Give a nice look your garage area

Most homeowners with garage tend to consider having garage shelving because that’s one part of the house which remains underutilized and can be put to better use.

Another feature of having shelving in the garage is that it helps getting rid of the clutter therein and gives a neat well organized look to the whole area.

You get shelving systems in many designs that can organize as varied items as tools to winter clothing.

Shelving is easily the first step in getting things organized and giving a neat look to the garage.

Installation of a shelving system helps to minimize the clutter there making it easy for you to locate any item therein and thus saves your time. Shelves allow you to allocate a definite space for different items.

If your box fan, baseball bat or any other item goes missing from its allocated space on the shelf, you come to know of it immediately.

Storage shelves in the garage allow you to assign a spot for all the important things that you need to find promptly.

We all make plans for having an organized garage but in fact it seems a Herculean task! Yet, you need to get started from somewhere.

When you clear out all the stuff from the garage you can categorize it in one of these six heads: Items to retain, donate, throw out, repair, sell, and things that should be storing somewhere else other than the garage.

Next, you need to assess the space needed for fixing shelves. Simultaneously, you can decide if you should have some cabinets installed in the garage.

An important point to bear in mind is to understand your specific requirements for storage and the kind of arrangement needed for that purpose.

You may be having a lot of small items like nails and screws, small tools, or craft supplies necessitating the need for shelving units that has many small compartments to store such items.

Garage Shelving Provides for Optimum Organization

Having assessed the area that you are going to need and the specific storage requirements, you can draw a rough layout of the garage.

If you are parking your car in the garage and you intend using the floor space for that purpose only, you need to have your shelves going up vertically and may be secured to the ceiling.

The arrangement that you have in mind could fit into a particular area sandwiched between an internal wall and a hot water heater.

May be you intend storing a large volume of books. Irrespective of the shape, size or configuration, shelves offer the most practical solution.

Some of the very important points that you need to take care of while installing shelves in the garage are the material of which the shelf made of and its design and style.

For instance if you happen to be living in a damp or humid area, you just can’t consider having wooden shelves.

Likewise, if you are going to store heavy or metallic items, it will be most desirable to be using heavy-duty steel shelves.

Before you really go ahead with the construction you must be clear in mind about the weight that the shelves are going to bear and accessibility of the stored items to make an optimum use of the space at your disposal.

Another important factor is your budget. The price varies from very affordable to highly expensive arrangements.

Garage Shelving Design

The old fashioned pegboard and metallic hooks that were being used by your father are obsolete these days, compared to highly efficient garage arrangements available these days.

You can get an organizer for the garage for almost any item including hangers for bicycles, brackets for wheelbarrow, ceiling shelves and racks for garden equipment or even garden hoses.

The main idea at the back of these storage organizers for the garage is to make optimum use of the available space. Most often these storage accessories are either next to a wall or hung down from the ceiling. Good storage systems for the garage are so designed as to leave sufficient space for vehicles.

Storage systems for garages come in almost any size, design configuration and material at varying prices.

That makes it important to do your own research well before hand so that you get a garage shelving arrangement that best suits your requirements.

Garage Organizers and Storage Solutions

As a home owner you would feel too bad if there is inadequate storage space in the house and goods get cluttered in the rooms, giving you that feeling of claustrophobia.

This specially holds good for the garage where insufficient parking space forces you to park the car outside the garage.

Besides that the clutter in the garage makes it too difficult to get the right tool at the right time with the result that you waste a lot of time looking for a specific item.

These days you get many options for providing an appropriate storage place for different items in your garage.

You can get a safe and suitably designed storage accessory for the garage to contain almost any household item.

You get garage organizers varying from garage cabinets and shelving to track systems and storage bins, among others.

There are too many options for storage of the smallest to the largest item. Here, let’s have a look at the different storage options available these days:

Garage Shelving

You get many options for garage shelving, varying from installation of your own wooden shelves to having metallic or wire shelves for storage of heavy or light objects.

Even if you are not a very good DIY enthusiast, you can make your own wooden shelving from wood as that would require minimum of tools.

However, the most important feature that shouldn’t escape your mind is the height so that the arrangement doesn’t interfere with the opening of car doors and the metal railing of the garage door.

Moreover, you need to ensure that the level is proper lest the items should keep sliding off the shelves.

It is also important to ensure that brackets beneath the wood are properly spaced otherwise wood might cave in under heavy weight and get curved and thus spoil the looks of an otherwise well-organized garage.

Garage Cabinets

You get many options as far as garage cabinets are concerned. You could make your own metallic cabinets, hanging cabinets to be fixed on the wall or ceiling, and even cabinets with rollers that allow you to shift them to any place or underneath the work benches, should you have space for that.

You need to decide the option at the planning stage. There are many companies in the field of garage storage with each of them presenting unique solution which may or may not suit your specific requirements, depending on the available floor area.

Chemicals

You can also store your paints and chemicals in the garage to keep these chemicals away from the reach of children.

By keeping such items in the garage store you are minimizing the chances of kids reaching for these, otherwise you would have stored them in the house, making them accessible to children.

You should be keeping such stuff in a shelf at a higher level in the garage or store them in a locked cabinet. These items include different fluids for your vehicle, cans of old or fresh paints, pest sprays or such poisonous materials.

Safety First

Apart from storing chemicals it will be wise to store your different mechanical or electrical tools in the garage store lest the children should fiddle with those and get hurt in the process.

Another good precautionary measure is to keep the ladder snug to the wall, using a hook and not leave them just leaning as it could fall upon a child or the child may trip over it.

Likewise it is important that you wrap up the extension cord and hang it on the wall, making it difficult for the child to access it.

Moreover, a loose chord could accidentally get around the neck of the child which could prove very dangerous.

You should be aware that lot many accidents happen while the parents are away from the garage and kids are playing around in the garage.

Improper storage is a very common cause for such accidents in the storage area of the garage. By having an appropriate storage space for different items you can surely avoid such accidents.

Garage Shelves – Different Types to Choose From

It will not be wrong to conclude that most garages in America have some kind of shelving to store a variety of the not so frequently needed items like sporting goods, seasonal holiday items, gardening supplies and tools.

One finds many types of garage shelves varying from the ones that are hung on the wall to free standing shelving units.

Then, there is another variety that you can make yourself from plywood and 2×4′s, or simply buy shelves from the local store.

Another variety comes with doors with the looks of a cabinet that makes is possible to keep things out of sight, thus giving a neater look to the whole area.

These are ideally suited for storing small items like stains, paints, fertilizers and the like that you would like to keep out of children’s reach.

We are all aware that garage shelves are of great help to organize our living spaces, but many wouldn’t know that there are other options too for standard shelving? Let’s have a look at some of these.

One of these is quite akin to other garage shelves with the main difference that they are on casters. Some refer to these as carts, but then if they are more than 3’ in height, it’ll be more appropriate to classify them as a shelf.

It’s not difficult to understand the benefits of mobile shelving units. These offer better flexibility and are more versatile.

Good quality product is provided with non-plastic dependable casters and bumpers enabling locking of wheels so that the shelf doesn’t move on getting bumped.

A very helpful feature of casters is that these can be moved around easily when you are cleaning or rearranging the garage.

If you have a workshop, you can store tools and move them so conveniently to wherever you are working. It’s quite an asset to have storage space that can be moved as and when needed.

There is another type of distinctive shelving system comprising of bins. You get bins in different sizes.

Some systems are designed to accommodate bins over one another, on or off the shelf resulting to space saving. Though often used in warehouses for storing inventory, these prove to be very useful in the garage.

These bins of larger size are especially helpful for children. Children’s outdoor sports goods like balls, outdoor chalk, water toys, roller skates and pads, jump ropes and biking helmets etc. are conveniently stored in these bins.

Given a definite space to store things, the child can use it for the purpose, thus helping to reduce clutter. The smaller bins are excellent for storing smaller items like nuts and bolts and screws.

Likewise, you can think of hundreds of items in the house for which bins of appropriate size can be procured. You’ll find them very versatile.

In case you are planning to organize your garage, you may like to look beyond normal garage shelves and consider one of the above options. You may find them working better than the standard garage shelves under certain circumstances

How to Select Garage Shelves and Cabinets

Though strictly speaking a garage is meant for parking vehicles, it’s rare to find a garage that houses vehicles alone.

A lot many other items, not necessarily connected with vehicles, find their way to the garage in most households. Of course, it is good to be making better use of the space at your disposal, but having a variety of items in there, usually in an unarranged manner leads to creating clutter in the garage.

As a result, nobody likes to frequent the garage as it begins to provide shelter to rodents and spiders etc. If you like to have a presentable garage while making optimal use of the available space, you need to organize it and the best way of doing that is to install specialty shelves and cabinets.

But, here are a few things you should bear in mind while considering installation of shelves in your garage.

Opt For Sturdy Shelves

Care should be taken to choose garage shelves that can hold a variety of items of varying weights. It is imperative that you have a fairly good assessment of items that you intend storing there.

Garage storage shelving systems can be designed to hold almost anything. You can have overhead systems, taking better advantage of the apace available there or even have your workbench there to contain all your tools.

Choose Slim and Sleek Shelves

Garage space can be put to good use but householders generally tend to avoid visiting garage except for keeping or removing items from there.

The main reason for that are the looks that the garage presents. If it’s good looking organized garage you wouldn’t mind visiting it more frequently.

Look at it this way. The normal size of a garage that accommodates two cars is 500 square feet, that’s probably the largest room in your house. Measuring about 23feet by 22 feet it gives you a total of 68 linear feet on its walls.

Over and above that, you have 500 square feet of ceiling area minus the space of raised garage doors. Now, that is a massive area that could be designed to look attractive while providing storage for the not so frequently used items and thus keep clutter away from the eyes.

Be Practical

Having an appropriate system of shelving in garage need not necessarily be a very expensive proposition. Of course, ready to install shelving is an option, but you could always design and make your own shelving, depending on the kind of items to be stored, and thus save expense in the process.

However, care should be taken in choosing the material of shelving if you plan to make that as DIY project. Choose the right metal, steel or aluminum or the right quality of wood and the supporting system for that.

Choose the right screws, nails and glue for wooden shelving to get strong and durable garage shelving. It will be a good cost cutting measure to explore the possibility of reusing some of the materials lying around the garage. Just repaint that and have fresh-looking shelving in the garage.

Garage Shelves and Brackets – Best Combination!

Did you ever try installing a shelf that came crashing down soon after you thought it was fixed! Nothing unusual about that, as it does happen, especially when it’s your first attempt. Generally, the reason for such mishaps is the choice of bracket and the placing of the shelf.

Selection of bracket for shelving is as important as the shelving itself. In case you got the brackets as a part of the shelving arrangement, it should work well, unless, of course you overload the shelf, or you fix it to a wall that’s not strong enough to bear its weight.

Other than that, cheaper variety of shelves that come with brackets also fail very often. Ultimately, you get what you pay for?

Here are the consequences of a badly installed shelf – the shelf itself may get damaged beyond repairs or some of your valuable pieces of art may be lost forever, but one sure thing is the appearance of those ugly patches on the wall.

Installation of heavier brackets calls for the provision of strong and well-designed brackets that can bear not only its weight but the weight of your heavy items too.

Though weight is important, also you need to consider the value of even the lighter items, some of which may be proud possessions of the family. These are priceless. You shouldn’t mind spending a couple of dollars extra to save those priceless possessions, howsoever light weight those be.

Agreed, that the basic function of brackets is to provide the much-needed support to shelves along with the contents, but can you afford to overlook its design and looks, especially when it’s being fixed to display your valuables. Looks of shelving are complemented by the design of the brackets; rather they complement each other, while contributing to the décor of your room.

So, apart from their being strong, you have to ensure that they’ll add to the decor of your room. That brings to mind the use of wrought iron brackets for supporting shelves and the quality of shelf brackets offered. There are many attractive designs to go with differing styles of shelving.

Understandably, the quality of shelving brackets incorporated with garage shelves and organizers is all the more critical, as we get inclined to use those for storing heavy and bulky items.

Now, the scene here is different from your living room because of the contents of the shelving unit. Imagine one of your electrical or mechanical tools or a bike coming off the shelf with your car parked in there or while a child happened to be around?

Garage Wall Shelves – Plastic versus Metal

We are all aware that most of the time, most of us use garage as a convenient dumping yard for anything and everything that isn’t often required in the house, till you realize one day that it’s all cluttered up, making it difficult to move the car in and out.

Consequently, you are led to consider having garage shelves to help you organize all that clutter that continues to pile up.

Easier said than done! For, there are so many options today from wall shelving and overhead storage to shelving unit that you may assemble yourself, plus basket systems and pegboards, that for once you are sure to get confused as to what kind of arrangement is most suitable for you.

Well, most of the users like to have common style of garage shelves that are simple, durable and easy to install. Then, you have a few options of the materials used for these shelves, which include wood, metal or plastics, with each having its own positive and negative points.

Therefore, it becomes important to decide on the material of your shelving prior to deciding its type and style. That calls for a bit of effort on your part by way of taking an inventory of items in your garage.

The purpose is to make an assessment of the size and weight of the items you intend storing, apart from of course your car. It’s not difficult to understand that needs of storing bulky and heavier items are certainly different than those of lighter items.

Having made an assessment makes the decision taking easier and logical, you nearly finish half the job.

Understandably, heavier items will call for metallic shelving for its strength and durability and you need not worry of its buckling down with all your materials. But, that doesn’t imply that stronger plastics are not available.

Yet, at the back of your mind you’ll feel more comfortable with a strong product often patronized by industries for the reason already stated.

You really won’t have to have second thoughts about the capability of shelving, every time you want to store another heavier item over there.

Wooden Shelves for Your Garage

It’s rare to come across a garage that is truly and exclusively being used for the intended purpose of housing a car. Invariably, one finds all the imaginable household stuff getting accumulated in the garage.

That’s because we all find it to be the most convenient place for dumping all the infrequently used or condemned household effects to such an extent that at times it gets difficult to move the car into or out of it.

Of course every household needs additional place for storing a number of household items that are not required on a day to day basis and a garage offers that space and the convenience of storage till it all gets cluttered up.

If ever you conduct an inventory of items in the garage, you are sure to be surprised by quite a few of the items there that you may not be able to recognize as your own.

If only an arrangement could be made for an organized storage and retrieval of goods there, the whole place could be put to a better use. And, a convenient way of doing it is to have shelves along the walls, thereby making use of the idle vertical space and keeping the floor clear. You get plenty of choices as far as materials to be used for shelves are concerned.

Naturally the strongest and the most durable material is steel. Another option is that of good looking and strong heavy-duty wire shelving that’s very versatile. Else, you may go for industrial shelving. Freestanding metal shelves offer the convenience of adjusting the layers up and down to suit required shelf height.

Another material suited for the purpose is wood. It is more economical and you can venture into making theses of your own. That way you can make them to the exact size of your requirements.

Now, there are many kinds of wood to be used here. You can have solid wood of pine or fur, but that will be quite expensive. The economical option would be to use particleboards. Plywood of ¾” thickness serves the purpose very well and costs very little.

You need to consider the kind of materials you are going to store there. Even if you plan to have lighter items, it’ll be safer to have these for heavier loads that you may not be able to anticipate initially.

Here’s a word of caution. Shelves made from particleboard tend to sag in the middle. You can overcome this problem by having shorter spans. Planning before construction saves a lot of time and possible embarrassment too.

You should realize how deep the shelving can go without eating into much of garage space. Next, you need to know how tall the shelving can go. The recommended size of lumber for the frame and shelves for a simple floor supported shelf design is 2’x4’ and ¾” respectively.
Here’s how you go ahead with it:

Keep the 2x4s vertically on the ground, pressed against the wall and separated by a distance of 2 feet from each other. Attach to the wall thru screws. Use additional 2x4s for making horizontal supports.

Lay one along the bottom, with its 4″ side against the upright pieces and check with a level that it’s straight. This is your support for the bottom shelf. Fix screws along its length, at every point where there is an upright 2×4. Repeat the same process for each shelf level, and keep going up. This forms the back part of the frame.

For the front part of the frame, assemble horizontal and vertical 2x4s as per the measurements you already followed. Nail them together and let the frame stand on the floor.

The front part is attached to the back by means of 2x4s cut to the depth of the shelf. You provide support and stability by nailing the top part to the rafters or the stronger parts of the ceiling.

Once your framework is ready, all that is left for you is to cut the plywood to the required size. Place the cut pieces on top of the horizontal pieces and nail them down.

There are many plans for shelving. It may be worthwhile to go thru some books, magazine or be online to study and decide on the one that best suits your style and requirement.