25 Brilliant Garage Setup Ideas That Will Get You Organized

Organizing your garage may be trickier than other places in the house. This is because you'll have to fit in a lot of stuff which is mostly random with awkward shapes. You might have made your garage a dumping ground for various things around your home. 

When your garage is organized and functional, your whole house will also run smoothly. Therefore, it's worth the time and effort to organize your garage. 

Here are garage setup ideas to get it from a horrendously disorganized state to a functional space.

25 Essential Items for Your Garage Setup Ideas

1. Filing Cabinets

Adding filling cabinets to your garage is among our garage storage ideas for all your items. Consider a 3-drawer metal filing cabinet with an anti-rust finish. 

A drawer with casters makes accessing your essentials easier since you can move the drawer to your desired location. The drawer can keep various items for your home office, such as paperwork and supplies, safe and easy to find. 

Filing Cabinet

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2. Cable Management

Your garage office design must consider the cords crisscrossing around. These may cause tripping or a choking hazard to little kids and pets. Investing in cord organization ideas  will eliminate those risks and keep your space organized. Hooks, cable ties, lacing bars, or wire mesh trays for cables are some solutions you can consider. 

Cable Tray

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3. Track System

A track system is an appropriate solution for items that don't sit nicely on the shelves. You can purchase the tracks with various hook options and attachments for holding and storing various items. 

4. Hook Them Up

You must get as many items as possible from the floor when organizing your garage. This will keep your space a lot tidier. With the shelving and track system, hooks attached directly to the wall will get many more things off the floor. The hooks allow hanging your items within easy reach whenever you need them.

5. Metal Shelving Units

If you don't have concrete block walls that support wall-mounted shelving or rent, you should consider sturdy metal shelves. These are suitable for the garage and basement too. Metal shelving units are better than plastic ones that warp over time and can't support heavy items. 

You won't have to keep worrying about your items falling over. Metal shelves require a sizable upfront investment, but you can put various items on them worry-free forever.

6. Divided Containers

The garage offers wonderful storage for various tools. You must invest in tool boxes and containers to keep it organized. Your electrical supplies and plumbing tools can be kept in separate boxes. Other tools such as screws and spanners can be organized neatly in other boxes to make finding them whenever you need them easier.

7. Pegboard

You cannot miss this item in your garage organization ideas. You can organize light and tiny tools on a pegboard. Apart from looking nice, the pegboard is very practical. Create your workstation in the garage with a pegboard for hanging all your accessories and office supplies. You can use another pegboard with hooks to organize items such as cleaning supplies. More oversized pegboard is ideal for holding tools, accessories, or DIY supplies. 

8. Workstation

You can incorporate a workstation if you need a home office space. Some garage office ideas allow getting a dedicated spot from where to sit and do some work without disruption. The office also allows for completing some DIY projects. Furthermore, the space must include a small desk and comfortable office chair.

9. Opaque Bins

The garage receives a fair share of attention, unlike the basement. You most likely pass here many times when entering or exiting the home. The garage door is almost always up whenever you do yard work or play with the kids or dog. Neighbors can see what's inside your garage when the door is up. 

A bin is an essential element in the garage and most come transparent. Opt for opaque bins to prevent other people from seeing what's inside. These are great for hiding your no-so-pretty contents inside your garage. 

10. Labels

Opaque bins also come in handy for storing various items in the garage. Since you can't see what's inside without actually looking in, you must label the bins. Make sure you get enough bins for each item category to make labeling easier. 

The labels are easy to make using self-adhesive vinyl and a cutting machine. Labeling the bins makes it easier for anyone to put something back where they picked it. It keeps your garage organized while finding the items you want much more manageable.

11. Create Zones

Creating zones using cubicle organization ideas will keep your garage organized. Refrain from throwing everything in the bins and sticking them wherever they fit. Your garage will become more organized and functional if you have zones for similar items or purposes. 

Planning the zones is essential before buying the bins to ensure they fit in. You can have a zone for your home office, gym, or outdoor toys. Keeping items together is fancy and makes your space function well. 

12. Workbench

The best adjustable standing desk can work like a garage workbench. Its sturdy build and solid worktop with adjustable height make completing your DIY tasks easier. Adjusting the height eliminates lower back pain at the end of the day. 

13. Drop Zone

Organizing your garage allows you to put away smelly sports equipment. If you're desperate to get sports items out of the home garage setup after use, creating a drop zone will help. You need shelving and hooks to attach to the wall so you can keep the smell away from the rest of the house.

14. Hang Bikes Up

Getting everything off the floor requires getting bikes out of the way. A practical solution is to hang them up in your home garage setup. You need strong attachments for adding to a track system specifically for hanging bikes. 

Picking those matching your needs is easy to get your bikes up and out of the way. Some options attach to the ceiling when out of space. 

15. Wall-mounted Shelving

Garages usually have a lot of vertical space that you can utilize with wall shelves. To use as much space as possible, consider a wall-mounted shelving system. This allows taking the shelving as high as you want compared to shelving that sits on the floor and can't go so high. 

16. Use Baskets

Like bins, baskets are essential for storing various items in the garage layout idea. These come in various sizes and designs, including those with mesh. You can leave the baskets for most-used items open for easy accessibility. Other family members will find open baskets easy to use for picking and dropping in items before and after use.

17. Hang the Ladders

Ladders are handy for completing some DIY repair tasks at home. However, storage can become a problem. Most people keep the ladders leaning and stacked, making their garage disorganized. 

You'll always have to move tons of stuff to get the ladder. Hanging on the track system will make your garage organized. This is possible with a few attachments in garage setup ideas that will make your ladders easy to grab and go when needed. 

18. Rectangular Or Square Trash Cans

Trash cans are essential in the garage but you must be mindful of their design. Rectangular or square designs are better than round ones. These fit in corners or other tiny spaces where round bins can't fit. Square bins are made to roll out quickly and take little space, giving you more room for other activities in the garage, such as a gym.

19. Workout Zone

You can do many things in your garage, including working out, since not everyone keeps tools in it. You can use some gym design ideas to create a workout area. A garage is an ideal place for exercises such as dumbbell quarts and bicep curls. 

Using some garage gym ideas will give you inspiration to start incorporating serious workouts and throwing some weight around without damaging your home.

20. Slatwalls

Some items can't be supported on the pegboard. Fortunately, you can keep these on slatwall. This wall-to-wall storage method is a great garage layout idea for bulky items, and you can install it anywhere in your garage. 

You can add or remove hooks and shelving on the slatwall to match your home garage setup. A slatwall also allows adding a tracking system to keep items such as leaf blowers, baby strollers, and other items from your floor. 

21. Wire Shelving

When it comes to budget-friendly garage organization ideas, consider wire shelving instead of cabinets. You can keep various items on this shelving, such as seasonal decor and gardening supplies. The storage option has the same strength as metal shelves but weighs significantly less. However, you need enough clearance under the shelving to make cleaning your garage easier.

22. Lawn Equipment Storage

Massive lawn equipment such as weed whackers, wheelbarrows, lawnmowers, and snow shovels eat up too much space in the garage. You must be creative enough to place them somewhere when organizing your space. 

A pulley shelving system makes storing lawn equipment easier. The system allows the moving of bulky equipment from the top to the floor. You can also use hooks for hanging your lawn equipment on the walls vertically.

23. Wood Pallets

If hanging your yard tools isn't an option, wood pallets offer a practical storage solution. The pallets are incredibly durable and can be placed on the floor or against the wall. Using the wood pallets only requires an anchor or two to keep them upright. 

24. Watertight Bins

 If you live in a location that experiences seasonal temperature and humidity fluctuations, you must consider protecting your items from weather damage when organizing your garage. Watertight bins are a good idea. These come with leads to protect your items from extreme temperatures or high humidity. 

Keeping delicate items in the bins is strongly recommended for items such as off-season clothes, linens, and shoes that require keeping in dark, cool places. You can use the watertight bins as an extension of your closet.  

25. Mini-Storage

If you have a lot of hardware, mini-storage is essential in garage setup ideas. This is a wonderful garage organization idea for small items such as nails, screws, and washers. You can keep the nuts and bolts in a repurposed library card catalog with cabinets. Adding labels makes finding whatever you're looking for easier. 

You can also use compartments in a clear tackle box. DIY enthusiasts can build a wall-mounted swivel rack for organizing your bolts. Another idea is to use wooden storage bins under the garage workbench using scrap wood.

Tips to Keep Your Garage Organized Long Term

After organizing your garage using the ideas highlighted above, you have to make an effort to keep the space organized forever. It may seem too good to be true, but you can achieve a mess-free garage forever if you consider our tips below: 

Don’t Use the Garage as a Dumping Ground

Discourage putting things in the garage that need to be more organized. Dumping things you don't use for a long time will make the garage messy after a short while. The garage is a part of your home, and you should treat it like that. Ensure to keep everything organized as you do in other areas of your house. 

Keep Things Off the Floor

It's so easy to use the garage floor as a storage point. However, this is where dirt and dust accumulate the most. Place each item in an appropriate location, just like you do in the rest of the house. Doing this will keep your garage organized forever. 

Every household member should be diligent at putting things back in their rightful places after use. This limits having to overhaul them during a cleanup. Maintaining an organized garage requires consistency and appreciating its contribution to the household. 

Conclusion

The garage is among the most problematic spots to work on in the house. This is where you keep your car, yard tools, sports equipment, cleaning supplies, or gym equipment. The space can quickly become a cluttered mess. 

You can use any of our garage organization ideas such as under desk cable management to transform your garage into a functional space. This requires maximizing your space using wall organizers, pegboards, slat walls, hooks, shelving, and cabinets. You must first access your storage needs to determine what you need for the project.