The dreaded garage! It can be a source of frustration for many trying to find a simple wrench but it doesn’t have to be. This weekend you can put an end to the frustration with our 5 tips and our tips on how to keep it organised.

Before starting the organisation process, you may come across items that you don’t need. If you’re unsure of whether to keep them, ask yourself these 3 questions:

Do you need it currently?

Might you need it in the future?

Is it of sentimental value? E.g. kids artwork, your childhood football and the go-kart.

Being realistic and honest can help you see which items in your garage you really need and which are taking up space. This will make trying to organise your garage more manageable. For those of us with garages that are more packed, skip hire may be beneficial for disposal.


Bike storage racks

Storing bikes on storage racks can be a way of freeing up some much needed real estate in your garage and help you to retrieve them when needed. Bike racks can be purchased from various stores. If you’re feeling more adventurous 2 large hooks can be drilled into the wall and used to support the bike frame.


Shelves

Shelves can be a great way to create some space and organise your garage if you don’t have any already. Combining this tip with storage bins will create a robust and simple system to keep the garage organised.


Magnetic strip

For tools that you need to use often and need quick access to, this is an efficient way of accessing them without having to open up bins, draws and boxes


Utilising garage space above between the joist

If your garage has a roof with joist beams exposed it can be a great way to store smaller items in boxes such as spare parts, Christmas lights and cleaning products (perfect for keeping out of the reach of children)


Plastic Bins

Large plastic bins is a good way to categorise similar items to find them more easily. Depending on the size of the items in the category the plastic bins could be bigger or smaller (put smaller bins on a shelf, as mentioned previously) then place these on a shelf or on the floor to make it neat.


Consider labelling the bins to stop yourself placing irrelevant items in the bins.


How to keep it organised

Now that you have organised your garage, keeping it organised is one that will take some effort (2-3 hours a month).


To conclude here are some final tips:

  • A ‘to sort’ will help to hold items temporarily that have no place. This is much better than leaving them on a workbench or, worse, in the wrong storage bin.
  • Check the bin every month and spend an hour cleaning and placing items back in their space rather than a weekend every year
  • Get into the habit of cleaning your garage every 3 months.
  • Committing 2-3 hours every 3 months to clean the garage will mean that you won’t have to spend a weekend to clean it every year.


For more useful tips on home maintenance, check out the Frank Key blog. Or to stay up to date with our latest deals and news, follow our facebook and twitter.