Home and Garage Organization

[msnobody]

Building high shelves is a great way to pack away stuff not used often and make room for things more often used. For my highest shelves that require a ladder, where I put things used the very least that aren't excessively heavy, I began keeping an inventory file on my computer of what's up there.

I shy away from things like pegboard. It looks kind of nice but it creates lots of unusable space.

Of course, number one is resist buying things that you aren't going to use, and be willing to toss out or sell things that aren't used. Don't overbuy paint, and take pictures of the paint code so that you don't need to keep a hundred cans of dried up gunk around.

I'm not anal at all, really, I'm forgetful and sloppy by nature, but I've been forced to make the most out of small spaces. That's mainly because my wife makes the least out of large spaces.

I’ve got my Christmas decorations in an Excel spreadsheet, and fairly well organized with that. One day in the future, I’ll link pictures of the contents to the spreadsheet.

[msnobody]

So...moving right along. I would advise anyone who wants to organize a space to declutter first and figure out storage after. I've seen plenty of ads for storage containers and shelving that say it's the perfect answer to declutter your space. That's a lie! All that's doing is selling their product and smashing your clutter in containers and on shelving.

Declutter first.
Storage next.

See? I'm doing it. I'll try to stop myself.

But I won't succeed.

My thoughts are to work toward having shelving with casters, so it can all be moved around and swept under. Maybe I’ll live long enough to see that happen. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Maybe even a work bench on casters. Hubs may use that, but I don’t see myself using one. Call it a craft bench, and I’m all in.

[msnobody]

Do you guys have any favorite garage organization items that you like? Or, an area of your garage where your tools, yard tools, etc. are stored that you’re kind of proud of? What’s working well for you? What’s not working for you? Do you have 35 sets of needle nose pliers because you can’t find that last pair you bought, or the one before that?

I’ve been doing some home organization (pantry, kitchen/bathroom drawers, closet) which is an ongoing process. My favs so far are The Home Edit clear plastic bins sold at Walmart, and smaller clear bins for drawers sold at Pop Shelf. Basement/garage will be tackled at some point in the future.

You can take an organizing style quiz here https://clutterbug.me/.

I think I’m a bee, wanna bee cricket.

I fill clear shopping bags and hang them on hangers. Small bags on kid hangers, and use heavy duty hangers for heavier stuff. Mount an extendable rod on the top of wired shelves with wheels, so the whole shelving unit can be moved. The best hangers are rubber coated or have notches to keep the bags from slipping off. I even mounted a pair of crutches way up high and use a folding step stool to ascend and access stuff that's easily viewable inside the clear bags with similar items grouped together.

This year, I have put some seasonal decor items in those holiday themed shopping bags that get put on clearance for like 50 cents, and used large S hooks to hang them. I do need to go through my Christmas stuff and purge some things.

Yes, shelving with wheels!!!

We have a basement. I had never seen this until we looked for our new home 2-3 years ago, and some of these houses around here that were built about the same time, including ours has a sprinkler system in the basement. That sort of limits how far vertical we could go.

[Jersey Girl]

So...moving right along. I would advise anyone who wants to organize a space to declutter first and figure out storage after. I've seen plenty of ads for storage containers and shelving that say it's the perfect answer to declutter your space. That's a lie! All that's doing is selling their product and smashing your clutter in containers and on shelving.

Declutter first.
Storage next.

See? I'm doing it. I'll try to stop myself.

But I won't succeed.

My thoughts are to work toward having shelving with casters, so it can all be moved around and swept under. Maybe I’ll live long enough to see that happen. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Maybe even a work bench on casters. Hubs may use that, but I don’t see myself using one. Call it a craft bench, and I’m all in.

If you are thinking about metal, we have some Style Selections Steel shelving with casters (wheel package) from Lowes. Some without. They aren't in the least decorative (think utility) but good for garage or basement, that sort of thing. Love them!

Casters are life!

[Xenophon]

Declutter first.
Storage next.

I'm not sure there are truer words on this site. My father had meticulous storage for everything. It all had a place, a tote, a hook to hang on... nobody ask why he needed 6 weed whackers though or 12 wrench sets.

A few years ago I did some DIY ceiling tote racks to hold things we need less frequently: holiday decorations, some of the kids old stuff that we weren't ready to part with yet, off-season outdoor stuff. I know you can get kits for it but the cost always seemed quite high. I've been pleased with them but they definitely have some limitations, namely making sure you have totes with good rim strength and ensuring you don't load them too heavy to get up the ladder (or overload the rack). In our current house we don't have great attic storage but I imagine you'd want to be careful about using them anywhere you also are storing things above in the attic. I've also seen them installed directly over the garage door but that always makes me nervous, ours are against the far wall away from any potential mishaps.