A Functional Home Has an Organized Garage
This could sound like hyperbole, but it’s true. The garage is usually the part of the house where all the unwanted and unused things end up. While Facebook and Pinterest are full of hacks to organise these things better, most of them only make your life harder. Here are a few “organisation tips” to stay away from.
Overhead Storage Nets
Throw all of your least-used items in a giant net hanging from the ceiling. What could go wrong, right? Overhead storage nets are impossible to organise systematically and even more difficult to access at short notice.
Pegboards for Tool Storage
Pegboards for storing small stationery goods and other light weight tools and knick-kacks might be perfect but if you cover your walls in them, hoping to store garage tools or other heavier equipment, you're better off using something sturdier.
Repurposed Baby Food Jars for Shelf Storage
This hack went viral on pinterest a few years ago and those who’ve tried it have come to regret it. While it may seem economical to store small items in used up baby food jars, ultimately, it’s only creating many small, inaccessible sections to dump things in.
Magnetic Strip Tool Organization
Magnetic knife strips are a good thing for the kitchen because most kitchen tools (especially knives) are magnetic. But move over to the garage and these become little more than a waste of shelf space. They also lose their strength over time so in the end, you're left with ugly black strips on the wall.
Milk Crate Storage Solutions
Using old milk crates as a storage system can be an attractive way to save money and space, but milk crates are not very strong and don’t stack perfectly. Also, anything bigger than the crate itself can’t be stored in them.
PVC Pipe Tool Organizers
A recent hack has popularised using custom-made PVC holders for specific tools but, this can become outdated quickly. The moment you decide to replace your tools or change up your system, the PVC holder is just another chunk of waste.
Ceiling Mounted Bikes
Want to spend ten minutes getting your bike every time you want to go for a ride, or have a dangerously heavy small vehicle hanging above your car? Then this might be the storage solution for you. If you want to mount your bike anywhere, a wall-mounted stand would be much safer.
Repurposed Spice Racks for Small Parts
If you think that the tiny jars that hold spices can be repurposed to hold nails and screws, you might want to reconsider your decision. Spice racks aren’t easy to use with gloved hands and could make getting the tools you want much harder.
Cardboard Box Shelving System
Ok, how many of our parents stored our childhood keepsakes in cardboard boxes in the garage? If this has happened to you, you would know that cardboard boxes aren’t ideal for storage in any way. They mould and melt in the humidity, can’t support weight, and can even attract pests.
Small Drawers for Hardware
Thinking about building small custom drawers to store your nails and other small hardware? Think again. Such small, compartmentalised drawers are not versatile, making them only a breeding ground for junk and clutter.
Mason Jars for Storage
Similar to the baby food jars, these can become quite difficult to access once you start piling them up. Initially, it may seem accessible to put all your nuts and bolts into mason jars, but over time, things will only accumulate, making important things harder to find.
Shoe Boxes for Organisation
Similar to storing things in cardboard boxes, shoe box storage solutions aren’t very durable either. This is especially true if you want to store small paper items like cards, documents and other keepsakes. They also don’t stack well and aren’t space saving.
Velcro Strip for Tool Organisation
Similar to the magnetic strips, Velcro strips can not accommodate all types of tools. Moreover, every time you buy a new tool, you will have to attach a velcro strip to make it compatible with your system. Such strips also can't handle a lot of weight and lose grip over time.
Repurposed Cereal Boxes as Drawer Dividers
Yes, your box of Fruit Loops can be repurposed as a drawer divider in your kitchen. In your garage, however, the cardboard will quickly wear down. Considering that most garages are hot and humid and store heavy-duty items, you’re better off using proper drawer dividers instead.
Freestanding Shelves
Constructing such shelving may make things more accessible, but it also lessens the open space available for parking, project work, and other types of storage. It can also become a hazard if you stack the shelves too high or use them to store heavy items.
Repurposing Old Furniture
Have a bunch of cabinets left over from the kitchen remodel? Installing it in the garage might not be the best thing to do. Such cabinets and drawers (usually made from lighter materials like plywood or particleboard) can't usually hold the heavy items that are stored in a garage. Moreover, having floor-installed cabinets makes reaching necessary things more difficult.
Tension Rods for Tool Storage
If you use tension rods to hang your tools, they might sag over time and snap, causing more of a mess. They generally can not handle the weight of a heavy hammer or a large wrench. Using them might be an easy temporary solution but if you’re going to use the garage long term, you should invest in proper rods for storage.
Stacking Bins Too High
This sort of organisation is not just inconvenient, it can be dangerous. If you need something, you need to dismantle the entire tower. Also consider the fact that the towers can easily collapse and hurt someone if any unfortunate disasters were to happen.
Old Lockers for Storage
Old discarded lockers from any yard sale can seem like a rustic-chic solution to your storage problems but these flimsy constructions are not made to bear the weight of your average garage items. They may not look good but they will over time sage or even brake, causing you and your stored items more harm than good.
Plastic Drawer Towers
Similar to the storage bins, these drawer towers might initially seem pretty useful, especially considering that a lot of them are also stackable. But they pose the same risks as the storage bins. If stacked too high, they can be dangerous, and they are usually made from thin, flimsy plastic that breaks easily. If you choose to use them, you would be wiser to not stack them in high towers.
