Genius Garage Organization Hacks
Updated on September 25, 2017
We love “life hacks”. There’s just something about finding funny, easy little tricks to make life simpler that makes us feel accomplished in our household and DIY endeavours. Lately, we’ve been feeling pretty good about how organized our home is, as well as how it’s all arranged. The place that needs some work, however, is our garage. It’s part work space and part storage area, so it gets a lot of use but hasn’t gotten much organizational attention as of late since it’s not somewhere that visitors often see. We’re hoping to use our DIY skills to change that!
Just in case you’re intent on making your garage space as awesome as the rest of your house just like we are, here are the 15 best DIY and homemade garage organization and storage hacks we’ve found so far in our quest for ideas for makeover our space!
1. Hanging garden box paint can storage
Is your family the creative, colourful type and you’ve suddenly found yourself accumulating a whole collection of spray paint cans that you need to find space for, but that you still want to have accessible? Then take a look at this garden box storage idea from HGTV! They’ve fastened simple window ledge planters to the wall, one above the other, so their cans are contained in one place and out of the way but still nice and easy to reach for.
2. Folding chair hooks
Do you have a big extended family that loves to come and visit, so you always keep lots of seating on hand for when everyone gathers around the dinner table, or perhaps the picnic table in the backyard? Well, we’d sure recommend getting the folding kind of chairs to make them easier to store, but where you do you put them once you’ve folded them all up? Well, House Organization suggests getting a set of metal wall hooks and hanging them there! Talk about a space saver.
3. Shoe pegs
Do you like the idea of peg storage because it gets clutter up off your floor, but it’s not folding chairs that are your problem right now? Then you’ll be happy to know that the same concept works for shoes as well! Sawdust Girl shows you how they did something similar with some wooden peg racks attached to the wall near the floor.
4. Mobile wooden work bench
Are you experienced with wood working and not opposed to actually creating your own storage solutions if it means getting things up off the floor, organized, and easy to reach for? Then this awesome wheeling work bench is an awesome project idea for you! Shanty 2 Chic guides you through the process of measuring and cutting the lumber and building the structure in the size you need according to the space you have available and what you’re storing.
5. Easy screwdriver storage shelf
Perhaps you already have a work bench or station and you’re really just looking for smaller hacks that will help you with specific micro-organization? Then we think something like this screw driver shelf might interest you more! Fresh Crush teaches you the steps for angling supports under the shelf and drilling holes in a range of sizes that coordinate with screw driver sizes so you can pop them through the top.
6. Stacking wall mounted recycling bins
As you’re scrolling through our list, are the stacked and wall mounted ideas the ones that are catching your attention the most? Well, they’re great space savers, so we can’t say we blame you! Our family is big on recycling, so these stacking detachable recycling bin racks are one of our favourite options. See how the wall mounts are made on Family Handy Man.
7. Magnetic drill bit bar
So, you’ve built yourself a work bench and you’ve sorted your screw drivers, but what about the smaller tool accessories that you use all the time and need to keep accessible and don’t want to lose? BHG has a great answer for you! They suggest attaching a magnetic bar to the side of your work table where you can stick things like drill bits.
8. PVC pipe garden tool storage
We’ve talked a lot about storing tools, but what if the things you’re trying to find a place for are a little bit bigger and less easy to stash? Then perhaps you’d benefit from building a whole wall dedicated to keeping larger gardening and yard tools like brooms, shovels, rakes, and so on contained. Ashbee Design shows you step by step how they built just that using cut sections of PVC piping attached to a wall mounted particle board.
9. Pop bottle notions storage
When you thought about the things you need to organize in your garage, did your mind originally go to all of the small tools, trinkets, and pieces that are stored there but currently just sort of creating clutter? Well, just in case you’re crafty like us and love upcycling, here’s an awesome way to keep the small things contained without packing them away and hiding them on yourself! Check out how Popular Woodworking made hanging containers out of upcycled two litre pop bottles.
10. Filing cabinet garage storage
Bottles aren’t the only things you can upcycle in the garage when it comes to thrifty crafting and organizing your garage. If you’ve got too many larger yard and gardening tools for the PVC wall idea we showed you earlier, then perhaps you’d prefer to follow in HGTV‘s footsteps and make yourself a larger tool bin from an old filing cabinet. Talk about an easy spot to grab precisely the tools you need and put them back without hassle!
11. Floating shoe rack
Did you really like the idea of making a simple shoe rack that will get your shoes up off the floor but you’re working with a very limited space and you’re not sure the pegs that keep the shoes hanging down will quite fit the corner you’re making over? Then perhaps you’d prefer this very cool looking horizontal shoe rack instead! Homedit shows you how to place the boards on the wall so you can wedge your shoes in at the toes and stack them space efficiently. It’s a bonus that they look a little bit like they’re floating!
12. DIY mudroom lockers
Are you up for the challenge of making yourself a structure using your wood working skills, so long as it means you get more storage space for your kids’ belongings? We actually made ourselves a set of “mud room” lockers in real life and now the things our kids had strewn about the garage floor have a good place to be set, stored, or hung up. East Coast Creative shows you how to build the little wooden cubbies complete with a bench for your kids to sit on when they put on their shoes.
13. DIY overhead garage storage shelves
Are you looking around your garage and slowly realizing that the only space you really have for extra storage is high above the things you’ve already arrange and organized on the ground and lower walls of your garage? Well, luckily for us DIY enthusiasts, there are plenty of creative and space efficient ways to use every inch of the space you have, even if it means climbing the walls a bit! Check out how Contractor Kurt built a set of solid, spacious double layered shelves way up at the top of their garage for things they don’t need to access as often.
14. Cat litter garage box
We love having a garage because it gives us an awesome place to store things that we still need but don’t necessarily want to have sitting in the main rooms of our house. Our cat’s litter box certainly falls into that category of things, but a garage, where we pull cars in and out and store tools, isn’t really a safe, cat-friendly space, so putting the litter out in the open there isn’t a great idea. IKEA Hackers, however, found an awesome way to compromise! Their tutorial teaches you step by step how to build a little wall mounted hut for the cats litter that they can crawl in and out of from inside the house. That way Kitty stays safe but you’re still essentially litter free inside.
15. Pallet wall tool storage
Are you still looking for long yard tool storage but you need a space efficient idea that doesn’t involve PVC piping, since you don’t have access to any? Then check out this rack that Era Home Design made from upcycled wooden pallets! Simply slip the handles of your tools behind the wooden slats to keep things easily accessible but nice and out of the way!
Have you figured out other ways to organize your garage in awesome, creative DIY ways but you don’t see those great hacks on our list? Tell us all about your ideas or link us to pictures of your work in the comments section!