How to Expand Your Garage Storage

Do you think you have already done almost all techniques when it comes to organising your garage? If you did then you would never have problems with your garage storage by now. However, there are a lot of garage owners who are still having issues keeping their items safely as they don’t know how to expand their storage.

If you are like them, you may not have really exhausted everything that could be done. Below are some suggestions that you can follow to increase the number of items your storage can accommodate:

1. Utilize the ceiling

The ceiling is a perfect place to store some of your items. There isn’t traffic there compared to what your flooring has. There is no competition with other furniture and at the same time, there will be no clutter. Your ceiling’s area is just like your flooring’s, only that everything can be used for storage.

There are hanging racks which are perfect for your ceiling. These racks can vary in size and strengths. They are designed with strong attachments to make sure they don’t fall off when heavy items are placed.

However, it is recommended that you only use these racks with light items, like basketball, old curtains, and the likes, to make sure that no harm can be done in case the attachment loosens.

2. Use hooks

Hooks do come in handy. They can be attached almost anywhere in the garage. They can also do various functions aside from storing. They can vary in different sizes and strengths. Some hooks can hold 10-kilogram objects and more. So don’t be surprised if you see hooks bigger than your hands, they probably are made for sports equipment like bicycles.

These hooks don’t occupy as much space as other storage units. They can be installed on the side of an existing tall cabinet. They can be under the table, or even the ceiling. Using hooks will certainly help you expand your storage.

3. Go for multipurpose tools as much as possible

Because you don’t want to get bombarded with a lot of items, it is best if you go for tools which have multipurpose. This way, you can just store these kinds of tools in one place without having a hard time organising them.

However, make sure that what you are going to get are those with high quality. Multipurpose tools should be meant to last longer and work harder just like the typical ones.

Additional Garage Maintenance

There are different ways to maintain the orderliness after a garage makeover. Most of them are focused on doors and flooring. There are small things which are mostly overlooked but would contribute a lot to a comfortable and safe garage.

 You may wonder why some garage items gets bad faster even if you have done most of the basic care. Observation and common sense are two important things that you should consider always when it comes to your garage. Below are some additional reminders when it comes to maintenance:

1. Don’t place heavy things above your storage cabinets

Have you had problems with cabinet doors that do not close or which are very hard to open? You would agree that the first time you notice this kind of problem was when you were looking for something very important. We tend to miss this kind of details in our storage cabinets, and may also be left unattended for a while.

If you have observed carefully, the reason why the doors are difficult is because there are heavy things above those cabinets. The weight of those things tends to push the doors to each other. As much as possible, put the heavy items on the flooring or storage units which are closer to the floor.

2. Clean your fans and filters frequently

If you want to maintain a good flow of air in your garage, clean your fans and filters frequently. Even if you have 3 big fans but all of the propellers are bound with dusts and web, they will not be able to cool the area the way you expect them to be.

Clean your fans, filters, and propellers by using wet cloth with soap. The soap would also kill bacteria causing organisms that may be distributed once your fans operate again. Make sure that you dry them before turning them.

3. Keep pointed items and storage units above person’s height

There are cases when owners of the garage themselves hurt their eyes because of sharp and pointed objects in the area. Even if you were the one who installed those, it does not mean that you would be able to recall their locations always. This is especially true if you are in hurry, or when the lights are flickering.

Prevent accidents from happening by keeping or placing pointed items and storage units such as hooks above your height, or the average height of a person.

Efficient Garage Ceiling Storage Solutions

Are you losing enough space at home? Is expansion not a good option to do? If that is the case, then you can probably go back to the garage and check how it can help. After all, there are very state-of-the-art garage ceiling storage solutions which promotes efficiency and cost-effectiveness at the same time.

Applying this would guarantee more than desired additional space, allowing you to make more for yourself. In addition, it can also boost your storage system at home and its aesthetic features as well. As long as they are properly placed and used, the following solutions would definitely be maximized:

1. Elevated racks

Cabinets as storage units occupy a lot of space in the garage. This is the reason why we have to carefully choose the items that we would be placing there. If you are having issues putting all your important items all together in cabinets to make sure you are protected, some of them might get broken.

Elevated racks or those which are attached to the ceiling would be the best storage unit to have whether you have a big or small space if you want to have a huge working area. Just make sure that you are attaching your racks on the safest spots of your ceiling.

2. Pins and hooks

Small as they are pins and hooks can also become storage auxiliaries. To make sure all the short manuals, notes, reminders, and the likes do not just scatter anywhere, use pins to attach them to the board.

Hooks on the other hand are very handy especially if you do not have a lot of heavy things. Your working gloves, brooms, keys, and even water hose can be accommodate by hooks as long as its strength allows them to.  

3. Hangers, ropes, and wires

Hangers are not only used for clothes, they can also be used for ropes and wires. They are very easy to use and can be placed anywhere. They are also one of the less expensive storage units.

The good thing is they are available almost anywhere, even in your own home. Ordinary clothes hanger from the laundry can do. The wires or ropes will be rolled properly and hanged on the arms of the hanger. You just have to make sure that the nail, bar or stick where you are hanging them are strong enough to resist the pulling force of the items.  

5 Things That Make Your Garage Ugly

As homeowners, our goal is to make our garage look good. Whenever we feel that it is beginning to look ugly, we think of having a garage makeover. To some, makeovers are not that special, instead, they are part of maintenance.

When you say maintenance, it is cleaning and mending if there is anything broken regularly. If your garage is not maintained properly, the following will happen to your garage:

1.    Stains on the wall and flooring

Stains on the wall and flooring can go unnoticed at first. However, if it sits there longer, dusts will stick to them and they will be hardened. Thus, you see ugly marks. This can be avoided if stains will be wiped off as soon as they are discovered.

You may also choose stain-resistant materials for your flooring next time if you do not have enough time for regular cleaning.

2.    Flickering lights
It is very common among us to wait for our lights to flicker before we buy replacement. Sometimes, when we are too busy with many appointments, we do not get time to buy one. The result is leaving our lights flickering longer until we forget doing something about it.

Having an extra bulb in our garage can help a lot when we see that our lights are starting to malfunction.

3.    Fading and chipping paint

Fading and chipping paint is usual especially in hot weather. But this is not an excuse to have this in your garage. This will make your garage look old and unpleasant.

You may want to switch to another brand of paint, or settle for wallpapers to avoid having chipped and fading walls.

4.    Insects
Cockroaches, spiders, and the likes should not be welcome in your garage. Their presence is a sign that you are not cleaning your garage well. This leads to bad impression to whoever sees it.

Using insect repellents can help you as well as making sure there are no food-bits that attract them to stay there.

5.    Falling gutter
During rainy season your gutter is very helpful. When you gutter starts to fall, you may have problems draining rainfall. The sight of falling gutter is associated with depreciation. If somebody sees it, he might think that your garage is non-functional already.

If you are planning to sell your house, the falling gutter of your garage will make potential buyers feel that you should sell it at a lower price.

4 Ways a Garage Sale Can Help You Organise Your Home

Having a garage is equivalent to adding a new space to clean. Well that’s not how it always goes. After several years, our house gets more and more crowded and we probably wonder how we are going to organise it.

There are garage storage solutions that we can actually enjoy with our extra space outside the house. A garage sale is one idea you could try.

Why garage sale? Here’s a list of the things that we can get from having a garage sale at home:

     1.   Helps you find ways to dispose old and unused stuff

Whenever you clean the house and find some old or unused stuff, there is a feeling that you want to keep them though you don’t really need them all. You don’t just have this feeling on one item; this can go for several items until your house looks like a stock room.

With your garage sale, you can dispose your old and unused stuff; of course they are still functional and you could sell them at a price you think is fair.

     2.   More space for the living room
      
    Once the garage sale is over, you will find that your house has become cleaner. You have to determine first which part of the house you would want to get the most space for. Most of us would choose the living room since that is where we receive guests.

We can now move some appliances, books, and even shelves to the kitchen and to our bedroom to give our living room more space for guests.

     3.   Helps you fund for more cabinets

Organising our homes means we need to have more storage cabinets. Of course we want to get cabinets that would last for a long time. The quality must be good. However, it also means extra money.

With a garage sale, you can raise some amount to fund a new cabinet without hurting your monthly budget. You can also buy some racks that you can use for your house and garage organisation.

     4.   A good time for general cleaning

We often miss general cleaning though it should be done regularly. We are pre-occupied with community, school events and the holidays most of the time that we miss doing it.

Having a garage sale will actually remind us to do it. Once our sale is over and we have successfully let go of the things which cluttered our house, we can now start rolling the carpets, do some repairs, and sweep the house all over. 

4 Garage Storage Solutions and Ideas

Garage Storage Solutions

Everyone fantasizes on having a very organized garage. It is not just about cleanliness which can easily be addressed by garage resin flooring since grease and other oils do not get stuck on it. It is more on how you will fit everything you need in that rather small space.

Here are some few things that you can do to have a better garage:

1.      Maximize your ceiling

You might sometimes see a chaos of cabinets and more cabinets while the ceiling is very plain and lone. You can maximize the use of your ceiling by attaching overhead storage racks. These racks should be sturdy enough and placed on the corners or where there are cabinets below.

These racks are intended to keep the light things in place such as plastic containers and other things which you do not use often. Heavy items are not to be placed on these racks since it could do some harm if they fall.

 

2.      “Do not be afraid to hang them”

Most of us might forget that we can use some hooks on the wall to hang items like brooms, mops, and even your bicycle! Yes, you can do that.

It is recommended that you hang those items which you will need often so you can just easily see and get them. This will help you to create more space for storage cabinets and the like.

 

3.      More cabinets!

Having more cabinets means having more space to keep your most important items. You can group your items according to their use or by the frequency of their use.

Cabinets are ideal because they have locks. This is good for protecting children from touching harmful objects. This will also spare you from those who intend to steal your tools. It is also important that you place them as close to the wall to save space.

4.      Write labels

This is one of the best garage storage solutions. Once you have your cabinets and other containers, it is very important that you don’t forget to put labels on them. This will help you find the things that you need faster and remember where to put them back quickly.

If you feel that putting some labels will make it easier for burglars to find the most expensive tools easily, you can just use initials and not the complete name of the items.