Organizing Your Garage

By John Sanderson

When the sun is baking your car and the interior is scalding hot, or when it's covered with eight inches of snow, don't you wish you had room in that garage?

It seems that everything that isn't used on a regular basis in the house generally makes it's way out to the garage, paint, oil, the kid's bikes, that box of stuff from college, tools, unfinished projects, etc. This problem is made even worse if you don't have a storage shed for gardening and lawn equipment.

Well, now is the time to make that room.

The first thing you'll want to do is make sure that any poisonous substances you may have in the garage is well out of the reach of children and properly sealed. Perhaps you'll want to put any pesticides, paint thinner, etc., in a locked cabinet.

If you have bikes they can be hung upside down from the ceiling. You can get bike hangers at the local hardware store, or at the bike shop.

Purchase good shelving for your garage. This can be open shelving, or shelving with doors. It can be floor to ceiling shelving or shelving put up on the wall with brackets. Any type of shelving will do as long as it's heavy duty. Give each family member a portion of that shelving for storage. Make sure that things of importance are stored up high so they are away from any possible damage from water.

This is a good time to go through all those cans of paint and stain and toss out the old. Look at your paint brushes - are they really any good anymore? If they are, keep them on the shelf with the paint. Put screws and nails and bolts, etc in cans or bottles on a shelf. Collect all your tools and take a look at them. What condition are they in? Every house needs a well stocked toolbox.

What about all those car care items? Wax, soap, oil, rags (the antifreeze should be in the locked cabinet). Choose a shelf for all these types of items. Also go through you gardening tools. If you don't have a shed you'll want to keep them in the garage where they're not left outside in the weather.

This may seem like a lot of work, but just remember the next time it's raining, or cold you won't have the discomfort of sprinting to the car carrying an umbrella. You can stay nice and dry and warm.

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