Storing EVERYTHING in a 20 x 20 garage

20 years ago

When we moved in nearly 2 years ago, DH announced that within two weeks he'd be parking in the garage. I rolled on the floor in laughter! Two years later, he keeps insisting it will happen. The problem is, we live on a steep hill. Until we can afford terracing (which yes we have checked on and are blown away by the price of dirt and rocks!), we can't build a shed. So far now our garage must house all tools, lawn equipment, kids and adult bikes, sports equipment and now, with our latest business venture, a pallette of 25,000 Real Estate Guides every month. This is also where any projects land, such as the desk I am redoing for my son and an antique curio cabinet that needs refinished. All automotive and anything related to camping is also housed here. When I think about how much is in here, it makes me almost expect it to spntaneously combust during the wee hours of the night. How do the rest of you conquer these messes?!

We are planning a "Mission Organization" this weekend, laying all like things out in a pile on our driveway and then putting back only that which we really need, hopefully in sensible ways. I wish someone would invent those vacumm bags that store things like sweaters for a garage. Imagine being able to suck all the air out of your lawn mower where it sits neatly on a little gorilla shelf, or the kids's bikes that could now sit petitely next to a hammer on a peg board shelf . . .

Brenda

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Comments (6)

bas157
20 years ago
Can you dig part of the hill out, and use that dirt to help build part of a terrance to put a shed on?
I have a 30x20 garage but can park on one side. What has helped me greatly is to have 5 shelves, each 4' wide x 2' deep x 8 feet tall going down the side and across the back of the side I don't park on. I ame able to fit A LOT of stuff on those shelves. Some of the stuff not on those shelves are on moving dollies, making it easy to get stuff out of the way if I need to get to stuff in the back. Looking at my garage, you'd think it would be tough to get stuff out of the back, but I can get all the stuff out of the way in just a few minutes. Get some wheels for that read estate guide pallet and that'll make that able to move out of the way easily. What about getting some 2x4's and building a frame around the pallet and some plywood for the top, basically making it a large table?
bouncingpig
Original Author
20 years ago
Making a frame on wheels for the pallet is a great idea! I never would have thought of that. And we have some really heavy duty casters that we got from my FIL that I never knew what we would use them for! We spent all day cleaning the garage. I put everything in piles like they do on Mission Organization . . . a sport pile, a garden pile, a tool pile, etc. We have a truck full for the dump and I got a lot up in the rafters of the garage today too. We made great progress until the huge thunder storm hit this evening and we had to throw the piles back in as fast as we could. But already the difference is amazing. I am going to get my husband right on making the dolly or whatever you call it for the pallet. Thanks so much for a great suggestion!!

Brenda
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urspider
20 years ago
bas157,

Can you post some pics of your setup?
mike1117
20 years ago
It's expensive, but you want to clean up your garage and store a ton of stuff, try GarageTek.

Here is a link that might be useful: GarageTek
bas157
20 years ago
urspider, what do you want to see?
Just what one of the shelves look like? THe shelves along the walls right now would be tough to get a picture of since there is so much 'stuff' in front of them.
The stuff on moving dollies in a picture would just look like boxes, unless I took the picture from less than 4 inches off the ground.
The lawn mowers and snow blowers have thier own wheels, so those are nothing special.
krivanj
20 years ago
When we moved in we took 3 months to clear out the garage enough to put the cars in there. We live near the beach so cars in the driveway get rusty really quick.
I waited two weeks for my buddy to stop by to help me with a project. When I called him to find out when he was coming, he said he'd been by three times and I was never home- there were no cars in the driveway. When I told them they were in the garage, he called me a "damn Communist!"