​Organizing a garage

A wise rule when cleaning out that garage is: A place for everything and everything in its place.
Here are some valuable tips for organizing your garage:
Before you start to reorganize, take everything out of your garage. Have a family meeting to discuss what is there. Consider:

• Do we still use this?
• Do we need this?
• Can we part with this item?
• Where can we recycle or reuse this item so it can be repurposed?

Discard or donate items you no longer use. Itemize and organize the things you will be keeping.
As much as possible, involve all family members in the cleaning, purging, reorganizing process. If they see how much work went into organizing the garage, they are more likely to make an effort to keep it organized.
Compartmentalize. Decide which areas of your garage will store specific items.
Invest in some good shelving so you can organize the stuff you and your family have stored in the garage.
Make good use of all space. Often overlooked, as potential storage is the wall and ceiling space. Put up good heavy-duty shelving on the walls and large hooks on the walls and ceiling to hang rakes, shovels, mops, bikes, and sports equipment to free floor space.
Use stackable storage boxes instead of shelves on one wall or below shelves. Group items and label these boxes clearly.
Place things like garbage bags, trashcans, and lawn care equipment that you will need often near the door. Make sure there is a path to move other items to access these items.
Practice safety. Place sharp, pointed, or hazardous substances out of reach of children and safely stored.
If it is bulky and seasonal, think about storing these items in a shed or even a rented storage space. This might include lawn mower, garden tractor, bicycles, motorcycles, luggage, the BBQ, sleds, skis, snow mobile, etc.
Think about a pegboard wall for tools and equipment. Use Mac-Tac to create an outline for each piece of equipment so it can be quickly put back in its place by every member of the family.
When the garage has been cleaned, with items discarded, shelved, hooked in place, or stored in boxes, take the entire family on a tour. Now they will be able to see where the proper place is for everything in the garage.