Declutter and clean out your garage with these inexpensive garage organization ideas!
Today, we are back to the Clear the Clutter Challenge! We are tackling one space per month for the entire year! Last month we worked on CLOTHING ORGANIZATION. This month we worked on GARAGES. Timing could not be better as our garage has gotten over run with STUFF! My goals for this challenge was to pair down the stuff we have and to spend as little money as possible! So, I’m sharing inexpensive garage organization ideas!
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All year long I am co-hosting the Clear the Clutter challenge with three other wonderful bloggers! Be sure to check out their spaces as well!!
In case you are new here, the last challenge we left off on was clothing organization. I shared strategies for keeping clothes organized when you have a small closet!
Clear the Clutter: Garage Organization
Now, moving on to this month’s challenge! I’ll admit that our garage was a MESS! Once a year we clean out the garage but by the end of the summer it is very disorganized. I am hoping after this clean out things stay organized a bit LONGER!!
BEFORE
ANOTHER BEFORE
My goal for this challenge was to spend as little money as possible. Between the storage bins and shelves we already owned plus a few very small purchases, we kept this project very inexpensive!
Inexpensive Garage Organization Ideas
As with any organization project, the first step is to reduce the STUFF you have! Less stuff means less storage bins and solutions you need!Â
Take the time to once and for all get rid of the things that have living in your garage too long!! This includes old paint cans, duplicate sports goods equipment, broken bikes and anything that hasn’t been touched in a year. Find out what the proper disposal procedures are for your town. Our city requires that paint cans are dried out. Helpful hint: Filling up the can with kitty litter dries up the paint!
Buy Inexpensive Bins
Once you have pared down your “stuff”, you may find that you need to purchase a few containers. There is no need to spend a lot of money on bins for the garage! I found most of my large bins at Aldi for $4 and the smaller bins/baskets at the Dollar Store! Target and Walmart also have inexpensive large tubs (typically in the outdoor entertaining sections).
Storage tubs with lids are also great for seasonal items, tools and paints. I used a storage tub to corral all of our outdoor folding chairs that we lug to all the kids’ sporting events.
Find a Place for Everything
Once you have all the storage bins, shelves and tools you need, it’s time to decide where everything is going to go! As you put back each item in your garage, really analyze where its best spot would be! Think about how often you use the item — frequent items should be easy to access. Also consider who uses each item. The items that they kids play with should be reachable for them. On the flip side, items you don’t want the kids to get to–like paint, tools, etc should be placed up high.
Be sure to label all of your bins, tubs and baskets! This does not need to be fancy!! I labeled each of our bins with handmade signs and secured with clear tape. The labels should be easy to read and very self explanatory on what is inside!
Hooks
Perhaps one of the most inexpensive organization tools out there is HOOKS! My favorite kind are these Command hooks! We use these all over our house!
We have a garage “issue'” with bike helmets being left all over the ground! I solved this problem with a pack of command hooks and we should have no trouble with keeping helmets off the floor.
My husband and I also hang our bikes from the ceiling with very heavy duty hooks! We spent less than $5 per hook. This is a solution we have been using for years and it saves so much space on our floor.
Invest in Shelving if Possible
While there are so many inexpensive ways to organize the garage, investing in one or two large shelves is worth the money! You are able to use every inch of space from floor to high up the wall with a shelf.
We keep our one shelf near the door to the house and have it filled with our cleaning supplies, garbage bags and winter/rain boots.
While our garage is not picture perfect, it is now very functional and organized!
One last step of our decluttering project was to show the kids were everything now lives! This will hopefully help them to put things back in the right spot!
Next month we will focus on ROAD TRIP/TRAVEL ORGANIZATION! It is a perfect time of year for this! Feel free to link your garage organization post below! Be sure to check out the other host’s accounts as well:)
Holly
Morgan
Awesome work! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks Holly!
The dollar store has tons of bins for organization and they are so cheap! That’s how I organize my stuff. I also stop at Marshall’s Homegoods sometimes to pick up cute and pretty organizers and baskets for the items that are on shelves in the house.
Same here Diana! Why spend a lot when the bins are in the garage! Save your money for inside the home:)
Garage organization is on my todo list this month too. Thanks for the tips, I think I need to go bin shopping and maybe pick up some heavy duty hooks.
It’s a perfect time of year to tackle this project…good to get things in order before summer is in full effect!
Your garage looks fabulous — I’m jealous! Mine is atrocious and I’m ready to change that. Thanks for all the tips! I’m pinning this so I can find it later, too.
Garages are so much work!! Good luck tackling yours when you get a chance!
Great ideas! I love cheap plastic tubs. They’re the best! We also have the hooks for our bikes but ours are very complicated, they’re like a pulley system, with lots of ropes. I’m probably going to switch them out for ones like yours.
I’ve seen those pulley systems! Hooks are super easy to use. We’ve used for over 5 years and they are still working great!
I was all ready to link up this month because my husband had spent two weekends getting “his” garage in order and uses many different organizing tricks I was planning to share. But then last weekend, while I was taking a little nap (and before I had taken any pictures), he tore down our shed and put everything in the garage! It will be months before everything is back in order, but now thanks to this month’s challenge, I will have even more ideas for him for both the garage and shed.
Aww darn Lisa!! Be sure to share your garage when you do get the chance to put it back in order!!
Wow, your garage transformation is amazing! I love that everything is on hooks, on shelves or in a bucket. We need to do this in our storage shed so badly! Great budget-friendly organization tips! Thanks for the ideas!
Thanks Courtney! It was hanging over my head for so long…glad to finally get the project done!
Nice job! My entire home is clean and tidy… until you see the garage!! Great inspiration to finally get out there and finish cleaning out my garage!
Our garage was our sore spot too! Didn’t want anyone to see it. I’m feeling much better now!
Wow, what a transformation! We are in the process of decluttering our garage too and your tips gave me some good ideas! For me, shelving has been key and clear bins so I can easily see what is in them.
Yes, shelving is great for garages! Clear bins are a great idea too.
It looks great. I love the bins you’re using!
Thanks Dara! Dollar Store and Aldi for the win! 🙂
How do you get everyone to put things away? That’s my single biggest hurdle.
That’s a work in progress! But I feel like half the issue is no one knows where anything goes…so by labeling every bin, I’m hoping it’s easier and quicker to put things away. Fingers crossed!
Such a great and informative post! Its so hard to believe how fast things can get cluttered, but these are great tips! Thanks 🙂
First off thanks for sharing these worth to follow ideas about the garage organization. I must say this is really very helpful for many individuals. Thanks for sharing in a detailed manner.