Get Organized and Go Green: Tips to Organize Your Garage Workspace

Written by JW Shaw // January 31, 2011 // 0 Comments

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Your garage, like in most households across the country, is a mess. You desperately need to organize it so you can find your tools when you need them. Finding your tools and having work space to use will make the all difference between completed tasks and those that go eternally unfinished.

If you are on a tight budget and can’t afford to put in cabinets or hire a garage organization company, these suggestions can be done very inexpensively and most of the ideas will reuse what you already have at your fingertips. If you don’t have some of these things lying around, going to thrift stores, yard sales or flea markets is an inexpensive way to buy what you need. With just a bit of ingenuity and creativity will give you a great place to work on your project list or just hang out, without costing you a small fortune.

Recycle, Reclaim, and Reuse!

The instructions for this project are very general, because it contains suggestions that you can use for a recycled workshop area. If you understand the world of recycling, up-cycling, reusing, and reclaiming, you’ll most likely come up with some great ideas of your own if you don’t, here some ideas:

Shelves: Free standing shelving units, home built shelves on the walls using leftover wood from a previous project, steel shelf units, old bookcases and old kitchen cabinets make good storage for garage work areas. Using these types of items will save you money and help you to reuse and recycle
If the freestanding shelves seem to be unstable, fasten them to the studs in the wall.
Containers: Give creative thought to the kinds of jars, plastic jugs, cans, and boxes that you use every day (before you put it in the recycle bin or throw it away), that can be turned into a storage or organizational container for your garage. For example, peanut butter jars, babyfood jars, coffee cans or plastic coffee containers make great organizational containers. Make sure you keep the lids!!!!!

Here’s a perfect re-use example: don’t throw that old plastic trash can away because it has sprouted a hole in the bottom or the top blew away. It won’t work for trash any longer, but it will make a terrific place to store your rakes, brooms, and shovels neatly in a corner of the garage. If it has wheels, that’s even better!

Organizing your tool box and workspace

Here’s a list of ideas for organizing your toolbox, your tools, and your work area:

Basic Portable Repair Box -This is invaluable for those quick repairs and projects that don’t require the use of the garage. Have the portable toolbox accessible and ready to go at a moment’s notice. You’ll find it handy for hanging a picture or tightening up a leaky faucet.

You’ll need:

Toolbox- Fishing tackle box, craft box with handle, file folder box, pilots rolling flight case, any box or with space and a handle are some choice to think about. Think portable.

Gather all small tools and items you might need at your home for the types of repairs and tasks that are common.
Find a box with a handle that would be of the appropriate size to carry these items. If you have many or heavy items that you want to carry with you, you can use two boxes or a box with wheels.
Fill the box with the items in such a way that you will be able to easily access each tool as you need it.

Suggested tools - hammer, slotted and Phillips screwdrivers, tape measure, pliers, duct tape, glue, nails, screws, washers, bail wire, adjustable wrench, crescent wrench, electrical tape, flashlight, vice grips, gloves, safety glasses

Workbench

This is an area you will want to keep clear for work on projects. It should be flat and very sturdy. A workbench covered in random stuff and looking for tools are real motivation killer, so if you can keep your tools and materials put away in their assigned spaces, you’ll always have a place to work and you’ll find your tools. This is also the area in which you will need to keep your tools at hand.

The most commonly used should be out and easily found.
Less commonly used items can be stored in well labeled containers to be taken out when they are needed for specific projects.

You’ll need:

Level work space
- Table or workbench, or alternatively, a large piece of smooth hard wood, metal table top, old smooth surface door, mounted on sturdy legs and/or firmly fastened to the wall for added strength.
Peg board and Pegs
Wallboard for small items, nails, and fasteners
Clear glass jars or plastic containers
Permanent marker or paint pen
Hand tools
Nails, screw, washers, etc

Decide where you want your bench and clear the area

Fasten pegboard above the workbench on the wall
Put workbench in place
Gather all hand tools you wish to have at your fingertips.
Place the hand tools on the pegboard using the pegs to hold them in place. The pegs are easily moved so you can try several arrangements to find what will work best for you. This is also a great place for extension cords.

Helpful Old firehouse trick: When the tools are in place as you would like them, use the permanent marker or paint pen to draw outlines around each tool. You’ll know exactly where each one belongs and if one is missing you can hunt it down and put it back.

Gather the jars, containers, and lids you have collected and a 2×4 or other piece of board.

Fasten the lids of the jars, top side to the board, onto the board with a screw in the middle. Arrange them any way you’d like.
Fill the jars each half way with sorted nails, screws, and fasteners of any kind that you commonly need.
Mount the board where you can easily reach it. Next to the workbench is ideal.
Screw the jars onto the lids on the board and you have a great way to see all of your fasteners at a glance through the clear jars. It’s the best way I’ve found to have the right size screw for the job when I need it.

Storage of unused and bulky items

Large items and seasonal items can easily get in the way of your progress.

Store unused seasonal items in the rafters of the garage or in the attic.
In the winter, you probably won’t need the 29 flower pots you have collected the past spring and summer, stack them inside each other and store them away. Bring the seasonal things you need to the front where you can easily find them.

Power tool storage can be easily accomplished with the use of large plastic tubs with lids. They can be placed on shelves or stacked neatly in one area where they aren’t subject to water damage or critters that can chew their wires.

Be sure to mark the tubs with the appropriate tool name. For example, place your power drill and accessories, bits, your favorite extension cord, etc. in a large plastic tub. It will all be in one place when you need it. Use duct tape across the side of the box to indicate what’s inside.

Be creative with your garage organizing. Reuse and recycle as much as possible and remember that anything with a space inside can hold and organize your stuff.

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