These days, any interior designer needs to take into consideration the layout and design of not just the home but also the garage. Why? Because the garage is used for far more than just a place to park the cars at night. They’ve become an extension of our home, storing many of our belongings for us that otherwise wouldn’t be suitable to store inside the home. The problem though is that not everyone has a garage storage system set up to handle storing their belongings. Without this, things get out of control. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some points to keep in mind when setting up a garage storage system.

1. Stay calm and focused when starting. Don’t get overwhelmed by the large amount of clutter you’re going to sort out. It’s best to have in mind that everything you see will be sorted into different piles, depending on if you’re going to donate it, put it in the trash, sell it, or keep it. Get out some bags and boxes to start your piles before starting.

2. Once you’ve sorted things out appropriately, take the pile of items you’re keeping and further subdivide this into more specific groups. For instance, put all the gardening item together, place all the kids toys together, and repeat until all items are grouped with like items. This will then allow you see what the most appropriate garage storage system is for each pile.

3. For cabinets with large, open spaces inside, you can store big and long items here like a broom, a rake, and other gardening tools. You can keep flat objects inside the cabinets drawers.

4. You can keep crafting supplies on open shelves because they do not look as unattractive as gardening machines and tools. Small crafting materials like buttons, sequins, beads, and so on should be kept in separate jars in uniform size and designs to make them look neat. You can also build a hanger for poster papers, fabrics and other things that you can hang.

5. For bikes and sports equipment, racks are available that will mount to the wall or ceiling. This has the added perk of freeing up floor space that otherwise would not be available to you.

6. For machines and other heavy and bulky tools, you can build a large chest with wheels so that you can easily transport it from one area to another. To maximize space, you can add cushioning at the top of the chest so that you can also use it as an extra seat.

Setting up a garage storage system takes some initial work, but once it’s all done, the system goes on auto-pilot. Your items will be sorted and organized, and most importantly, you will be able to find what you need! That is, in essence, the whole point of a good garage storage system.