Most people probably use their garage as another place to put away the clutter. About 1 in 4 Americans say they do not store their car in their garage because it is too cluttered and unorganized with stuff.   

Throwing everything in the garage can create a chaotic mess. Organizing and decluttering your garage does not mean you have to bring in the pros. There are some easy DIY storage ideas to organize your garage and keep it that way!

Tidying Up

The first step to creating effective diy garage storage is to figure out what you want to keep and what you should probably throw out. This should come before building any DIY garage storage system so that you can figure out how much storage you actually need. 

If your garage has been jammed with clutter for many years, it is going to feel overwhelming to go through everything. A great way to even start decluttering your garage is to categorize your items into what you want to keep and want to get rid of. 

You should organize all the items you want to keep into categories such as:

• Seasonal items and holiday decor
• Gardening and outdoor supplies
• Car supplies
• Hardware and household items 

It also helps to classify the items you want to get rid of into three categories: 

• Recycle
• Toss
• Donate 

Once you have sorted through your clutter and created organized piles, it is now time to plan your DIY garage storage system.

Planning

A DIY garage storage system only works as well as it is planned. Good planning will help make sure you have enough room for everything and what kind of storage you can implement in your garage. 

It could be helpful to draw up a plan with measurements of the room. Remember to make note of measurements of windows and doors. If you plan on making room to be able to park your car inside, you need to make sure to figure out the measurements for it to fit inside as well. 

Plan to create zones based on the categories you defined. The drawing should also include the zones you want all your items to be stored in. 

Garbage and recycling works best closest to the garage door so that they can easily be taken out. Garden supplies and other outdoor supplies are also best kept closest to the door as this makes it easier to access them regularly. 

After the planning stage, you are ready to get into diy garage storage systems. The next natural step is to organize all the things you are keeping according to the dimensions of your garage and the sketch you have made. 

Organizing

When it comes to the art of tidying up, the key is to create a space for everything. The best part of doing DIY garage storage is that you have total control of how to store items and where to store them. 

In order to organize your garage appropriately, you may:

• Create sections
• Think Vertical
• Bring in bins and boxes

Create Sections

Those piles you created earlier can make for a great way to organize your garage. When creating your diy garage storage systems, it is helpful to create specific sections in your garage. This will help keep things organized and clutter-free in the future. 

Sections allow a space for everything in your garage. Keep everything in each category in the same place so that they are easy to locate and easy to put back after use. 

For items you use regularly such as garden tools or cleaning supplies, keep them at easily accessed areas by the doors. However, items that are not used all the time such as holiday decor or sports equipment, you should store them on shelves or storage that is higher up so you can make room for more regularly needed items. 

Think Vertical 

In order to maintain a garage clean and clutter free, you must rely on keeping the floor clear of things. Create some additional diy garage storage by building systems vertically. The ceiling is a great place to store items you do not need all the time such as ladders or holiday decorations. 

Items that take up a lot of space are often sports equipment such as bikes. Instead of simply leaning them against a wall, you should mount them to the wall. This helps keep them off the floor and gives them a designated area to place them. 

You can often purchase these storage systems at hardware stores and they are easy to install. Even using simple hooks to hang cleaning supplies such as brooms and mops can help create more floor space. 

Bring in Bins and Boxes 

Many people tend to use cardboard boxes to store items in a garage. However, you might want to have garage storage items that make it easier to identify. Using clear plastic bins can help you figure out what is inside each bin easier. 

You can create laminated plastic labels to adhere to each box with a checklist of what is inside. Plastic and metal boxes also make for a better option because they are water resistant and much more durable.

These DIY garage storage ideas can help you organize and declutter your garage cheaply and effectively. Garage storage is all about giving all your items a proper place to go. Once you create a garage storage system that works for you, the easier it will be to maintain it in the future. Get inspired and start decluttering your garage right now!