Building Garage Shelves Is Simple When You Know How
When it comes to building storage for your garage, it seems that there can never be enough. For a long time, garages have become the dumping grounds in many homes for items that appear to have no place to go. There are even times when junk ends up taking over the space where the car 
should have been parked, which is not exactly ideal.
To help you free up more space, let’s consider building shelves against the empty walls and get your “stuff” off the floor. Shelves will also help you keep this space better organized, so that when it comes time you need a particular item, you can find it. This task does not have to be so hard. Below are some helpful tips to assist you in building efficient garage shelves yourself.
- Know what you have. Take a look at all the things stored in your garage, and evaluate what needs to be stored in your garage. If parking the car is a priority, then you need to have enough space to get in and around the vehicles.
- Categorize your items. Think of them in terms of zones, which will come in handy in building garage storage. You can classify them into groups like automotive supplies, sporting goods and sporting equipment, gardening and building tools and trash.
- Choose an organizing system. Look into the way hardware stores are organized. Designate a part of the garage for a shop, storing some of the most commonly used tools on
hangers or pegboards to allow easy access. You can have rolling tool organizers if you are someone who loves spending a good amount on time in the shop. Shelves will get items off the floor and can help reduce clutter. - Make safety a priority. Locked cabinets are important for storing power tools, automotive liquids and poisonous garden chemicals. Locks will keep the children away from the dangers of toxic chemicals and prevent hazardous spills.
- Consider who uses the items. If bikes or children’s toys are used often, it would be a good idea to build storage shelves for them in your garage to ensure that these items are properly tucked away when not in use. You can store kids’ items lower or away from vehicles to lessen accidents. Adult items like skis or golf bags can be hung up on hooks that are out of the way, but can easily be reached. Bikes can be hung from ceiling mounts.
- Keep in mind the trash. Keep the space tidy by building storage for trash as well as recycling bins might be important. A shelving unit can be built where recycling bins and garbage cans can be tucked underneath. This area can also be a place to store items like twine, yard waste bags and other supplies related to your trash.
- Create space for heavy-duty items. Many garages are the location for
heavy equipment and garden tools. These heavy duty shelving units are ideal storage solutions for painting supplies, car-care materials, buckets, filters, sprays and other similar types of items. - Move up. Garages with open ceilings can do well with addition storage built over the cars, similar to that of an attic. Pull-down doors with fold-out stairs can allow access to compact spaces. This kind of storage is ideal for seasonal items such as holiday decorations and other rarely-used items.
- Use the garage every day. Many families place an extra refrigerator in the garage. A clothes line will allow you to hang wet clothes and reserve a place for muddy shoes. An extra cabinet can be used to store extra files.
Making garage utility shelves on your own may sound like a touch task, but with the right direction and materials, it is a lot easier to build DIY garage shelves. The right materials for heavy duty garage shelving might just be some readymade wall mounted shelving brackets, a sheet of plywood and a couple of 2 x 4’s.
