I end up cleaning out the garage every summer. It seems that I like to throw empty boxes in there instead of throwing them out. We have a 2 1/2 car garage and these boxes (as well as some other items) have ended up being the divider between the two cars. Each year, I've been able to throw out a bit more of the stuff that's in there.

When I do the garage, I will organize the tools into the 4-drawer Rubbermaid type cabinet I purchased. I already organized the indoor tools into drawers and am down to one very heavy box in the garage.

The one thing I wish I could get rid of are DH's college books from over 30 years ago. They've been moved from house to house and just sit in the boxes in the garage. I'll have to get him at a weak moment. Maybe he'll finally let them go. He certainly never looks at them.

I have plastic shoe shelves that are now in the garage. They are easily put together and taken apart. I've been reluctant to get rid of them because they've come in handy in some houses that we've lived in when we didn't have a walk-in closet.

It must be so nice to organize into a place that you know you will stay in. We've been moving every few years and should be moving again within the next year.

I've found it easier to organize the garage and then sweep out the grit on the floor. Perhaps because the garage looks so much cleaner at that point. If I do that first, I might not feel the need to do anymore than just get rid of those empty boxes.

Marie I can relate to the college textbooks. I don't think my DH has looked at these since graduation- a long long time ago! I tried once to get rid of them but he just dragged them back inside...grrh. I guess I'll be looking for a weak moment too.
Don't know that I have the motivation, stamina or block of time to do the entire garage. Maybe sweeping the grit will make me feel like I've accomplished something?

I tackled the garage a week ago. Biggest lesson - don't let it get so out of control. Also get proper storage. DH has all sorts of things in all sorts of bags and can never find anything and the dust gets in everywhere. I've told him to prise his wallet out of his pocket and get a decent tool chest. Trying to train him not to toss garbage bags around too. He uses them to carry the recyclables down to the bin and then leaves them in the garage to use to take prunings to the green recycling depot. He doesn't seem to understand that it's a good idea to scrunch them up and put them in the box, he just kind of flings them into the far end of the garage.

Don't know what the answer is to the dust and leaves that get in there. We're going into autumn here and it was a bit depressing to get it looking so good and then notice all those leaves changing colour and quivering in anticipation of taking up residence in my garage. But less open shelving and clutter should make it easier to sweep out.

Macbirch we are inching our way into Spring and I was just cursing those leaves. Why is it that no matter which way your garage faces, the wind is always blowing in that direction? As quickly as I got the street grit and stray leaves up the wind obliged by blowing more inside!! Garages and leaves must be a universal problem.
Congrats on tackling your garage!

I don't have a garage, so I can't say too much that's helpful.

Except to cheer you on, of course, and to encourage the idea that "less open shelving and clutter should make it easier to sweep out." In theory it should, so I hope it does work for you in real life!

Also, if you are getting infrastructure, it might be a good idea to have shelving solutions that don't sit directly on the ground, so you can sweep under them.

Or, perhaps, ones that DO sit directly and solidly (not slattedly) on the ground, so nothing can get under them, and you can sweep *around* them.

DH went through one of his college book boxes and decided there wasn't even 1 book he could get rid of. I think there are a total of 4 boxes with these books that we'll be shlepping around forever. I will, though, have him go through the other boxes, just in case he has a change of mind.

DH went through one of his college book boxes and decided there wasn't even 1 book he could get rid of.

Grrrr!

Time to put those boxes on the leaky side of the garage, I think.

Or, to make him keep them at work, since they are being kept, presumably, in case they're helpful, and when would he need them at home, right?

Agree that getting storage up off the floor is helpful. I am lucky that prior owners put in cabinets. They are cheap, made of uncoated fibreboard (they swell/degrade if wet, and can't be cleaned) But I'm not complaining because the storage is great. Notice the leveling legs. And the formica counter. Pegboard is very useful also.

In another spot there is a tall narrow one for auto and motorcycle related things. And a closet pole holding biker wear - leathers, raingear, etc..

The second wall has some very high shelves - fibreboard on wall brackets that hold coiled hoses, tomato cages, cushions and other seasonal items. Got to get a ladder to get them up and down once a year, but it is worth it to have them up and out of the way. Speaking of ladders, the extension ladder hangs horizontally on 2 hooks on that back wall.

On the last wall are 4 5' brackets to hold larger long handled things like shovels and rakes. Each has 6 pairs of prongs that stick out. The rack is best mounted very high - this one is 8' off the ground! - so items are kept well out of the way. Key is that these prongs are used like hooks so it is easy to put an item up or get it down (as opposed to spring loaded pinchers that squeeze handles). With spring loaded you would have to mount the strip much lower to be able to reach the spring to release the pole. And pole squeezers are less versatile than hook like things.

So there you have it. More than you wanted to know about my garage!