Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

Any garage organising tips?

12 replies

BusyBee2017 · 11/05/2017 22:08

Our garage is a double garage and we are constantly organising it but then it gets into a state.

We have three filing cabinet draws to organise stuff and a tall bookcase and a small bookcase. We also have a tall shoe rack to organise shoes and a wide storage unit!

But still our garage is a state

Please help it's driving me mental

OP posts:
DisorderedAllsorts · 14/05/2017 05:15

Place marking as I'm in the same position, it's overwhelming. I can barely squeeze through to get to the freezer.

My plan is to sort through all the boxes full of dh's crap this summer. Everything will be binned, recycled or given to charity.

I'm not buying anymore storage as it's an excuse to fill it with more junk. He will have to use what we have. There's stuff in there that he's not opened since we moved in 10 years ago.

You need to streamline and use the garage for storing seasonal items rather than as a junk yard. Easier said than done.

MaidenMotherCrone · 14/05/2017 05:24

Hire a skip, put contents of garage in skip, close garage door.

happydays2017 · 14/05/2017 06:54

Shelves and Hooks on walls

scrappydappydoo · 14/05/2017 07:08

What do you want/need to store in the garage?
What are the things that cause the clutter?
Start from there - think about each thing - do you need it and how would be best to store it?
We have a combination of shelves with v. large plastic boxes and large hooks/brackets to hang bikes, scooters etc

lljkk · 14/05/2017 08:06

Do you chuck new stuff in without sorting it, first?
Don't put anything more in the garage without pulling out at least twice as much other stuff to get rid of.

Why are filing cabinets & shoes in your garage? Confused
We have wellies in the garage, but no other footwear.
Do you need to store a lot of paperwork in filing cabinets?

My double garage: We have workbench, floor to ceiling double cupboards (total about ? 1.8m wide), and 2 very large shelves (1.5m wide x 80 cm deep, also double garage). Extra shelving underneath the large side shelves, many hooks on walls to hang stuff on, and a complete 3xbike rack on wall, too. Some stuff in the garage loft, too (camping gear & spare empty boxes).

lljkk · 14/05/2017 08:07

Oops... I forgot about the paint cupboard, the baskets for spare tools, The hooks above workbench for tools (like saw), lots of drawers & some cupboards under the workbench. So over all, maybe more storage than OP described, or at least more useful to us.

grasspigeons · 14/05/2017 08:11

Maybe you have too much stuff! My tip for storage that works is that you have to be able to access each item without getting all the other items out, otherwise you get out the paint for example and leave 50 other things out which don't get tidied away. So lots of smaller shelves etc. And yes hooks are fab too

Original poster
BusyBee2017 · 15/05/2017 21:04

I have filing cabinet to store filing and other stuff. Bookcase which. Was given to us to store stuff.

Shoes to store all the shoes because we have nowhere else to put them.

I am trying to sell stuff on Shpock/gumtree/Facebook marketplace to declutter everything

I have sold some stuff but need to get on to it and list more stuff.

I think we need to put shelves up on the walls which will ensure we will clear the floors. We also need to hang bikes on the wall and gardening stuff. Maybe I should get a pin board for gardening stuff or just start hammering nails into the wall as a cheaper option

OP posts:
DisorderedAllsorts · 16/05/2017 07:07

Do a car boot sale so you can get rid of more stuff in one hit. Listing items and posting them takes time. Clear your shelves and put stuff in the empty spaces, don't buy new storage. You'll just end up with too much stuff and the same problem again.

Threesocks · 16/05/2017 07:22

Don't sort out storage first.

Work out exactly what you NEED to keep/store and then sort out storage to store that stuff.

If you do storage first you will fill it with crap!

echt · 16/05/2017 10:31

So true about filling the storage. My garage is the biggest I've ever seen, 16 by 33, with workbench, shelves, inspection pit. And is it full of shite? You bet. I'm slowly working through it, getting rid of stuff that hasn't been used in years/still on boxes, etc.etc.

Original poster
BusyBee2017 · 16/05/2017 21:02

Thanks for the advice ... yes ours is a double Garage full of a lot of crap !

I will ask father in law if he has any spare shelves because he likes hoarding materials because he thinks they will be useful in the future

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.