Garage Organization Part 3

The three things you want to look for shelving before you go to the store is shelving height, shelving capacity, and depth of shelf.  Measure the items that you are going to put on the shelves.  I found that my plastic containers were too large for most of them.  The containers were also too wide to fit two with the long ways and they were not deep enough to fit two the narrow way.  The other important thing that I wanted is a shelving unit was to make sure that it held the highest pound per shelf.  I wanted to make sure that everything that I put on the shelf would be held with no problem.  I was also looking for shelving that I could use as a work bench so depth of shelf was important.  My one constraint was my miter saw.  It slides back and forth and need a lot of space.  The widest that I could find was 24”.  That is not the normal, so if you want that wide be sure to check the dimensions. 

The second item that I have found very useful is a good phone app.  I was able to find an app that allowed me to record all items with ease.  I can scan items and take pictures if I would like.  I can mark items as loaned to someone or borrowed from someone.  The app is an Android app Inventory.  While the app may seem a little tedious at first, I quickly was able to pick up and enter items in.  The best part is when my wife is asking where an item is; I pull out my phone, and tell her what box it is in.

I can also categorize my items.  So some of my tools are hand tools while being auto maintenance.  So if something is used for multiple purposes I can keep it in one box and find it I am working on the other project.  Even if I hung up something on the wall I would put that in the app. 

   

The final item is to have good plastic bins.  I bought around 10 bins before we moved and the quality was not all that good.  The bins were thin plastic and they have already started breaking.  I am all about going cheap, however, if you go so cheap you will be replacing the bins three or four times more often.  Another box, that is better quality, has survived years of abuse and still looks fine.

I also determined that it would be best to number the boxes.  I used a permanent marker to label the boxes on the top and on the side that would be in view.  This would establish the boxes that I would put in the app so that I could easily find where I put the item.  I also tried to put items in the boxes that would make sense.  For example, I put power tools all together in one box.

Considering that I came from a house with a storage shed to store seasonal outdoor items (e.g. bikes), a basement to store Christmas decorations, and a garage to store most of my tools.  To now having to share the space in a little corner of the garage, I feel like a lot has been accomplished.  I am now able to park my car in the garage and the kids are able to go in circles in the garage.  Good luck on your garage organization project!