Taking advantage of every inch of space in your garage is a wise move. When organizing your seasonal items and storing sports equipment, don’t forget the overhead space. Yes, you can store items on mounted ceiling racks! Fortunately, most garages have ceiling heights high enough for storage on an overhead shelf or rack.

A garage overhead storage shelf may be the solution to storing all of those heavy boxes or outdoor equipment that you’ve had trouble finding space for inside your garage. It’s convenient, yet out of the way, for items you don’t need to use daily. However, if you select a ceiling mounted lift with an easy pulley system, it will be no trouble to quickly access the items you need. Just back out the car, lower the storage shelf with ease and take what you need. Then, simply raise the storage shelf back into place. A good quality heavy duty overhead shelf will hold lawn movers, large tools, snowboards, outdoor furniture, ladders and more.

There are also ceiling mounted lifts for your bicycles. Bicycle hoists are the perfect storage solution, especially when you have two or more. The bikes are mounted with a pulley system that allows you to easily lower and raise your bike as needed.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops and group presentations. Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com and register for an organizing workshop.

Tired of tripping over bikes, baseballs, golf clubs, tennis balls and other sports equipment?  Your garage can quickly become a walking hazard when trying to store all of your sporting goods on the floor.  What’s worse is when family members use the equipment and have no proper place to return it to, so it ends up in a cluttered mess with everything else that doesn’t have a home.  To solve this problem, you could go to your local hardware store to pick up some freestanding shelves, but for narrow garages these may take up valuable floor space leaving no room to get into your car.

Fortunately, most garages have plenty of available wall space where you can install wall racks, peg boards and sports organizers, enabling you to get everything onto the wall and off the floor.  In fact there a sports organizing rack for almost any sport.  Declutter with ease with garage wall organizers.  Check out a few of them here.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops and group presentations.  Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com and register for an organizing workshop.

If it’s a constant struggle for you to keep your garage organized, maybe you don’t have the right organizational systems in place, or you simply have insufficient storage for the amount of items you need to store.  Typical items stored in the garage include workshop tools, gardening tools and sporting equipment.  Finding organizers specially designed for the garage is a lot easier now due to the abundant choices available.  You can either organize your garage to look like another room in your home, or more commonly, design it to be purely a utilitarian space.

Before you begin the organizing process, I recommend that you plan your new garage design ahead of time. A professional organizer can help to maximize your space by designing your garage according to your needs. 

One system that is simple to install and can change the way your garage looks in just a few hours is the Garage Slat Wall system by Suncast.  This system is extremely versatile and allows you to organize and store almost any item that is typically stored in the garage.  Each Slat Wall section is very affordable and you can be expanded as your time and budget permits.  Check them out here.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops.  Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com and learn about her next organizing workshops.

You know it’s time to clean and organize your garage when you can no longer drive your car in! If you’re fortunate enough to have a two or three car garage, it doesn’t make sense not to have at least one car parked in your garage!  The garage, often the messiest space in the home, tends to be a dumping ground for all of the outdoor items and anything else that doesn’t fit into the interior of the home.  This is especially true if you are short on interior storage space or do not have an outdoor shed to store your gardening equipment.  

The key is to get everything off the floor and up on to the wall, and even the ceiling!  Some homeowners dedicate one area of their garage for at least one car and a smaller area for storage, using organizers and storage cabinets especially designed for the garage.  In certain climates, it is recommended that you purchase cabinets that are made to tolerate extreme changes in temperature. 

So, if you’re tired of the mess, consider renovating your garage. You can add storage cabinets, sports organizers and even heat, and soon you’ll be maintaining and taking care of your garage just like any other room in your home. 

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops.  Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com and learn about her next organizing workshops.