As fairly new homeowners, it didn’t take long for our garage to become a disorganized mess. We attempted to be organized, but what we really needed was systems in place. If I’m being honest, the primary motivation for the mini-makeover in our garage was my desire for a garage freezer – the ultimate suburban luxury, right?! One thing led to the next and over the course of a month or so we really transformed our garage space. Read below to dive into the details of every nook and cranny that we tackled. You can also see a before and after video on IGTV!
SKATEBOARDS AND RAKES? SHELVES TO THE RESCUE!
Before we tackled our garage project there were all sorts of things just leaning against the garage walls. Nothing made sense – like why the skateboards would have been stored next to the yard tools. This corner seemed too small to really make any use of it, but we got creative and moved some existing shelves to store many of the things we don’t have a need for often – leftover supplies from building our home, paint, and some winter gear like snowboards and skis. The shelves barely fit – but it’s worked out so well!
THE BACK WALL DISASTER
For me, this is the super satisfying before and after. This back wall was a MESS beforehand! The hilarious thing is that I genuinely thought that it was “somewhat” organized. You know, that whole thing where it looks like it’s messy but I swear I know where EVERYTHING is?? Well, I was kidding myself and we needed a big change on this wall. I had a handyman bid some custom shelving, but it was way out of our budget, so I went hunting for a cabinet storage system. This Prepac Cabinet Storage System was a great fit for our space and exactly what we needed to provide some structure for the organization. This overhead garage storage shelf was another great fit, as it stores holiday decorations and frees up some closet space inside the house.
PEGBOARD FOR THE WIN!
To make the most of the back wall and small workspace, we utilized pegboard to hang commonly used tools, keys, and backpacks and coats for the kids. This all-in-one pegboard tool organizer was the perfect way to store everything from duct tape to tape measures. For keys and mail that needs to be addressed I picked up this small organizer. For storing balls, bikes, scooters, and skateboards we found this product to be a great fit for the space we had to work with.
MUDROOM DREAMS COME TRUE
Our home doesn’t have a mudroom, so I made an effort to create a mini-mudroom to store coats, backpacks, boots, and even the family calendar. I really love The Essential Calendar for family planning. Its simple design is my favorite at-a-glance calendar I’ve come across. The garage may feel like a weird place for a family calendar, but we walk past this spot multiple times a day and it’s actually worked out great. This is where we also keep the sports gear that’s in-season so that we can easily grab gear as we head off to practice. This pegboard kit was a great collection of hooks and accessories for everything from hats to hanging backpacks.
FAST FLOORING
One of my biggest pet peeves with our garage was feeling like I had to put shoes on every time I went through the garage to take the garbage out or put something in the recycling. To solve this problem I laid down some basic foam flooring which feels infinitely easier to wipe down and keep clean than a bare garage floor. I included an outdoor rug on top for cleaning off muddy shoes, but this flooring has been so so great. One day I’ll get up the gusto to coat the floors with epoxy, but I just didn’t have it in me this time around.
THE FREEZER FINALE
And here it is…the grand finale, the freezer corner! Who knew a freezer could bring me so much joy! I’d been thinking about a garage freezer for quite some time to be able to have more freezer meals on hand, waste less, and have more freezer space for bulk buying. I started my research at Wirecutter and from there, cross-checked reviews and ultimately went with this Frigidaire option.
I knew that if I was going to move forward with getting the freezer that I wanted to be organized right off the bat. There’s no question that it wouldn’t take long for things to get lost in an extra freezer without any organization. I used these bins to separate categories and these magnetic whiteboards to write down what exactly is inside of the freezer. This makes it really easy to know what I’ve got on hand – especially for those Tuesday nights when I need a family meal FAST.
I’m so happy with how things turned out! How about you guys, do you have organized garage spaces or are you itching to get things organized as well?
Thanks to Lowes for generously sending product for this post. They were a great partner as I found the right tools to outfit my organized garage!
