. As these are going to be your best friends for life. Use dividers between these shelves to specify your organization more.
Organize Your Items
Organize your items into a stream that is easy to approach and maintain. In a way where you can get everything from everywhere without messing all of the organization. Use storage boxes that have front opening and transparent body, so that you can identify your storage. Otherwise you can label your storage containers too! This will help to organize your garage on a budget friendly note.
Clean & Dry Before You Store
Before you start resetting the items in your garage, make sure to clean every corner and if you use any method involve washing or damp cleaning. DRY IT!! Just make sure to completely dry it. Otherwise Mold can destroy all of it without a BOOM sound! Moisture in your storage items, cabinets, drawers or containers can damage your clothing, shoes, blankets, and decorations.
DIY & Maintain
Maintain your organization by rearranging and always recheck for maintenance every two months. To organize your garage on a budget, you can go for DIY every item you need. Repurpose your old furniture and book shelves into drawers and racks. This will be cost effective and quality will be according to your choice and need.
Declutter Your Garage!
Donation Box
What ever you are going to organize and reset, whether it is a storage, organization or creating new space, your first step should be decluttering. Make 3 boxes of whatever you already have. 1st is for donation, this is the box, in which you can add items that are useful and still in good condition, but you do not seem to use them for the past 2 years. You can donate all these items.
Recycle Bin
2nd box is for recycle or waste, throw those items that are broken, damaged or not useful anymore. Trust me you are never gonna miss them even once. Recycle the plastics at your nearest recycling center. For the 3rd box, reset the items that are going to be used in the future. You can set these according to your future need and requirement.
Repurpose Old Furniture
Put all these boxes out of the garage and start cleaning your shelves, storage boxes and garage itself, for better experience. For the old furniture and broken chairs, you can repurpose them for a different use, or simply sell them to a craft’s men. Use these furniture frames for a different purpose, or if they were made of wood, you can use them for upcycling purposes.
Divide Into Specified Zones
Tools
To avoid mismanagement and for an ease of access, you must divide every item in different category and store them accordingly. You must set a wall for tool organization and storage, a pear pin wall board for ease of access. Set boards for small tools like bolts, tiny screws, and pins. Set some drawers with dividers for hand working tools, drill machines, and hammers.
Sports Equipment & Fishing
Sports equipment need a lot of space, you need to specify a zone in your garage for sports necessities. Use heighted corners for baseball bat, cricket bat and Golf kit. Set your football kits in stackable bins. A fishing rod, and all other equipment for fishing need to be store in your garage. You can go for hanging clips to organize them.
Clothing & Furniture
Large plastic storage bins, storage bags, and clothing organizers are best to store clothes. They save your cloths from dust, dirt, Mold and wear and tear. A specific zone for old furniture should be there in your garage. You must clean and maintain it to save your furniture from getting rusty, old and dirty.
Gardening Extras & Cleaning Tools
Gardening tools and extras like fertilizers, pest control must go in a small corner, you can install shelves for these to store. Vertical storage can serve the purpose for this to store every item separately.
All big cleaning tools like a large dusting brush, vacuum cleaner and other necessities must be organized in vertical shelving system. You can install bamboo baskets for small accessories for an ease of access.
Vertical Storage!
Ease Of Access
For an ease of access and to save floor space you should go for vertical storage system. This will make easy for you to keep you garage floor clean and make a space for you to move around. Items like free standing shelves and panels allow you to store long tail items with proper organization.
Maximize Efficiency
Overhead panels are for items that you use once or twice in a year or season but still need them. These panels create extra space for maintenance in your garage and allow you to use extra space for good. They make your floor free to move around and maintain cleanliness for the storage.
To organize your garage on a budget, use stacked and foldable bins, these will be a help to store clothing and sensitive items. Small storage facilities must adopt foldable bins. While hanging shelves and rods help you to store and organize fishing rod, long equipment, sports equipment and many more.
Storage Options
- Free standing shelving units
- Stacked bins
- Large plastic storage bins
- Hanging shelves and rods
- Boards
- Repurpose old furniture
- Wall mounted rail system
- Overhead storage
- Panels
- Cabinets
Things You Must Not Store In Garage
Paper Goods
There are certain item that you must not store in garage. They need a specific storage system and environment. Just like paper goods should not be stored in garage because they can be a reason for fire ignition. Pests and insects tend to eat papers very happily, so papers in a garage can invite them.
Fire Wood / Propane Tanks
You must avoid any kind of woods to store in your garage or with your storage system. So, there must be a separate storage system for woods, especially fire wood. Propane tanks can cause fire hazard rapidly, you must avoid them to put with your storage.
Medical Supplies
Instruments that are used in medics, fire security, surgery kits are dangerous to put in there. Also, pests, moisture can destroy them for good. Also, it is a possibility that when in need you may not reach them there.
Sensitive Electronics
All type of electronics, either they are with stored batteries or plug in chargers, must not be stored in garage. As they can be damaged easily, also, these batteries can destroy the storage system completely. They can be a cause of fire hazard.
Chemicals / Paints
Any type of chemical like lab instruments, acids, reactors, and activators should be stored separately. Especially when we talk about paint, it’s smell and reactive chemical can damage your sensitive storage like clothing.
Irreplaceable / Perishable items & Documents
Mostly, garages are in the basement or at the humid place. Moisture and humidity literally can eat your memos, photos, cherished items and valuables. Just like paperwork, any document must be avoid to be stored in your garage. You can file them in a filing cabinet or drawer to store and organize for good.
Conclusion
Your garage should be very clean whether you use it as storage unit or not. Always make some notes on what specific categories of items you are going to store in your garage and how? Make sure you do not include restricted items like gasoline and propane tanks, fire wood and paper goods.
To organize your garage on a budget, maintain cleaning routine and use a well managed climate control system in your storage. Use vertical storage options to keep the floor in access. Boards and over heads are your BFFS when you are storing in a small space.
Frequently Asked Questions
Utilize pegboards for a cost-effective and efficient tool organization system. Purchase pegboard panels and hooks at hardware or discount stores. This allows you to display and access your tools easily without the need for expensive tool chests.
Maximize vertical space with DIY shelving made from inexpensive materials like plywood and cinder blocks. Look for second-hand furniture, such as bookshelves or cabinets, and repurpose them for garage storage. Utilize stackable storage bins or plastic containers to keep items organized.
Repurpose old furniture, like bookshelves or cabinets, to create designated spaces for sports equipment. Use bungee cords or hooks to hang bikes on the wall. Look for budget-friendly storage bins or containers to keep smaller sports items organized.
Start with, Decluttering and categorizing items differently. Make different zones for each category you divide. Adopt a vertical storage and invest more time in storage solutions.
If you store things like trash dumping, with no special categories and zones, your garage can look like a mess even after proper cleaning every time.
