For most households, the garage isn’t just the place we park our car; it’s the place all the kids’ sports stuff and bikes are kept, it’s storage for camping gear, a kind-of tool shed, maybe where you keep your lawnmower. Point is, there’s a lot going on in there. And, since we don’t actually live in our garages, it’s easy to just say “Oh, throw that in the garage.” But after you’ve done that a few dozen times, you realize your garage is a terrible mess of clutter and dead leaves you didn’t shake off the rakes last fall.

Here’s the thing: a messy garage isn’t just unsightly and inconvenient; it leaves your garage susceptible to bug and vermin intrusion, water damage and more. So while you’re already on your spring cleaning spree, bite the bullet and clean your garage out. If it’s really bad, maybe rent a storage unit for a weekend or two while you work on it. Regardless, there are three main things you want in an organized garage: visibility, open storage and a weatherproofed garage door.

1. Visibility

By this, we mean, to ensure you are aware the moment something happens, like flooding or a mice infestation, keep open lines of sight around the garage door, the door to the house, and where the walls meet the floor throughout the garage. 

2. Open Storage

Open storage like shelving, peg boards and panel systems helps you with #1 by getting things off the floor, but open storage is also best for garages for a few other reasons:

• Cabinets with doors make it too easy to just smash a bunch of stuff in there and forget about it.
• Open shelving and hanging systems are way less expensive than permanent cabinet installations.
• You’ve got easy access to your stuff.

One exception to our open storage rule is plastic bins/tubs. This is a great way to compartmentalize stuff you don’t use as much, or only seasonally. Grab a label maker while you’re at the store grabbing a few tubs, and it’ll clean up the look and function of your garage storage.

3. Weatherproofed Garage Door

Your garage’s door can be a weak spot in terms of weather and vermin defense if it’s not properly maintenanced. Lubricate all important moving parts. Inspect the door, its infrastructure, and the header for damage. Scratched or dented panels are much more likely to corrode. Possible the most important part, though, is installing some legit weather stripping that totally seals the entirety of the garage door to its framing when it’s closed. This protects your garage from water intrusion and vermin, but it also lessens energy loss from the house to the garage.

A Couple Things to Remember

There are a few things you really shouldn’t keep in your garage, regardless of how much room you have now that it’s so well organized:

• Flammables: Anything with flammable fumes should really be kept away from the house, maybe in a small outdoor shed or garden tool cabinet. For instance, one solitary spark can cause a propane tank explosion.
• Paint: Paint does not do well in places with temperature fluctuations like winter to summer.
• Paper goods: They attract roaches, make great stuffing for a mouse trying to nest, and humidity can ruin things made of paper.
• Pet food: It’s a huge attraction to field mice and lazy raccoons.

Now that you’ve got the important things to keep in mind as you work on your garage organization project, creating storage solutions for your space should be way less painful of a process than you might have thought.