In spite of the fact that our garages are meant to be a parking place for our cars, most Americans use them almost exclusively for storage, leaving their cars parked out in the driveway or on the side of the road, where they get scorching hot in the summer and where you have to bust out the ice scrapers in the winter. When you improve garage storage, you give yourself the chance to use your garage both for storage and for your car, to get the best of both worlds. Here are five great ways to improve garage storage in your home.
#1. Declutter
It’s not uncommon for us to stuff boxes in our garages and just leave them there. Many people look for ways to improve garage storage because it does end up being a catch-all space, with our cars suffering the consequences, being banished out to the driveway instead of being able to be parked inside. One of the best ways to get started on your journey to improve garage storage is to declutter.
Do you have boxes lying around from when you first moved in that have yet to be unpacked? We’ve all been there. You might find that old photo album you’ve been searching for high and low buried at the bottom of a box in your garage. It’s always a good idea to declutter your home a few times annually, to ensure that everything you have are things that you will either need or that spark joy, as Marie Kondo says.
When people say “declutter”, chances are that your mind goes to your closet, but decluttering is one of the best ways to improve garage storage. Once you’ve cleared out those old broken holiday decorations or toys that are better off donated for another family to enjoy, you’ll have so much more space! Before you can improve garage storage systems, you need the space to do so, and decluttering is step #1 to improve garage storage.
#2. Make A Plan
So, you’ve decluttered your space, cleared away all the junk, donated the things you don’t use anymore, found new homes for those things you forgot you had. The next step to improve garage storage is to make a plan about how you’re going to organize your garage. Many people find it helpful to make plans based on the things that they use. For instance, you may decide that one corner of your garage is the lawn equipment corner, one shelf is for your hand tools, that rack is for the bikes…
It’s a lot easier to improve garage storage if you have an idea of how you want to store your things. If you use something a lot, you’ll want it easy to find and easy to access. If you have something you don’t use as much, you can probably stand to have it tucked further out of the way.
#3. Maximize Storage Space
Your garage doesn’t need to just have piles of things laying around. The best way to improve garage storage is through maximizing storage space with garage storage systems. For instance, Advanced Door offers HyLoft Ceiling Storage Units that come in a variety of sizes so that you can store things in bins up out of the way, especially things you don’t use much, like seasonal decorations.
Advanced Door also offers Wall Storage Systems to give you up to 50% more storage space than most shelves on the market to get your things up and off the floor. These can be stacked, installed side-by-side, store up to 200lbs per shelf, and more. It’s so much easier to improve garage storage when you have garage storage systems to store things in, rather than contemplating how to stack things for the least amount of clutter.
#4. Label It
The last thing you want after you’ve organized everything so nicely and tucked it away in your storage systems is to then have to go digging through bins when you need something because you can’t remember where it is. Labels are your best friend when it comes to organizing and finding ways to improve garage storage. Sticking labels on bins to tell you what’s in each one will make finding the things you need when you need them so much easier.
#5. Maintain It
It’s all well and good to improve garage storage with cleaning and decluttering and installing storage systems and all this, but that only goes so far. If you don’t maintain your garage storage, you’ll find yourself with a mess again in no time. A key component of improving your garage storage is maintaining it once you’ve organized it all. Otherwise, you’ll have to go through the entire process again, and we’re trying to improve garage storage, not make it worse. Maintenance is key to keeping your garage nice, clean, and organized!
Let Us Help You Improve Garage Storage With Top Quality Storage Systems
Advanced Door offers a variety of garage storage systems to help you improve garage systems. From ceiling storage to wall storage to tire storage, we have options for you. Contact us today to learn more about our garage storage systems so your car can reclaim its rightful place in your garage!