clutter puts the "rage" in garage: 6 DIY Steps to Organize Your Garage

INcludes free steps to diy your dream garage planner

If you're willing to get a little dirty, you can DIY some garage organization and create a faux mudroom that won't cost a fortune. 

Over the years, garages have the tendency to go through an ugly metamorphosis:they begin as nice tidy spaces that easily hold two cars and then suddenly one day they are total unusable disaster zones.  It happens to the best of us!  But it doesn't have to be that way.

When my husband and I  decided that we were tired of the clutter taking over our garage, we decided to DIY: we cleaned out the Garage of Shame and turned it into a gorgeous Garage Drop Zone.  After learning the tricks to successful garage DIY organization transformation,  I started helping clients do the same.   In this post, I'll share all the details to help you do the same.

As a bonus, I'm giving ya'll this awesome DIY Your Dream Garage Planner.  Click here to access it.

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Want To learn more about diy garage organization? Read on...

clutter puts the "rage" in garage

The ​cold hard truth: when people hear that you’re a Professional Organizer, they assume you have a perfectly organized home.  That it’s always clean, everything is put away in its place, and your closets and drawers are full of rainbows. So it is tough for me to admit that I was one of those people that had a Garage Of Shame. 

You know what I'm talking about, don't you?  Cars that doesn’t run.  Enough kid sports equipment to start a minor league team. All the stuff you bought at Costco that doesn't fit into the kitchen.  And for the Love of All That is Holy: Shoes. Shoes, Shoes, Shoes. 

I get it: most people  don't have mudrooms inside, so all the shoes, backpacks, jackets, wet towels etc. ended up all over the kitchen floor near back door.  The garage also has to hold all the tools, car stuff, gardening items, lawn equipment, etc.  The real estate in the garage is valuable space and it gets ABUSED!

​So Whatcha Gonna Do?

Listen: every home needs a Drop Zone for storage. You have to have a place for all the shoes, the backpacks, the jackets, etc.  If we just had the right place to put things away, all  our lives will be complete, right?!?!

But it's not so easy.  In my case, I ran into several problems.

• Problem #1 was, there was no room inside.  We don’t have a home with a mudroom, and a remodel isn’t in the budget. If we were going to get the functionality of a mudroom, we’d have to DIY build it in the garage.
• Problem #2 was the budget.  We decided on taking on this project in October.  You know, that month that’s realllly close to Christmas.  So our budget was next-to-nothing.  This project had to get done on the cheap.  
• Problem #3 was that we don’t have the skill set to build custom storage cabinets. We knew that whatever we couldn’t do ourselves, we’d have to pay someone else to do.  Which put us right back at the budget problem.

 Even with all these obstacles, it just takes a little creativity and figure out a way to DIY the organization of the Garage of Shame. 

​Step oNE: MAKE A PLAN OF ATTACK

​The first thing I did was sit down and made a list of what functions the garage currently had, as well as the additional functions we wanted it to have. After that list is written, always run it by another person in the house.  In my case, my husband looked at the list and caught things that I had totally missed, like, you know… Sports Bar. What self-respecting residential garage doesn't have a sports bar in it?!? Ah, Duh!

​Then to triple check, I researched DIY garage organization zones on Pinterest. I knew that I wanted to copy the “zone” concept that I read about. I also knew that I wanted it to be pretty, but not too feminine for a garage. But most of all, I wanted to make sure I had a home for everything. 

visit our Pinterest Garage Board

​What is your garage's j-o-b?

 Here are things that I see in most home garages:

• Tools and Painting
• A box of miscellaneous wires and chargers that has been collected since college.  
• Gardening and Lawn
• Old toys, car seats, etc. that have been outgrown
• Wedding gifts that the homeowner feels too gulity to throw away
• Cast off furniture that was deemed too nice to throw out
• Bikes, Scooters, Strollers and some sweet Green Machines
• Sports Equipment, both kids and parents
• Piles of shoes, boots, roller blades, and ice skates
• Sports Bar & Memorabilia (couches, tvs, serveware, memorabilia, beer refrigerator)
• Work storage, especially for people who work out of the home.
• Costco overstock, especially extra paper towels, beverages, and cleaning stuff
• Holiday and Birthday decor storage. 
• Evidence of mice, spiders, birds, bugs, and once, a Copperhead snake.  Yes: that was my house. Don't ask. 
• Enough pop-up field chairs and/or beach chairs to seat a dozen people.

But most garages also need storage space for:

• Backpacks and Totes
• Closed storage for paper goods (to keep the bugs and mice away from the paper towels)
• Jackets, hats, mittens
• Pet stuff​

Suggested articles:
Assess the Mess: How to Plan out Downsizing a Home 
with free printable Room-by-Room checklist

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STEP TWO: DRAW OUT YOUR DESIGN.  Or: I’m not an architect, but I did watch Mike Brady on the Brady Bunch.  

Step Two: Draw out your plan.  I measured all the spaces, then added in the zones I wanted to create. Rough sketches at first, then I  used chalk to draw it out on the garage floor so I could get a “feel” for what it would look like. You can pencil it in on the walls, use painters tape to mark it out...whatever.  Just get the vision of what you want it to look like before you start. 

Step three: should I stay or should I go?

Now that I knew what I space would generally look like, I had to decide what was going to be re-used and what was not. I inspected the inventory:
What Hadda Go: 
*The banged up metal shelving unit that came with the house had to go. 
*The circa 1940’s desk that was warped and covered in 15 layers of paint had to go.
*And so did the pretty, but way too narrow-shelved bookcase I had from my days at the bookstore. It all went to the curb (and a guy in a truck took it before the City did).
What Was Getting a Second Chance 
A bookcase with deep and adjustable shelves, that was painted an unfortunate shade of dusty blue sometime in the 90’s. I slapped on two coats of black paint to match the color of the new bookcases I was purchasing. (My goal was to have all the seperate pieces look like they were one cohesive wall unit). 
What Needed to Be Purchased
Fixtures: 2 new bookcases with doors. I decided to go with Billy bookcases from Ikea, then added the doors on the bottom shelves. The price was right! I also wanted a bench and a row of heavy duty hooks.  I couldn’t find a product I liked that would fit the function, so I found a local handyman who built a bench and row of hooks.
Décor: I love closed storage, so I was going to need baskets, bins, etc. I purchased those at Walmart (their Better Homes and Gardens product line has cute pieces at great prices). Naturally, I was going to need some new indoor outdoor rugs (Ikea), pretty wall décor and hooks (Hobby Lobby).  All in, I think I spent about $500 on the new stuff, including the material and labor from the handyman. 

Step four: put on your " diy /working in the garage" clothes

Now that there was a written plan, a boatload of Ikea boxes to open and assemble, and miscellaneous bags of products all over the kitchen, it's time  to get to work preparing the space.
Step One: Binge and Purge.  For about 2 weeks, we spent 30 minutes to 2 hours a day hauling the crap out of the garage. We filled our neighbor’s trashcans two weeks running. When we set things to the curb for the City to pick up, some random guy in a pickup hauled things off before the City got here. I filled the back of my truck and did a Goodwill run almost daily. Please hear me when I say: THROW OUT YOUR JUNK. IF YOU DON'T LOVE IT ENOUGH TO KEEP IT IN THE HOUSE, LET IT GO. 

Step Two: Ikea Rage.  Now that we had room to work inside the garage, it was time to paint existing fixtures to match.  That was my DIY job, while my husband was in charge of Ikea-ing. I can’t repeat the language he used while building the bookcases, but you did notice the I said “Ikea rage”, right?!?  
My handyman built the bench and row of hooks unit, then I painted and stained it.

Step Three: Install.  When everything was ready, anchor everything to the walls, level it all out, installed hooks and, lastly,  put up decor pieces. 
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Step Four: Stand back and say DAAAAA-YUUUUMM!  Marvel at your brilliance. Crack open a cold beer. 

concept sketch

Before

after binge and purge

painting the area

after

​Step 5: pretend it December 26th.  Put your stuff away!
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​Putting all the stuff back into the new units was like December 26, when you have to put all of your new swag away.  You’re excited and happy, but it’s still a pain in the rear. We left the units empty for a couple of days, partially to marvel at how good all the storage looked, partly to plan what was going where. 
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I knew I wanted all the paper products to be behind the closed doors of the bookcases.  Same for all the shoes. Having the beach towels out and easily reachable was important (our shorty is a year-round swimmer). We immediately started using the (well-anchored) hooks to hang backpacks and swim bags, tote bags, jackets and wet towels. We were able to move items that had been in hard to reach spots inside and put them outside in the unit. 

Suggested Reading: 
Post-Holiday Organizing: Detox + Declutter Your Home After the Holidays

before

before

after

after

​Step 6: Tweak Week

​After everything was finally put back, we went through “Tweak Week”.  That’s when we figured out by trial and error what worked well in each spot.  Having the recycling bin right next to the door wasn’t going to work, so we ended up moving it about 6 feet away.  Same goes for the dog food bin.  Knowing how we actually lived with the new space, instead of my ideal concept of how it should work, was important. 

​Results

​So how is it all working out, several months later?  I’m very happy to report that we have maintained the garage organization almost 100%.  It got a little hairy around Christmas when it became the Shipping and Receiving department, but my husband cleared it all up shortly after the holidays were over.
 
Our favorite things?  I personally love that all the shoes are put away into their closed bins every night. My shorty is happy that her swim towels actually get dry and don’t end up in a stinky pile.  And the husband likes that his sports bar is now a source of pride, not shame. 

before

after

are you ready to diy your garage organization?

Sure, it was a lot of work, but DIY'ing a Garage Drop Zone has made a huge difference in my life and the lives of my clients.  It's so calming to pull into your garage and actually be happy!  So take the plunge...take the "rage" out of your garage!! 

​Let's hear your comments, questions, and success stories in the comments. 

Professional Disclaimer: The ideas, recommendations, and opinions on this website, blog, and made in person are for educational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be considered legal, financial, or medical advice. I am not an attorney, doctor, or licensed financial professional. Sage Organizing Co., LLC is not liable for any losses or damages related to actions or failure to act related to the content of this website, blog, or in-person discussions. If you need specific legal, financial, or medical advice, consult a professional in your area.

Grab access to the free Planner and all the other free printable organizing resources here.