The garage can be one of the most difficult to organize household spaces. As a multi-purpose area, garages often contain seasonal décor, seasonal activity and sports equipment, tools and repair supplies, lawn and garden maintenance, along with everything needed for cars and vehicles.
A garage often also doubles as a mudroom, recycling center, and catch-all storage. It’s no wonder that these spaces fill up so quickly, and it’s so difficult to keep them organized.
However, with some creative DIY projects, you can not only maintain a garage tidy and organized, but you can also maximize space and get even more use out of your garage.
Here are some of the best garage organization DIY projects.
DIY Garage Organization: Maximizing Space
DIY Back of the Garage Door Storage
The garage door’s back is an often-overlooked storage area, but it’s a great place to store long, flat items that won’t interfere with the door’s motion.
It’s the perfect place for fishing poles, extra wood or molding, lengths of pipe, and even garden tools.
To add storage to the back of your garage door, make sure you use brackets that will secure your items at all angles, keeping them in place as the door opens and closes.
There are several bracket types or rod holders that will work for this purpose. For a more flexible DIY solution, cut lengths of PVC pipe and screw them horizontally to the garage door, then slide items inside the pipe where they will remain secure until needed.
DIY Garage Rolling Tool Cart
Keeping items on a rolling cart allows you to move them out of the way when not in use and helps you both maximize storage space and get to work and clean up afterward in a snap.
Making a DIY rolling tool cart is a fast project and incredibly versatile. To make a rolling tool cart, you will need:
- 2x2s for framing and support
- Plywood sheets for shelving
- Pegboard for side panels
- Heavy-duty dolly casters
- Screws
- A drill
- A circular saw or chop saw, or buy lumber that is pre-cut to length
To build a DIY rolling tool cart:
- Decide whether you want one or two shelves and how large you want the cart to be.
- Use 2x2s and screws to build a frame for your shelving unit, ensuring that it is strong and stable.
- Add more 2x2s to build the rails for your shelves.
- Use plywood to add the base, top, and shelves.
- Add pegboard panels on opposite sides of the cart, leaving the other sides open for easy access.
- Add casters to the bottom, so it rolls.
Pegboard sides allow you to hang items from both the cart’s inner or outer walls, giving you more storage options. You may also want to place wire baskets or apple crates on your shelves, to hold loose items as you roll the cart around.
DIY Garage Organization: Storage
DIY Overhead Garage Storage
Overhead garage storage and organization is an incredibly popular DIY project, and it allows you to take advantage of so much space that would otherwise be wasted.
Overhead storage is a great DIY project that helps you get more space out of your garage.
To make your overhead garage storage, you will need:
- 2x2s for framing
- 2x4s for structural supports
- 3/4″ plywood for shelves
- Screws
- Wood glue
- A drill
- A speed square
- A circular saw or chop saw, or get lumber that is pre-cut to length
To make your DIY overhead garage storage:
- Measure the length and height of your overhead shelves. Make sure you plan for access to your storage and that you are using your garage’s structural joists for security.
- Screw 2x2s into your beams and joists to build a framework for your shelves, using 3″ screws. Place a 2×2 on your ceiling, running the length of your shelves, and a 2×2 on the wall where the base of the shelves will be.
- Add 2×4 vertical supports along the length of your shelves, spacing them no more than 48 inches apart. Predrill your 2x4s, and attach them to the ceiling with screws and to the 2x2s with screws and/or wood glue.
- Add a 2×2 to the inside bottom end of the 2x4s, running the shelves’ length, using screws and wood glue. You should now have a 2×2 rail attached to the garage wall and a 2×2 rail attached to the bottom of your 2x4s.
- Place the plywood on top of your 2×2 rails to make shelves. Secure the plywood in place with screws.
This project is best done with two people, not because it’s difficult, but because it can be awkward to hold beams and boards over your head while screwing and gluing them. A second person can also help ensure that your structure remains square and help slide the plywood into place.
DIY Garage Wall Shelving Units
The fastest and easiest way to add storage capacity and organization to your garage is to add wall shelving. Using a rail and bracket system like the Rubbermaid Fast Track system is the fastest way to build, install, and customize your garage shelving.
Compatible brackets let you hang your shelves in the place and height that works best for you.
However, you can always DIY a wall shelving unit from scratch, and there are many versatile options. For people experienced in working with wood and who have the necessary tools to work with it, a wall shelving project is a great way to build something that you’ll use every day.
If you don’t want to work with wood, consider using PVC pipe and PVC glue to construct your shelves’ framework.
Then add cut-to-order plywood sheets or wire racks to complete your DIY wall shelving unit/ PVC is strong, lightweight, and versatile, and PVC cutters are affordable and straightforward, so this is a great DIY for people who don’t use power tools.
PVC can also be easily painted to have a more stylish finish and make your shelving units look professional.
DIY Garage Slat Wall
Slat walls are an increasingly popular way to organize a garage. They are easy to build, easy to customize, and not quite as fussy as the hooks and brackets on a pegboard.
With a slat wall, your horizontal slats have a lip behind them, so you can easily hang hooks, brackets, and loose items from each slat.
You can buy pre-made slat wall panels from wood or metal. Or you can easily make a slat wall with a wooden framework, using T-molding or even a reducer.
If you are using pre-made slat wall accessories, make sure they are compatible with the wall you design.
DIY Garage Organization: Manage Clutter
DIY Garage De-Cluttering with Pegboard
Pegboard is simply the best, most straightforward way to organize many items in the garage. Pegboard keeps stored items accessible and visible, and it’s incredibly versatile.
With a vast range of pegboard accessories, you can hang things from hooks or brackets or hang baskets, bins, and containers to hold loose items. Pegboards are also rugged, durable, and stand up to tough use with messy things in the garage.
Tips for pegboard garage storage systems:
- Pegboard sheets can be huge, but you can have them cut to size at the hardware store
- Always hang a pegboard from wall studs for extra security
- While you can always move pegs, hooks, and accessories, you may want to layout your pegboard by tracing around large or hard-to-fit items. A silhouette or label on the pegboard can also help items get put away correctly when you are not using them.
DIY Garage Organization with Floating Shelves
You can buy pre-made floating shelves, buy shelf brackets, make your shelves from scrap wood, or make your floating shelves from scratch.
If you are using shelf brackets, remember that the brackets’ underside is another storage opportunity: You can hang baskets, bags, and containers from beneath the shelf and place things on top of it.
Conclusion
Keeping a garage more organized and making better use of the space isn’t that difficult. A vast range of DIY projects are fast, simple, and affordable, which will help you take care of all the disorganization in the most disorganized part of your home.
With these garage organization projects, you can get your garage so tidy that there may even be room in it for a car.