We hope you’ve had an egg-citing Easter weekend! Here’s what’s crackin’ around here. (I know that’s a bit corny but just humor me 😀) Awe, just take a look at these shiny cabinets, the floor that looks clean enough to eat off of, and this clutter free garage! We all dream of a garage like this don’t we? But when I see a garage like this I also see many 
dollar signs flashing before my eyes! If you want more dreamy ideas like this one you can visit the site where I found this picture here. Thanks for the great ideas Next Luxury! If you’re an average person, with an average garage with an average or small budget like me, read on to see what ideas we implemented in our garage to make it more functional, and clean.
Does your garage scream dump zone? Do you even have room to park your cars in there? Adding kids to the mix just adds more stuff right?! Getting everything off the ground and utilizing vertical storage space is key! Sure, closed cabinetry looks great and hides everything but adding simple open shelving like this works great too! And may I also add, it’s so much more cost efficient! Using color coded bins can help keep you even more organized. In this case, the blue ones down low are for the kids, and the grey ones hold yard supplies the kids don’t need to be getting into.
‘A 2×4 is mounted to the wall low enough that the kids can easily get their items and hang them back up when finished. These hooks came in a 5 pack from The Dollar Tree of all places! 5 hooks for $1, can’t beat that price! Store items that will be getting frequent use at a lower level with easy access. Items that may only be needed on a seasonal basis should be stored higher to utilize the vertical storage space since you’ll only be getting into them a handful of times a year. The bottom shelf holds balls and other yard toys and is just low enough that I can access them without needing to get a ladder. The shelf above holds bins with fertilizer and other yard items that should be kept away from children. And the top shelf holds camping gear that doesn’t need to be accessed as frequently.
Directly by the entrance into the house sits this vintage postal sorter that is used to store dirty shoes, gardening gloves, even some winter hats and gloves. Underneath we store our snow boots and roller blades and skates. Having a place to remove dirty shoes right before entering the house is so handy! If you have the space you could definitely utilize built-in storage by the entrance to your home like we built in our mudroom. Since we had the space in our home for this we didn’t feel the need to build another in the garage as well. But if you lack the space inside and want the organized storage in your garage this is a great place to build it. Click the link in red above for step by step instructions on how to build your own.
Since we don’t have this darling cubby organization in our garage I found a couple of different examples of some creative storage solutions from other bloggers.
This Darling mudroom storage in the garage by dixie delights makes me want to paint my garage and give it some fresh new colors! Well done!
Next is a more simplified version by simplyorganizedme.
Look at this clever organization using wooden crates from triple the blessings.
The key elements to making mudroom storage in your garage are, seating, shoe storage, and hooks for coats, backpacks etc. and bins for extra storage if space is available.
Sectioning the garage into zones is also helpful. This side of the garage stores seasonal items. Fishing gear and golf clubs, hang to the right hand side and snow shovels to the left. The same hooks from The Dollar Tree are used here to hold the lighter weight items. We used stronger hooks to store the fishing gear and clubs.
The ladder fits perfectly in the vertical space right by the garage door. Keeping everything up off the ground saves so much time when the garage needs a good sweeping or hosing out!
The opposite side of the garage has a gardening tool zone. The same hooks are used here as well to store shovels, rakes and weed wacker.
If you have the space to hang larger items it’s nice to have them up and out of the way until you’re ready to use them as well. Take the wheelbarrow for instance. It’s a very useful item to haul things around the yard but if left on the ground it just seems to get in the way, especially if you’re trying to park a car in the garage. Take a little trip to your local hardware store and see what organizing supplies they have. We came across this wheelbarrow hook one day and it’s been so nice to have it off the ground!
Bikes are another item that can take up so much space in the garage! We have the two adult bikes suspended from the ceiling using these ceiling mount hooks and pulley system. We purchased the kits from Harbor Freight and they’ve been great! Down the road we’ll likely use these to store the kids’ bikes too, but for now they’re suspended by a simple heavy duty hook that screws into the stud.
Under the bikes and directly by the man door on the side of the house we have a small storage board that holds our small gardening tools. This is located by the door for quick access when we’re headed outside to weed the yard. This comes in handy especially if we’ll be working in the backyard, so we can work in the yard without needing the entire garage door open.
Located in the back corner of the garage we have a workstation and a place to store our tools and other small supplies. The workstation itself is made out of a simple 2×4 base with plywood on top. It’s been secured to the back and side wall, and the front corner is secured with a 4×4 post. We decided to install it at counter height so we could stand while we work, and it also gives us additional storage for larger items underneath, like the tool box and shop-vac.
A peg board directly above the work surface holds tools that are used frequently such as screwdrivers, pliers and hammers.
To the right of the peg board we have this amazing organizer! One of our friends brought some of these home from work one day because they were being tossed out and we were lucky enough to get one. This provides such useful storage for so many different supplies! Nails, screws, measuring tape, staples, zip ties, face masks, bolts, washers, just about anything you can fit into one of these bins, we found a place for it. Everything is labeled right on the blue organizer and on each individual clear bin so we know exactly where to put it back when finished. The clear bins came from the Dollar Tree and are the exact size for this organization unit! It gives us quick access to the supplies we need. We can take the clear bins out and carry them to our current project in the garage, home or yard, and when we’re finished it goes right back to the organizer.
(My Mom was the mastermind behind this clever organization! The workbench and organization in the garage was a Christmas present for my Hubby a few years back and it’s been wonderful! (For me too! 
Ha Ha!) Thanks to my Momma for coming up with clever storage solutions! And thanks to my Pappa for building the workstation and helping to get this project finished!)
These clear bins we used in the blue organization unit are the same bins we have used in our fridges. They’re the perfect size to sort and organize snacks, string cheese, go-gurt, bacon, so many different food items. And you seriously cant beat $1/bin! To see how to easily organize your fridge and see how we used these bins click here.
Underneath the workstation we have a rolling tool box, shop-vac, portable tool box. Items can easily be accessed and tools can be taken to different work sites.
The key elements to organizing your garage and keeping it that way is to utilize vertical space, and labeling! After you’re done using something, put it away. Then you’ll know where it is the next time you need it, and your garage will stay nice and clean.
More Organizing Ideas
Thanks for stopping by!
What elements are you anxious to implement in your garage?
Here’s to a less cluttered, more organized garage so you can actually find what you’re looking for when you need it and enjoy the extra time you have by not hunting for things time and time again!
(Because I’ve been there…and it’s not fun! 😳)
I’ve been wanting to redecorate my garage and make it more functional by adding custom storages in it. Although, I also like your idea of placing color folded bins so it will be easier to organize my items. I’d also keep in mind to add a postal sorter so there’ll be space for dirty shoes and gardening gloves.
We are so glad you found this post helpful. We would love to see your garage organization. Organization makes us smile! Have a great day. 🙂