How To Take Charge of Awkward Garage Storage

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http://www.startribune.com/local/yourvoices/176559001.html

It’s pretty easy to run out and buy some shelves and bins for storage in the garage, but so many of the items in the garage are what I would classify as “awkwards.” Your beautifully shelved bins can be sabotaged by items like fishing poles, bicycles, and garden tools. To take charge of your garage storage, accommodate these awkwards before you shelve the items that play nicely with others. Here’s how.

Garden tools

There’s a reason the classic pegboard has been around for so many years. Used well, as in this photo, garden tools are easy to find when you need them and stay out of the way when you don’t. The key is not to overload the hooks with arbitrary choices. A little planning goes a long way. Start with a board that is bigger than what you think you will need, and lay it out on the floor to work out how all your tools will fit comfortably when it hangs up.

Tall sports equipment

The best solution I have found for tall sports equipment is a tall paint bucket, slotted between two standing shelves. It’s super easy to use, which is important because that increases the likelihood of its use. Things like lacrosse sticks and baseball bats tend to change constantly and don’t merit as specific solution as the pegboard. They just need to be off the floor. The slot and bucket works beautifully.

Bicycles

Bicycles take up way more space than we think they should, because of their inconvenient width. The key here is not to think of all bicycles as created equal. Kids bikes get used all the time, so a simple standing rack provides the best odds of keeping them off the floor. Adults’ bikes that are rarely used can take advantage of the vertical space by being hoisted. Bikes who’s usage is somewhere in between can be suspended on the wall.

Awkwardly shaped items in the garage are an unavoidable fact of life, so don’t treat their storage as an afterthought. Once you make allowance for the awkwards, everything else will fall into place.