How to Organize Garage Tools Effectively

Understanding how to organize your garage tools effectively means you’ll never have to go hunting for missing tools again.

The garage is underappreciated in many homes. But that doesn’t mean it’s underused. It is a special kind of storage space that can house things and play host to activities that the rest of the home simply can’t—or at least, shouldn’t. Many people park their cars in the driveway and use the garage exclusively for other things. Many times, the garage is the site of the household’s fixing and building activities.

But navigating your garage can quickly turn into a nightmare when you can’t find the one tool you need at a crucial moment because all of your tools are scattered about willy-nilly. The good news is, with a little careful planning, you can reverse this state of affairs—and prevent it from returning. Here are some ideas on how to organize your garage tools effectively.

How to Organize Garage Tools Using Customized Storage

Let’s assume that you have two sets of tools—one for car care and repairs and the other for woodworking, just for example. You may, in reality, repair your motorcycle and make steel-wire sculptures instead. That’s OK! The organizational principles remain the same. We’re talking about some fairly elementary principles—but, if you apply them properly, you’ll be rewarded with a neat and convenient workspace set up just the way you like.

Place Yourself at the Center of it All

The whole point of arranging your tools is to make it more convenient for you to use them. You will probably keep different kinds of tools separated, i.e. car care on one side and woodworking on the other. At the same time, you’ll probably want to keep the tools you use most frequently close at hand.

• A slatwall will likely come in handy.

• You can use magnetic strips, hooks, racks, and baskets to hold the things you need close at hand. This is good for handheld tools like wrenches and saws and small things that will hang easily like rolls of tape.

• You may also want a countertop to work on, and that will give you space beneath it for adjustable shelves, drawers, and chrome baskets.

• If you need more space than that, you can mount custom cabinets on the walls around your workspace. Many tool sets with multiple pieces come in their own cases, and this is a good place for them.

• If that still doesn’t do it, you may want to install overhead racks for those items that are vital to own in certain situations but only rarely used.

Compartmentalize and Containerize

There are still some more accessible storage options before you start hanging too many things from the ceiling. For large items, heavy-duty wall-mounted shelving can hold up to 300 pounds. A shelf or two can serve as an annex to your workspace and keep big things neatly stored and still easily accessible. Free-standing custom-made cabinets with adjustable shelving, meanwhile, can hold things you don’t use very often or that you want to protect from dust and excess handling.

The other storage challenge you are likely to face involves very small things. If you have a hammer, you probably have hundreds of nails in a variety of sizes as well. And then there are screws, rivets, and more. You may also have small and delicate instruments. If they lack their own cases, they will need special treatment. These things can be split between holders on your slatwall and customized drawers. You should separate the small things out to give them the handling they need.

Put Everything Else Away, Too

If you can carve out space exclusively as your own personal work station—whether for your car, woodworking, or some other activity—you have already gone a long way in organizing both your garage workshop layout and your tools. But if you really want to make the most of this opportunity to organize your garage, it’s important to put everything else in its proper place, too, to be sure the rest of your garage items and your tools stay conveniently separated. It might take some negotiations with family members, but creating ample, well-organized storage systems for everybody’s things will help.

You will probably be thinking about installing slatwall for your tools, but there are many other uses for them, too. Gardening items and small sports equipment like balls and pucks can be stored on a slatwall the same way as automotive and woodworking tools. Specialized hooks can hold fishing poles. There will probably be plenty of stuff to put on shelves and in cabinets. Bicycles, golf gear, and plenty of other larger items can go on racks.

Good Design Makes Working in Your Garage a Pleasure

There are a lot of pieces that have to come together when you organize your tools and your workspace. If you want to find out how to organize garage tools best, it is best to pick the brains of a professional designer—someone who knows all the tricks of the trade. That’s why Closet America offers a free design consultation. You may be amazed at the insights you can gain, especially after our design expert shows you an interactive 3D model of your future garage workspace using CAD technology.

The other priority for great garage organization is high-quality construction. Every Closet America storage solution uses the highest quality materials, such as ¾-inch thermo-fused laminate shelves that come in a variety of finishes and never sag. Our drawers are feature dovetail construction and slides on the bottom to allow full extension. Plus, our solutions are so dependable that we provide a transferrable double lifetime warranty and a lifetime service guarantee.

So why wait? Contact Closet America to learn more or to set up your free design consultation and start getting ready for a better organized, more useful, and beautiful garage workspace today.

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