Whether you’ve moved into a new home and have to find a place to put all your belongings, or you’ve been in your home for years but can’t find anything anymore, optimizing your garage space can save a lot of stress. Your garage offers important square footage and should be treated as such, but you’re not alone if you open the door and think “I don’t even know where to start…”
We can’t fix up your garage for you, but we can offer a few tips to help get you started:
Decide what you want to use the space for
Establishing your list of priorities for how the garage should function is step number one. Are you using it primarily as a car park with a bit of extra storage space? Is it a workshop and utility closet all in one? Will a part of it be turned into a home gym? Whatever the case, you should identify what wants and needs can be met with the space that you have. Start by grabbing a piece of graph paper and a pencil to make a to-scale drawing of your space so you know how much room you have to work with after you fill it with all the essentials.
Declutter
This is a big step. We know. However stressful it may be, it is just as satisfying. Sorting through old sporting equipment, neglected hobby projects, tools that haven’t seen the light of day, and that old patio furniture you keep saying you’ll brush the cobwebs off for next season, is the second step in regaining garage space. Unless it holds sentimental value, serves a true purpose, or brings you some kind of joy, get rid of the extra clutter so you know what has to be organized. Who knows, you may even part with enough stuff to put on a garage sale (we won’t tell anyone if you secretly want to show off your new and improved garage).
Pick the proper storage and garage mechanics
Once you know what items have to find homes in the garage, it’s easier to find storage solutions to match. First you have to decide on an organizing system. Some of us like clear bins so we can see everything in them without have to search high and low. Others like closed cabinets to hide the clutter and keep everything organized. After you’ve decided how to organize, find a system that works for you and the people that have to access these things. That might be labels, sections of the garage for certain activities, or a color-coded filing system that would impress Sheldon Cooper.
Another part of optimizing garage use is making sure the mechanics of the garage work as they should. This includes door hinges and handles, lighting, heat, surrounding foliage, and more. If you can’t even access the garage, what’s the point of making it functional?
Use vertical and overhead space
An often-underused area of space is the wall space that’s just out of reach. Hanging floating shelves or adding a few extra stackable shelves to your storage system can produce new indoor real estate you didn’t have before. Storing the seasonal gear or “dangerous goods” (washer fluid, paint, etc.) keeps them out of the way but still accessible. We’ve also seen many functional garage spaces with racks that hang from the ceiling to hold life jackets, snowboards, and other equipment that’s hard to store.
Make it a welcoming space
You won’t use your garage to its fullest potential if it’s not a space you want to spend time in (even those 3 minutes to get the winter gear of out storage or to flip a breaker). Maybe this means adding extra light sources (adhesive, battery-operated lights if you don’t want to re-wire), insulation for warmth and sound absorption, or paint to make the space look bigger and brighter. Whatever the case, part of regaining your garage space is making sure you actually want to go in there to access the things you need.
As the needs of you and your family change over the years, consider tackling the garage every 2-3 years to make sure it’s still functional for you. Who knows, your most recent garage update might be the thing that seals the deal for you to list your Edmonton home with us at TruHome. Homebuyers love a practical garage!
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