Need Help Getting Garage Organized

[jabb]

I am over whelmed my garage is a mess I have a 3 car garage 24X36 3 cars in the garage. 911 914 and 525 a Tractor, Spare 914 Engine Snow Blower Lawn Mower 6 tires mounted on rims… 2 Kayaks hanging on the wall and other stuff and tools all over the place. A compactor and power washer just to name some of the Big Stuff .The thought of trying to organize is keeping me from doing it I have storage cabinets and shelves but a lot of Empty Space in the cabinets. It seems once I start to try an Organize it becomes difficult I get hung up on what to do with stuff and how and where to store it. Any one have any tips or suggestions what is a good way to approach this mess should I do one bay at a time ? Just completely empty that one bay and start from scratch ? Should I get boxes and sort all the stuff into the boxes than go back and sort threw the boxes at a later time….. How do I keep Organized all help and suggestions are appreciated. Need Help Maybe its not in the Gene Pool to make this happen.

[widebody911]

Estate sale.

[Zeke]

There are a couple of cool garage forums and some topics here on OT as well as in the tech forums. I'd hire some help that can be trusted to not broadcast what you have all over the local bars. Or, get some beer and ask some p-car guys to come by.

Do a group survey and map out a plan ahead of time, get needed materials and go at it. I like to haul everything out and start putting it back logically. If it starts to look messy towards the end, you don't have enough shelves, brackets, benches and cabinets. You'll have to more or less start over.

It can be done.

[myamoto1]

I'm in a similar situation, but with an oversized (25x26) 2 car garage. We were pretty well organized (or at least it wasn't a complete mess), until my wife's grandfather passed away. Since we have the biggest garage in the family, everything ended up at our house. While I'd love to get rid of most of the stuff we have, I don't have the emotional attachment my wife and in-laws have to the stuff.

I've gone through several cleansings, but it always ends up a mess again. My last effort was playing Moses and parting the sea of crap in the garage so I could get the Porsche in there. I've managed to keep enough space for the car, but the tsunami sized walls of crap are making me nervous. I'm definitely interested in seeing what the PPOT Brain Trust has to offer.

Here's my garage in one of it's cleaner formats:






jabb - maybe those will make you feel better....

[VincentVega]

Get all the lawn stuff out. Even a cheap Rubermaid shed/lean to will be a huge help. Hang the kayaks from the ceiling, pulleys if you want to spend a few $$.

[jabb]

myamoto1

That helps..... I am not that cluterred but close.
Thanks for the pictures

[myamoto1]

I'm glad at least one of us fells better now

You'd never know it, but there's a 10 foot couch on the passenger's side of the car. Behind the couch are those Costco shelving units, all completely full. Those are actually somewhat organized, using the 5 gallon totes from Costco.

[Oh Haha]

Holy crap!!!! I would have an axiety attack if my garage looked like that! No offense meant.

I am organized to a fault, especially my garage. The house I've given in trying to keep it spotless, what with 2 kids and my wife, bless her heart, is not very organised. Uggh. I've "allowed" the kid's bikes and the Barbie Jeep to stay in the garage as it's a PIA to get them out of the shed daily. They have their spot, away from the cars.

I have a shed in the back that contains spare parts and all lawn equpment, toys, etc. No toys are left in the yard overnight, either.

Get a shed and some shelving, organize the spaces, and then sell/giveaway anything you don't need.

[Rick Lee]

I'd clean up that spare engine and make it into a coffee table inside the house. Hang everything you can from ceilings and high up on walls. If any vehicle is not running, park it sideways in the garage. I have a three car garage with two cars and a bike. I'll be moving soon into another such place and really look forward to making my own man castle out of the large garage.

[LakeCleElum]

Josh: I feel your pain. It's very easy for things to get out of control.

Joe: I just moved last fall and still haven't gotten my garage totally organized. (48' X 32').
Here's what I would suggest: Use you wall space by putting shelves/cabinets up high. That leaves the floor available for the big/heavy stuff.

Pick a weekend and move everything outside. Sort in piles
1) Throw away
2) Garage Sale
3) Items that can go in stackable, plastic bins. (label the bins with a number and keep a master list of what's in each bin).
4) Pack the big heavy stuff in tight - Don't be afraid to stack things on top of each other....
5) If you have room, build a shed in the yard and stuff it full.

My current garage has: pickup, Camry, 911, snowblower, riding mower, compressor, table saw, 14 motorcycles and much assorted crap....

[daepp]

My son and I built the shed below in our back yard next tot he garage to free up garage space:




This is where we ended up:



It took several years worth of organizing, but it finally came together early this year.

[myamoto1]

Originally Posted by Oh Haha

...and my wife, bless her heart, is not very organized. Uggh....

I was fairly organized until the wife's grandfather's stuff came into the garage. Her dad is also storing some things in there as well. She also does "power cleans" for play dates (we have 2 kids 1 & 3 yrs old) that translates into dump it into the garage.

I also have a 300 sq ft shop behind the house that is slowly deteriorating to a similar condition. Not to put all blame on the wife, but her crates of clothes, decorations, etc. have invaded my shop as well. They've taken up a lot of my "organization space" in the shop and as a result, I haven't been keeping stuff as organized as I used to.

My biggest problem is I have 2 kids, a wife and 2 dogs (and a father-in-law for several months) all living in a tiny 1100 sq foot house. Her side of the family has money (relative to mine) and continually bestows gifts upon the grandkids, which translates into more crap in the garage/shop. They replace/add stuff faster than I can get rid of it. To top it off, I think my daughter has a photographic memory. She'll keep asking about a toy she had from 2 years ago (keep in mind she's only 3) that I've long since gotten rid of. So purging toys has been a difficult chore. Any minute toy that is expunged, it immediately noticed by her, even if she hasn't played with it for a year.

I'm definitely at fault here, as I am an admitted pack rat. However, I used to pack rat stuff away in a more organized manner. At this point I've given up trying to keep my head above water and am just waiting for the warm darkness to encompass me.

[rcecale]

Originally Posted by myamoto1

While I'd love to get rid of most of the stuff we have, I don't have the emotional attachment my wife and in-laws have to the stuff.

Myamoto1, Herein may lay the answer (partial, maybe) to some of your problem.

If the in-laws are so emotionally attached to the stuff, perhaps they should share in the storage of it. They may find that some of the stuff they "thought" they were attached to doesn't mean so much to them, after-all.

Randy

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by rcecale

if the in-laws are so emotionally attached to the stuff, perhaps they should share in the storage of it. They may find that some of the stuff they "thought" they were attached to doesn't mean so much to them, after-all.

+1

It's easy when it's someone else's ox that's getting stored..

[Highlander179]

call that show "Clean House"

[myamoto1]

Randy,

Thanks for the advice. That's actually how things started out, but I've left out one annoying, yet important, detail - my step FIL. He's an a$$ to the n'th degree. He's known as Double "A" (anal *********) by the family.

He and my MIL had rented a storage unit to keep everything until it could be gone through and absorbed by the various family members. 1 week into storing everything, he said he wasn't paying for storage anymore and would throw it all out. Understandibly, my wife, MIL and other family members were upset, so the quick solution was to move everything to our garage. We haven't recoverd since...

The emotional attachment has "decreased" since we originally took everything in. but with Dbl A on the prowl, we can't get my MIL to watch the kids long enough for us to sort through and clean out the garage. They're the only family members in the area, so we're sort of stuck.

[onewhippedpuppy]

It's a garage, not a storage shed. Therefore, anything not used in the garage should go away. That means couches, clothes, etc. Throw it away, have a garage sale, rent a storage unit, but make it go away. Then build as many shelves as you can fit, high enough that you can still hang stuff under them. Put the bigger stuff on the shelves, narrow long items (rakes, cords, etc) hanging on the wall. For lots of little stuff like oil bottles or cleaning supplies, buy a shelving kit at Home Depot or Wal Mart that you can push against a wall. For any really big stuff like ladders and bikes, hang them from the ceiling. Don't miss areas such as above the garage door for shelves, it's a great place for stuff you never use.

Yep, I'm pretty OCD. Get rid of a bunch of the junk, then get to work. In a nutshell, get everything off of the floor and onto shelves, really that's the key.

[jwhcars]

I can make it easy for you to have more room.....give me the 914 :-) and I will even help you organize the garage.

[ckissick]

myamoto1, good thing you have a sunroof.

Here's the organizer's motto:

Love it, use it, or lose it.

[myamoto1]

Matt - I totally agree and I've got a million excuses as to why we haven't done it.

However, most if it hinges on the daily drama caused by Dbl A. A large chunk of my free time and energy is spent dealing w/ family issues caused by Dbl A. My BIL is an alcholic and constantly adds his fair share of drama as well (dissapears for days/weeks at a time). Between the family issues and the overwhelming number of house projects (garage included), I'm worn out and just plain exhausted.

I don't make a lot of money, so I can't afford to pay someone else to fix all of the things that have gone awry w/ my house (rotten floor joists, replace all plumbing, rewire the house, etc). I have to fit these projects in between the family dramas. My wife's only job is taking care of our kids and she does an amazing job at that. For that, I’m eternally grateful. What little free time I can squeak out, goes to the kids - everything else falls to the wayside. Sorry for going off topic, just needed to vent a little.