by Dominic LoBianco, Guest Contributor, on June 04, 2020
If you’re hoping to reorganize your shed or garage this summer, here are some helpful tips.
It's been an unusual year, but it's been ideal for cleaning. If you didn't get the itch to spring clean during coronavirus quarantine, now's the time for summer scrubbing! Sure, cleaning is a chore, but man, it does wonders for your home’s organization and your mental state.
Organizing as you clean is the a great way to tackle both at the same time — this includes all of the equipment and tools you use to maintain your property. Whether it’s shovels and rakes or chemicals like pesticides and herbicides, it’s important to have a designated area in your storage shed or garage for these items.
So, where do you begin? It all starts by taking stock of your necessary items, evaluating how much space you have to store them, and creating a plan that will work for you and your family.
If you’re hoping to reorganize your garage this summer, here are some helpful tips.
Identify the items you no longer need and remove them.
Sheds and garages are places that attract clutter and things that lack a proper place in the home.
Old, dirty shoes that you use for yard work? Toss them in the garage. A wet umbrella that you don’t want to drip water in the house? Lean it by the door. How about those old board games that you don’t want cluttering up a hall closet? Sure, the shed is as good a place as any.
A shed or garage is the perfect place to store your junk — and that’s precisely what these things ultimately are if you don’t care enough about them to give them a proper storage place.
The first thing you need to do is to take stock of these items and decide if they deserve a proper spot in your effort to reorganize your space. If not, you need to decide what to do with them. The four-pile method works wonderfully as a starting point for reorganization.
A garage sale works well for these items. Depending on where you live and the mandates in place, a garage sale may not be ideal right now. But, when the time is right, an outdoor sale is the perfect opportunity for people to shop, get a deal, and avoid crowds. If you’ve got items that can be repurposed or donated, those are excellent options as well.
Once the items in your shed or garages have been paired down, it’s time to start contemplating the best organization method for your necessities.
Take stock of what organizational tools & systems you’ll need.
Because they’re experts at grouping materials together and conserving space, gleaning tips from moving companies is a great way to start your organization plan.
Take stock of items like power tools and herbicides that need their own designated spot in your shed or garage. If you can plan out where these items will go and how much space they’ll need, you can then begin to figure out what organizational tools you’ll need like shelving, boxes, and more.
There are plenty of shelving options available, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a solution that works for your space. It all depends, however, on what you need to store and the space you have to make it happen.
Regardless of your particular needs, utilizing the walls to store items will go a long way in not only giving you more space for other uses but also giving your garage a clean, organized look that makes it easier to find items as you require them.
Use a workbench for your power tools and small items.
Workbenches are fantastic for several reasons. First, they give you a counter space to work on projects. So, whether you need a space to use your power drill or somewhere to lean your weed eater as you replace the cord, this gives you a chance to not only have an organized space but a fully functional one.
On the other end of the spectrum, a workbench is a perfect place to house containers for small items like nails, screws, and all of your home improvement items that are generally hard to keep together and organized.
Make your storage portable.
Depending on how much space you have for your shed or garage, this tip might be the one that makes the most difference. One big issue with many garages is space limitations. Even if there are no cars in the garage, clutter or storage shelves can still make it hard to use for anything other than storing stuff.
The best way to fix that is to invest in portable storage. Portable storage like carts or wheeled shelving can be rearranged effortlessly as your needs for your garage space change. For example, you could move some shelving to create a temporary exercising area. If you’re planning to renovate a room of your home, you could also move your storage units to make room for decor supplies. Portable storage brings versatility to your space, which can make all the difference.
For your biggest items, utilize overhead storage.
Some systems allow you to slide your storage crates into a sleeve that is attached to the ceiling. So, for things like ladders, bicycles, or even smaller items that you’d like to group together in a box, utilizing headspace for extra storage gets your bulkier items out of the way and frees up floor space.
If you’re trying to decide what to store overhead, the best place to start is with tall or wide objects that will cover too much wall space. That way, you’re maximizing the amount of surface area for shelving or wall organizers.
Before you start reorganizing, create a plan.
Reorganizing any shed or garage can feel overwhelming, but it helps to break the task into smaller steps. We all have items that we no longer need, so your first task should be to identify those items and find a way to get rid of them. From there, it’s all about figuring out how you want your garage or shed to operate. Will you use it to park cars or a lawnmower? Do you need the garage as an exercise space or for handiwork? Decide on your own needs, and begin designing a layout. From there, keep in mind that being versatile with your storage options will allow you to make changes down the line when needed. As long as you have a plan and tackle it in small steps, your garage or shed can become organized.
If you live in South Dakota or Minnesota and you're in the market for a new shed or garage, check out these shed and garage options from Dakota Storage Buildings or shop their stock sheds online.
More helpful organization tips:
- 4 Spring Cleaning Tips for Your Shed & Garage
- Space Saving Ideas & Organizational Tips for Your Shed & Garage
- 5 Simple Ways to Organize Your Shed
- Backyard Organization Ideas & Tips for Storing Your Outdoor Summer Items
- Pinterest Workbenches & Wood Shop Ideas
Dominic LoBianco, Guest Contributor
Dominic is a contributing writer on behalf of Shelter Logic. Dominic produces multimedia content on a wide array of topics ranging from storage organization to office remodels and everything in between. shelterlogic.com
