The Lawhead Team has these steps from HomeAdvisor to help you organize your garage and make it more useful! 

Step #1 – Categorize Items

It’s hard to whip your garage into shape without taking inventory. Take a look at your possessions and divide them into categories based on use. Keep frequently used and important items close at hand and store everything else. Here’s a list of items to keep close by:

• Recycling
• Sports and recreational equipment
• Automotive maintenance/repair tools
• Seasonal décor
• Garden and yard tools
• Major equipment

You may find that storing some of the items — like decorations — indoors will free up space and make it easier to organize your garage.

Step #2 – Group Similar Items Together

Next, pull everything out of your garage and group similar items together. This might seem like an unnecessary step, but it can actually help you later on when you start to reorganize these items. Additionally, it’s easier to purchase storage solutions when you know the amount and size of items you’re dealing with.

Step #3 – Let it Go

Whipping your garage into shape is the perfect time to identify and dispose of any unused, broken or forgotten items. If you run across any items you haven’t used in some time, throw them away or donate them to make room for your more important possessions.

Step #4 – Determine a Layout

There are a number of ways to organize your garage. But, no matter how you do it, it’s best to decide on a location for each item or group of items before you start putting anything back. It’s also important to consider factors like the frequency of use and available space during this phase.

Step #5 – Install Cabinets or Purchase Storage Bins

Grouping items together will help you decide on the perfect storage solution for your garage. Once you’re ready, purchase and install cabinets or storage bins. Organizational tools help you keep similar items grouped together and within easy reach. This is especially important with tools and other items that help you keep your home in good shape during the colder months.

Perhaps the most important part of the process is giving yourself time. Don’t rush yourself or assume you’ll finish everything in a single day. Set aside an entire weekend to allow yourself plenty of time to go through all of your stuff, group it, clean the garage and then put everything back in its new home. If you have to, find some friends to lend you a hand with moving items around. You’ll have a clean, organized garage before you know it.

Your garage door is a vital component of your home, however so many of us seem to neglect or simply take advantage of the easy access a garage door creates.

Make sure you keep your garage door in perfect working condition with the following tips:

1. Check Your Bolts – Visually inspect the bolts connected to your garage door and tighten any that are loose.
2. Adjust The Opener – Make sure your automatic door opener is functioning properly. If it slams shut or pushes against the ground before it stops, your electric opener can be adjusted. In most cases, there will be a dial-or sometimes a screw-that allows you to adjust the up and down limits of your garage door.
3. Lube Moving Parts – Use a lube-weather product from your local hardware store to keep your garage door opening and closing properly.
4. Check Your Springs – If you lift the door halfway and the door pulls all the way up, your springs are too tight. If you lift your garage door halfway and the door falls to the ground, your springs are too loose. Consult with a professional to have the springs adjusted or replaced. You should not attempt to adjust the springs yourself, as they can be very dangerous.
5. Wash The Door – Regularly wash your garage door to help prevent premature aging of the door.
6. Check Weather Stripping – If your door’s weather stripping is falling off or cracked, apply a new weather stripping to ensure a strong seal. If your weather stripping is not making a strong seal, you are likely loosing heat-thereby costing your family money.

If you have lived in your home for a while, your garage is probably pretty cluttered with things you have collected over the years.

We would like to share some helpful tips on how to use stuff around the house to get those small items in your garage fully organized.  Check them out, you’ll be surprised at some of the items you can use to organize your garage and help you learn how to store hardware so you can actually find it.

Muffin tins are perfect for small parts – Put those neglected muffin tins to work holding small fasteners, electrical parts and more. Screw together a tote from three pieces of 1/2-in.-thick plywood cut to fit the width and height of your trays. Screw plywood strips on the inside to act as drawer runners for the tins and glue or screw on a thin plywood back.

Steel boxes keep parts from rusting – For rust-free storage of expensive air nailer fasteners, use steel ammunition boxes from an army surplus store. They have a watertight seal to help prevent corrosion and they’re cheap (about $5).  Perfect for in the garage!

Hang up shower curtain rings – Old-fashioned shower curtain rings ($2 for a 12-pack at a home center) can organize and conveniently display nuts and washers on your pegboard. Load up the rings, add a tape label, and hang them near the wrenches. You can also toss them in a nail apron for on-the-go repairs.

Mount plastic jars under shelves – Plastic peanut butter jars work better for storage than glass baby food jars because they hold a lot more hardware and won’t smash into slivers if you drop one. Attach the lids of 28-oz. jars under a shelf with two screws (so the lid can’t spin when you loosen the jar) and screw on the loaded jar. For quick access, cut away half of a 64-oz. peanut butter jar with a sharp utility knife, leaving the neck intact, then attach the lid and jar to the side of a cabinet.

Use a magnetic strip, glue and washers – Want a handy storage roost for all the little screws, earplugs, nuts and washers in your shop? Pick up a package of Glad 4-oz. cups, a magnetic strip, several 7/16-in. washers and a tube of E6000 glue. Apply glue to the cup’s concave bottom, press in a washer flush with the bottom rim and let the glue set for 24 hours.

Install muffin tins under shelves – Garage work surface cluttered with miscellaneous nails, screws, hardware, whatever? Clean it up and still keep that stuff at your fingertips. Attach a muffin tin under a shelf with a single 1/4-in. x 1-1/2-in. flat head machine screw. The tin pivots out from beneath work surfaces to organize and serve up any little doodad you frequently use. And you store all that little stuff without using up a single square inch of workspace.

Recycle oil containers – Save up 12 plastic oil quart bottles, cut away one side with a utility knife, scrub out the oil residue and load them with nails and screws. Build a carrying case from scrap 1/2-in. and 1/4-in. plywood.

Do you have garage organization suggestions that have worked for you?  Please comment on our blog!