12 Insanely Clever Organizing and Storage Ideas for Your Home & Garage

Many homeowners keep more than their cars in their garage. The garage has become a multi-functional space. It serves as storage for other household items and workshop space for DIY projects. It is essential to maximize the available space in your garage and to keep things organized. With neatly stored and organized materials, everything will be easy to find and untidiness is kept at a minimum. When you have a clutter-free garage, you will also avoid accidents. You should make the best out of your garage space. Here are 12 very smart organizing and storage ideas for your garage

1. Screwdriver Rack

Have a great place for your tools, and keep them accessible with a space-saving screwdriver rack. Screwdrivers are important tools for every home mechanic and having great storage for them is important. If you keep all your screwdrivers in the garage, you can arrange them neatly using a rack. This is perfect because it can be mounted on your garage wall. Instead of the classic screwdriver rack, you can opt for a simple wooden bar transformed into a screwdriver rack. The advantage of this type of rack is that the tools are displayed out in the open for accessibility. This can also be placed even in small spaces. This rack can easily be made with a wooden bar and mounted against the wall with two L-brackets. You can space the holes where you will place the screwdrivers 4 inches apart. A standard-sized wooden bar can easily hold up to 12 screwdrivers. You can use a 220 grit sandpaper to sand the wooden bar.

2. Compact Shovel Rack

When you organize your garage, large tools should be the first to be out of the way. This shovel rack is ideal for rakes, shovels, sledgehammers, and other long-handled tools which are challenging to store. This rack conveniently stores these tools but keep them accessible as well. With this sturdy shovel rack, you keep long-handled tools off the garage floor. If you like to make DIY projects, you can make your own shovel rack using a 16 x 48-inch chunk of plywood (3/4) which can be screwed to the wall. All you need to do is to cut slots for the tools to stand in. For this project, you will also need a circular saw, jigsaw, and cordless drill.

3. Garage Organization System

Simply mounting shelving units on an empty garage wall will immensely solve your storage issues. You can either purchase a garage organization system or just make one yourself, which will save you money. A cluttered garage can transform into an organized room with tool racks, gutter storage bins which could serve as a catch-all for many items, a child-friendly ball corral, a sports gear rack, and a hose and sprinkler bucket holder. A system of storage units is not difficult to make. You can make your own shelves using ¾ inch plywood that can be mounted using metal shelf brackets. The best thing about making your own organization system is that it is versatile – you can change or alter it as your needs change. When you utilize wall space and place shelves on the walls, there will be much floor room for larger items.

4. Recycle Bin Hangers

This is the perfect solution to prevent recycling bins from using up precious floor space in your garage: recycle bin hangers. The idea is simple. Create a column of bins by lining them up on top of each other on the wall. Homemade wooden cleats that are screwed on the wall can be used to hang the bins. Before mounting the wooden cleats, make sure that they are measured properly and their positions marked well. We want to make sure that they are spaced evenly. With these hangers, even your recyclables are properly organized and will not clutter your garage. The bins can be easily removed when they’re filled up so that they can be transported to the recycling center.

5. Bin Storage Towers

Plastic storage bins are one of the most versatile storage systems that you can use for the garage. Using these bins, you can organize your equipment by season. Since these bins are stackable, it is sometimes difficult to get to either the top or bottom bins. Here is a solution to easily get those hard-to-reach plastic bins. Bin storage towers are a smart way to easily access your bins. You can even color-code the bins and the towers to make finding what you need very easy.

6. Sliding Storage System

This ingenious solution to get things off the garage floor utilizes the garage ceiling and big plastic storage bins. Now you can keep medium to lightweight seasonal items on plastic bins and use a homemade tracking or sliding system to mount them on the ceiling. Stuff such as camping gear, beach stuff, extra bedding, and holiday decorations can be placed on reinforced plastic bins. The tracking system is made from 2 x 4 plywood strips that are anchored in place with lag screws. You can label the sides or the bottom of the bins so you can easily identify where things are stored.

7. Folding Garage Workbench

This versatile workbench is a great addition to your garage. It also maximizes garage storage space. It can be used as a workbench and even a workout bench. You can use this flat and level workspace for projects or weight training. The best thing about this is that it folds up to the garage wall, which makes it ideal if you have a compact garage. You don’t have to be an expert woodworker in order to build this on your own. For the table surface, you can use a double layer of construction plywood topped with hardboard. You can use two gate latches to secure the edge of the table to studs when it is folded up. A well-made folding workbench will last for years.

8. Car Care Products Cabinet

Car care products can clutter up your garage space. Organize your car fluids, lubricants, and other automobile-related products in a special garage cabinet where you can easily access them. You can even opt to mount a fold-up door which covers the bottom shelf with special hinges. This fold-up door can double as a work table/workbench. If you prefer to build your own car cabinet, you can do so using pine boards and power tools.

9. Pegboard

In order to get things organized in your small garage, hang a pegboard against one wall. This is an inexpensive solution to make more floor space. All you need are a few hooks to hang tools, garden supplies, and even sports equipment. You can even hang baskets and totes from hooks to keep smaller items. Another great idea is to use several pegboards and screw them together on a “spine” to make them look like book pages. 2-3 pegboards will do the trick. Use hinges at the edge of the pegboards so that you can move the pegboards. You will be amazed at how many items a simple pegboard with hooks can store.

10. Ball Storage Rack

If you have kids that are into sports, this ball storage rack is the perfect solution to those stray balls that are always littering the garage floor. It can be irritating to find balls just lying around everywhere. These sports equipment can be tricky to store. However, the perfect solution is a garage ball storage rack which can be mounted anywhere and will prevent the balls from rolling around the floor. This ball corral is actually very easy to make in your very own workshop, using plywood, dowels, and an elastic cord. You can level up by building a ball caddy with storage shelves where your kids can keep their skateboards, bats, mitts, helmets, and other sports equipment.

11. Bike Hangers and other Storage Options

Bicycles can take up a lot of space in your garage. They are quite a challenge to store, with their pedals and handlebars sticking out. They’ll usually get knocked over when they’re just standing on the garage floor. You can purchase a wall-mounted rack, which ranges from simple hooks to wall plates with hooks. One great product is the Velo Wall Post, which is simply a post that sticks out from a wall. All you need to do is to hang your bike saddle over it. If your garage has a high ceiling, consider hoisting the bikes upside down of a cycle glide. Rails are mounted on the ceiling with hooks suspended on them. The idea is to hang a bike (or two) on the hooks.

12. Rolling Workbench

Many people also use their garage as their workspace for DIY projects, hobbies, and crafts. If you don’t have enough space in your garage, consider purchasing or even making a rolling workbench. Having a roll-around workshop is very practical as it allows you to convert your garage into a workshop quickly and efficiently. There are commercially-available rolling workbenches, but if you want a versatile and all-in-one workshop, consider making your own.