Equip Your Garage Like a Pro

If you’re like many people, your garage is much more than simply where you keep your car. Garages can be used for all kinds of things, from keeping sports equipment to having a private workshop to creating your own personal yoga studio.

Regardless of your particular purposes, it pays to think about fundamental things you can do to keep your garage in top shape. This includes everything from reorganizing to making your garage’s temperature lower. Let’s take a closer look.

Reorganize Your Space

The first thing you should think about when considering the state of your garage is how to reorganize your space the way you want it. This will require several things: first of all, you should undertake a fundamental overhaul of everything that is inside the garage. We know, this will be time consuming. You have likely accumulated a ton of stuff over the years and dread the thought of having to look through it piece-by-piece.

But it will be worth it. It may well be that you accumulated certain things simply because you didn’t know where to throw them when they became a nuisance, and you have absolutely no use for them now. Your kids might have collected stuff when they were younger that they’ve since outgrown. You might have grown tired of certain kinds of activities, or upgraded the equipment that you use for them. There could be any number of reasons for purging the contents of your garage.

When you finally get through the process, you will feel a tremendous sense of relief. Then you can start to think about how you want to organize your stuff. It might sound trite, but an organized life is really a happy one.

Build in the Summer

Even if you’ve got some kind of climate control in your garage, it is advisable to take on building projects in summer and winter. For this you will first need to figure out how to cool a garage and heat it. If you don’t have air conditioning in the garage (we will discuss this further below), figure out a way to keep yourself cool while you’re doing your projects and fix-ups. Otherwise, you might overheat and want to give up.

There are many fun and useful ways to renovate your garage, and to keep your stuff in logical and easy-to-reach places. It all depends on your needs and what you have, of course, but some of the things you could install include:

● Shelves: This is an obvious one, but a surprisingly large number of garages don’t have them. If you’ve got large items that you need to reach easily and space where shelves can easily be installed on the walls, this can be an ideal way to store stuff and leave room on the ground for other items.

● Pegboards: Particularly – but not only – if you have a workshop in your garage, pegboards can also be a great addition. You can hang tools or other items on them, they are easy to see, and they don’t waste a lot of space. If you have sports equipment that you want to be able to grab easily, this can be a super easy solution.

● Overhead bins: If you’ve already used up the floor and the walls and still have things that need to be stored, go up! Overhead bins can also be a worthwhile solution. You can get ones that slide out, or that you can reach into by stepping up on a ladder. Especially if you have things that you want to keep but are seasonal or which you don’t use very often, overhead bins can be a great idea.

Create Quality Tool Space

Regardless of whether or not you have an interest in DIY renovations, there are always things that you will need to do around the house to keep it maintained. A great way to stay organized is to make sure you have the best quality tools available, and keep them organized on your wall.

This goes from major objects like saws and power drills, to smaller things like screwdrivers and hammers. Plus, you’ll need to think of a place to keep the nails and screws themselves!

Get Adequate Air Conditioning in the Garage

For many different reasons, if you live in an area that has hot summers, you should figure out how to make your garage’s temperature lower. Regardless of whether or not you plan on spending a lot of time in the garage, this is important. If you do have activities that you do inside the garage, you will obviously want to keep the temperature down for your own physical comfort.

But this isn’t the only reason you should get air conditioning in the garage. Many different things lose their quality if they get overheated. If you keep food items in your garage, you definitely don’t want it baking hot inside. You also don’t want a hot car in a garage. We’ve all had that experience of stepping into a swelteringly hot car and burning ourselves on the pleather seats. Keeping it relatively cool in the summer is imperative.

Change Your Lighting and Flooring

Garage lighting and flooring are two things that many people don’t bother to think about. After all, it’s just the garage, right? Well, not necessarily. Because we have this tendency to put these things on the back burner, we don’t realize just how offputting they can be if they are not good quality.

Rather than having a pull-chain single lightbulb that barely lights up the room, why not go all out and fully upgrade your lighting? You can install track lighting all across the ceiling, for example. And with energy-efficient LED lighting that is widely available these days, you won’t use up excessive amounts of energy when you turn the lights on.

If you have a workshop in the garage, you could install special task lighting above the areas where your workspaces will be. You could also install special lights where you plan to exercise or do other activities. You will probably be amazed at the difference good lighting can make. Your garage will feel much less like just a place to dump stuff and more like a fundamental part of the house that you want to spend quality time in and take care of.

The same principle applies to flooring. Many garages simply have concrete floors, and they are often lumpy and stained with whatever might have fallen on them over the years. But there are actually some very nice flooring options available for garages.

Interlocking floor tiles is an option that is durable, can withstand a lot of traffic, and can also be quite attractive if you choose the right kind. There are also different kinds of coatings that are tough, yet can still allow your rooms to maintain a bright, attractive glow.

Make it Your Own

Just as you want to personalize your living room and other favorite spots in the house according to your own personal preferences, so too should you do the same with your garage. Once you’ve gotten the basics down – organizing, figuring out available space, and installing air conditioning in the garage – you can start to think about what would really make the garage say “you.”

Do you want to hang some memorabilia on the walls, perhaps? Install a sound system so that you can listen to music while you’re building something? Stick in a mini-fridge and snacks area? Get the kids involved while you’re at it. They could even have their own designated spots inside the garage. This would both encourage them to stay organized with their stuff, and also give them a sense of belonging. Whatever you think would add some personal flair or meaning to your space, think about how you could add it in to give it that extra something special.

Conclusion

They say a man’s home is his castle. Indeed, both men and women go to great lengths to keep the majority of their homes in top condition. But this doesn’t always apply to garages. It should.

Your garage is just as important a part of the house as many other places. And if you take the time to spiff it up so that it is useful, organized, and attractive, you will definitely want to spend a lot more time in it! Plus, you’ll hear a lot less of the kids screaming, “I lost my baseball glove!”