Easy Garage Storage Solutions

Garage with storage shelves and cabinets.

If you have space, these easy garage storage solutions can help organize it. Not all storage space is created equal. If you have space, the garage is a very good storage place.

Some things need to be accessible at all times; other things we see only every 10 years when we move, but we want to keep them anyway. Think of your storage in three distinct categories - short-term, mid-term, and long-term storage.

These easy garage storage solutions can help get each type conveniently stashed away, empowering you to manage your space effectively.

Short-Term Easy Garage Storage Solutions

Short-term storage is for things you'll need in the next three months or things you need intermittently, such as items you buy in bulk. It also includes items you don't use often but need to keep handy, such as boots, flashlights, and umbrellas.

Mid-Term Easy Garage Storage Solutions: 

Mid-term storage is for things you use seasonally, such as Christmas trees, grills, hammocks, and skis. Put them in lofts or stack them in boxes, but don't push them all the way to the back of the garage. 

Long-Term Easy Garage Storage Solutions:

Long-term storage is for things you don't really need but really can't part with, either, such as old tax records, your daughter's first dress, your children's artwork, mementos, and family treasures that you can't stand but will pass down anyway. 

Put these at the dark back, inaccessible corners of the garage.

Easy Garage Storage Solutions for Setting Up Your Space

The first challenge of using the garage for storage is that, unlike most rooms, the garage is not exactly furnished. You will need a lot of storage "furniture" to make the garage work for your family.

The good news is that these catchall furnishings don't need to be attractive, just functional. And they don't have to be expensive, either.

Depending on your garage's use, here are some systems that you might consider. They are only ideal for storing some things. 

You will need a combination to meet all your needs. These furnishing options are roughly arranged from most to least expensive.

Easy Garage Storage Solutions: Floor-to-Ceiling Cabinets

Garage with red floor-to-ceiling cabinets and car.Floor-to-ceiling cabinets are one of the most attractive options, and the most expensive.

This is one of the most attractive options, and it's also one of the most expensive. The advantage of this system is that all your unsightly items are out of sight.


You can organize them well. And you can keep them relatively dust-free and clean. For neatniks, this might be the right choice.

The bad news is that floor-to-ceiling cabinets need to be deeper and larger to store big boxes and bulky items such as luggage. And small items can get lost within ample cabinets unless you put boxes on the shelves to contain them.

Friends of mine, a retired couple, Pat and Sam, use their garage as a workspace for their hobbies. Sam likes to mount and frame artwork and prints. Pat likes to refinish old furniture. 

Neither hobby is an indoor activity. So Pat and Sam keep their equipment and supplies along opposite garage walls. 

When ready to work, they back the car out of the garage into the driveway, pull their tools up front and center, and get down to business.

Easy Garage Storage Solutions: Counters and Cabinets

garage-organized-cabinets

Some people install counters and cabinets in their garages, just like in a kitchen. Some even have a sink in the garage.

This is helpful for washing up after gardening or working on the car without messing up the sinks inside.

Of course, this, too, is an expensive solution. You do have the convenience of drawers for small items and can keep things relatively clean, but it's obviously not for everyone.

Easy Garage Storage Solutions: Lofts

You might want to invest in storage lofts for long-term storage items that you use only once in a blue moon. 

These are platforms suspended about 4 or 5 feet from the ceiling. They are great for storing mementos, old financial records, and other stuff you don't need but can't part with. It keeps them dry and out of harm's way. 

You can put things you might need more often, such as luggage and pet carriers, up on the loft, but store them at the front, where they're pretty accessible. 

Instead of building them from wood, you can buy wire lofts that are about 4-by-4 feet and hang from the ceiling. 

If you don't want to create a loft, you can store large items in the rafters, such as rafts or tents. You can even devise a pulley system to pull them up and down. The sky—or the roof, anyway—is the limit.

Easy Garage Storage Solutions:  Industrial Shelving

These are the aluminum shelves you can get at hardware and home improvement stores. They are inexpensive and light. They can hold everything from pantry items to sodas to boxes.

Capacity on these shelves range from 50 pounds to more than 200 - so make sure you know how much weight yours can hold. This will be helpful when considering what to store where, but it's essential to know if the kids try to climb them. 

For safety and many other practical reasons, make all your garage's storage units no-play zones.

If the kids don't comply, make the garage and all its contents off-limits for a day or two. You shouldn't have to tell the kids twice.

Specialized Racks Easy Garage Storage Solutions

Wood rack holding snow skis.For just about anything that you want to hang or store, there is a specialized rack designed specifically for it.

There is a specialized rack designed specifically for just about anything that you want to hang or store. There are racks for balls, bikes, tennis supplies, you name it.

Most people would not need such costly solutions. However, if you have a passion—biking, tennis, fishing, golf—and expensive equipment, you might want to invest in proper storage for it.

Pegboard Easy Garage Storage Solutions

These boards are filled with holes where you hang things on single hooks. Pegboards are convenient garage storage solutions because everything is accessible and in plain view, yet not on the floor.

Pegboards are great for storing bikes, gardening tools, work tools, and sports equipment.

A friend of mine, Kimberli, has a family that's really into sports. A sturdy pegboard with even sturdier hooks covers an entire wall of their garage. Everything from bikes to skis to swim goggles is hung on the pegboard.

All balls are stashed in a series of bins at the bottom. Water bottles and energy bars are stored alongside the bins. Gym bags are on the counter, ready to go with fresh, clean towels.

Running shoes and hiking boots are in shoe cubbies at the bottom. A canoe and a rubber raft hang side by side from the ceiling. This family is ready to play anytime. Tennis, anyone?

What You Shouldn't Store in the Garage

The garage is very enticing for storage. But certain things don't belong there. 

  • Clothing or bedding. Rats would love to nest in your expensive duvet. Let them find a B&B farther down the block. Also, garages are usually too damp for storing clothing; they will mildew.
  • Fresh foods. Theoretically, a nice cool garage would be a great place to keep extra potatoes, carrots, onions, etc. Ants, mice, and rats think so, too.
  • Wine. Since garages are uninsulated, the temperature fluctuates too much to make it a good spot to keep the fruits of the vine.

Finally, remember that the garage is a filthy place. Protect anything that's not sealed by storing it in plastic containers. Wheeled bins are great for toy pickup at the end of the day.


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