15+ Brilliant Garage Storage Ideas

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Are you searching for the best ideas to organize your garage? There are all sorts of storage solutions out there to sort, corral, and tidy up your space. But before you start buying every garage organizer you see, it’s essential to think about what you actually need.

If you haven’t already done so, check out our article on How To Start Organizing Your Garage. Once you know what you plan to store in your space, you’ll better understand what types of organization you need. These garage storage ideas are a great place to start your search.

Wall-Mounted Garage Storage Ideas

One of the best ways to store items in your garage is by using wall-mounted organizers and accessories. Wall-mounted hooks, cabinets, and shelving keep the floor space free and clear for larger items, like vehicles or worktables.

You can hang pretty much anything on your garage wall, including tools, wheelbarrows, bikes, ladders, and lumber. Shelves and cabinets hold paint supplies, hardware, camping gear, holiday decorations, and more. Make sure to hang wall-mounted storage units on studs so they can handle the necessary weight.

1. Wall-Mounted Shelves And Baskets

Wall shelves and wire baskets provide versatile storage options, including larger tools, paints, craft supplies, outdoor toys, and sports gear. They can also hold appropriately sized containers filled with hardware, paintbrushes, safety gear, and other smaller items.

2. Lay Lumber Across Brackets

If you store a lot of lumber in your garage, simple shelf brackets are all you need for 2 x 4s and similar cuts of lumber. Simply lay them across the brackets, keeping your wood off the ground, dry, and out of the way.

3. Wall Hooks

Hooks are another versatile storage option available in many different styles, weights, and sizes. Heavy-duty wall hooks hold tools, lawn equipment, ladders, fitness gear, sports equipment, and anything else you like to keep at the ready. Hooks are ideal for items you use often since they stay within sight and are easily accessible.

4. Pegboard Walls

The classic pegboard wall is an organizational choice in many garages. There are hooks, baskets, and bins made specifically for pegboard walls. These accessories make storing handheld tools, paintbrushes, backpacks, and cleaning supplies easy. You can even hang bicycles, soccer balls, and tennis racquets on your pegboard wall with the right accessories and placement.

5. Wall-Mounted Bike Rack

Bikes are common items that people keep in their garages, but they can take up a lot of valuable floor space. A wall-mounted bike rack makes a big difference. There are also additions for pegboard walls specifically for bikes.

6. Wall Cabinets

A wall-mounted cabinet is excellent for things you want to store out of sight and out of reach. Things like chemicals, sharp objects, etc., are best kept in a safe place, especially if you have young children or pets. If you plan to keep hazardous items inside, look for lockable cabinets.

Ceiling-Mounted Garage Storage Ideas

Another excellent way to store items in your garage is on the ceiling. It’s the epitome of maximizing your vertical space. These racks are mounted on the ceiling and hold bins, bikes, kayaks, ladders, and more. Some fancy options even come with a motorized lift or pulley system.

No matter what storage solution you choose, appropriate installation is vital to avoid injury or damage. It’s also important to pay attention to how low the storage hangs to ensure it doesn’t interfere with parking your vehicle.

1. Overhead Storage Rack

These heavy-duty storage racks are mounted on the ceiling and hold significant weight. They’re ideal for stacking bins or storing items you don’t need to access frequently. For example, holiday decorations, seasonal items, winter sports gear, or other things you use only at certain times of the year are good options.

2. Liftable Storage Rack

A liftable storage rack gives you the best of both worlds — ceiling storage and easy access. It keeps things up and out of the way, but you can easily access your items with a few turns of a hand crank or a power drill. These liftable racks don’t typically hold as much weight as the fixed styles but still hold a decent amount.

3. Surfboard And Paddleboard Rack

Large items like paddle boards and surfboards take up plenty of space. Therefore, storing these pieces on the ceiling makes a lot of sense. And, wouldn’t you know, there are storage solutions specifically for it, like this surfboard and paddleboard rack.

4. Bike Hoists And Hooks

If you’re limited on space in your garage, it’s tempting to put everything on the ceiling. Luckily, there are plenty of specialized solutions, including ones to get your bike up in the air.

There are bike racks and hooks for the ceiling, but you’ll have to lift your bicycle off and onto them. Bike hoists allow you to hang your bike from the ceiling and easily access it using a smooth pulley system.

5. Canoe And Kayak Pulleys

Ceiling-mounted systems for kayaks and canoes allow you to store these large pieces off the floor. However, the hoist system makes it easy to get them down and put them away when needed.

Freestanding Garage Storage Ideas

One of the simplest ways to add storage to your garage is freestanding storage solutions, like shelving or cabinets. You can also get freestanding racks designed to hold lawn equipment or certain tools.

Freestanding units don’t require mounting or installation like wall or ceiling-mounted pieces. However, securing tall pieces or those holding larger items to the wall is wise.

1. Heavy-Duty Shelving

Shelves are a classic storage system for many spaces, and heavy-duty shelves are a must for many garages. They make the perfect place to stack and store bins full of backstock supplies, camping gear, beach supplies, and other recreational equipment.

Shelves are also good for storing bins and boxes of holiday decorations, hand-me-down clothes storage, spare parts, and more. Keep items you don’t need to access often on top shelves. If you’re stacking bins, put the ones you need to access the most on top of others.

2. Tall Cabinets

Freestanding cabinets are an easy way to hide away many different items. They come in many styles and sizes and also have lockable options. These types of storage solutions are ideal for the things you don’t want out in the open, like paint, chemicals, and similar supplies.

However, you can stow a wide range of items inside them. Many even come with different configurations like shelving, hooks, hanging space, and other options.

3. Rolling Tool Rack

If you use your garage as a workspace, whether for carpentry, mechanical, automotive, or DIY projects, movable storage is a great idea. A rolling tool rack lets you keep your tools organized and moveable so you can relocate them to wherever you plan to work on your next project.

4. Floor Rack For Garden Tools

For long-handled items, like rakes, brooms, shovels, and similar equipment, a freestanding garden tool organizer keeps everything in place. These racks make it easy to get what you need without dealing with a jumble of tools falling everywhere.

Tips For Choosing The Best Containers When Organizing Your Garage

The storage solutions mentioned above give you options for larger organizational pieces. But what about the things that go on the shelves and in the cabinets? Suppose you want to get even more detailed with your organizing efforts. In that case, you’ll need things like bins and similar containers to corral smaller items and keep similar items together and tidy.

There are a few things to keep in mind when choosing containers for your garage.

1. Bins are one of the most common, popular storage options for a garage. However, if your garage is prone to critters or insects, choose air-tight bins that won’t allow pests access to your stuff. The same goes for garages susceptible to moisture.
2. If you’re more of a visual organizer, choose transparent containers so you can identify contents quickly. However, if you don’t like a lot of visual noise, opt for opaque containers to keep things out of sight — but make sure to label them.
3. Easy access to hardware is a plus if you use your garage as a workshop. Open-faced storage bins are perfect for finding and grabbing what you need quickly. You can get them in various styles, including freestanding and wall-mount options. (They also work great for crafting supplies.)