UHeart Organizing: Giddy for Garage Organization

I have featured a few garages around this bloggy place, and they are all super special, boast amazing storage and show that a garage truly is an extension of the home.  I am always impressed with how excited you people make me about a space I typically don't give a lot of thought to {it is usually my hubby's man cave}.  Well, superstar Cassie has to come along today and shows us that a garage doesn't just have to just be functional, it can be CUTE  and functional {can you believe I set "cute" and "garage" in the same sentence?}.  Yep, she is a star at taking organization to the next level, and she did that once again, in the garage.  Be ready to be impressed!  Here is the beauty now... {and by beauty, I meant both Cassie and her garage!}

Hello fellow I Heart Organizing fans! It's always such a treat to share projects with you guys, and since it's Outdoor Month around here, I'm thrilled to finally have a tidy, and cheerful, garage to show you!  In most houses, the garage is the Mister's domain. But as a DIY home blogger, I contribute at least half the junk that clutters up our garage. OK, most of the junk.

It was such a gradual process of adding tools, paint, and materials over the years, that I hadn't realized just how chaotic the space had become.  I almost dreaded the start of each new project, because I could never find everything I needed. Organizing the garage seemed so overwhelming,
that I just kept putting it off.

Once we upgraded our builder-basic garage door for only $15, things looked good on the outside, but behind those closed doors was a hot-mess.

A few weeks ago, I finally ripped off the band-aid and attacked it! So quickly, in fact, that I forgot to take 'Before' shots. Bad blogger!  But I'm sure you can all imagine a garage with over-flowing shelves and piles along every edge. My goal was to have things organized within reach, and spend very little money. (Who wants to spend a bunch of money on the garage?!). Ikea's Gorm Unit was a great place to start.

I organized the Spray paint, Tools, and new Shelves...all of which was huge improvement, but I just couldn't stop there. I decided I wanted to have a little fun, and create a cheery spot to greet us everyday.

The plain white pegboard was just begging to be painted, so I taped off our last initial.

A few coats of latex paint later, and we had a bright, custom pegboard.

It's easier to arrange all your tools on the floor like a puzzle first, then transfer them to the board. I
practically jump up and down squealing when I need a screwdriver now.

These pegboard hooks hold everything firmly in place.

For small items like craft brushes and pencils, I wrapped a recycled soup can with coordinating washi tape, drilled a hole in the back, and hung it on a hook.

And instead of my big paintbrushes and work rags sitting in the Kitchen sink after rinsing, I can hang them to dry on hooks in the garage..

We found all kinds of lost treasures when cleaning out the garage, one being this shoe organizer. As luck would have it, each pouch holds two full-size cans of spray paint perfectly! Of course I had to put them in rainbow order. Primer, sealer, specialty paints, and spray adhesives have spots at the bottom. I have several different brands, and all fit two-by-two in the pouches....that's a total of 48 cans this baby will organize...and all within my reach!

Next came the large yard tools. Honestly, I don't reach for these often, but seeing them all lined up makes me happy!

They each hang from a basic hook screwed directly in the wall.

Let's tour the shelves now, shall we?! It's amazing how much they hold!

First, I rounded-up all 187 of our paint cans, and opened each one. I couldn't believe how many had gone bad, but were still taking up precious space on our shelves. The rest were all half-empty, and many had rusted rims, so it was only a matter of time until they went bad, too.

So I followed Jen's lead, and transferred them all to pint and quart-sized mason jars with airtight lids. Then labeled each (using this easy method) with the color name, location in the house it's used, finish, and type of paint.

Many of my projects are small, or just touch-ups, so I went with wide-mouth jars so a brush would easily fit. This keeps me from having to pour the paint into a separate container, and the jars are easy to hold and shake. Not only do the pretty rows of paint make me happy, but it's easy to see what colors I already have on hand.

Once the paint was consolidated, I went after the rest of the garage crappola. I sorted everything into piles by category, then organized them in sturdy plastic bins (like these). With labels and washi tape, of course.

I like to see details, so I'll show you the contents of each shelf.

Paint trays and Dropcloths | Work Gloves | Rags

Staple Gun & Staples | Caulk, Glues & Putty, along with putty knives and spatulas

Stains & Wood Conditioner | Pint Jars of Paint from smaller projects

Full Gallons of Paint | Paint Conditioner

Car Fluids | Lawn Sprays & Seed | Random items like Plaster of Paris and drain thingie

The bucket holds all the car wash gear

Light Bulbs | Miter Box, Hooks & Clamps

Quart jars of paint from rooms and larger projects

Toolbox with Mr. Sugarplum's randomness | Nails, Screws, Anchors, etc

 

Paint Supplies | Sander, Sanding Blocks & Paper | Drill, Bits & Extension Cord

Painter, Packing & Duck Tapes | Bug Sprays | More lawn crap

The cool thing about this system, is each bin has everything you need for that job. No more looking for a drill bit in the bottom of the paint pan! The extra shelves also allowed me to store more things
outside (like light bulbs and tape), which freed up room in my utility room cabinets. It never ceases to amaze me how organizing can actually create more space!

And since these shelves are wood, I screwed in cup hooks for smaller items I reach for regularly, like scissors and paint openers.

I also have labeled paint swatches for every room and project in the house, and they hang from another hook for quick reference.

How about this little corner of organized bliss?!?!

Oh that door, how I love thee!! I figured there's no harm in going color-crazy in the garage, right? Oh who am I kidding, the other side of this door is already pretty crazy (it's the Mudroom). It's green with turquoise trim, and makes us all beyond happy.

I created a small landing zone for things we need quick access to...like sunscreen, bug spray and a flashlight. There are also some fun hooks for things I don't necessarily want in the house yet...like sweaty hats and wet towels. My daughter loves this bag I made, and keeps it stocked with art supplies for long afternoons at the ballpark.

The old doormat was pretty sad, so I spraypainted stripes on it for new life. I may go back and add a monogram like this mat we made.

The final corner of the garage is dedicated to sports equipment. If you have kids, or an active husband, chances are, you have gear for every sport laying around your garage. Including the dreaded metal scooter, that always falls and clips me in the ankle when I get out of the car. As our collection grew, it started piling up around the perimeter of the garage...making it a tight fit for our cars, and moms with bony ankles.

Thanks to this Monkey Bar system, even the scooters have a new home, away from my ankles! Along with 4 bats, a hitting stick, 8 full-size balls, a bike pump, and an extra hook for bags!

As for the gloves and smaller balls, I used a wall rack leftover from this bathroom organization project, and hung a flat-bottom girl basket on a leftover hook from the Mudroom.

The basket is great for transporting to batting practice...the boys just grab the whole thing off the hook, and it sits on the ground without spilling.

Baseball mitts hang nearby on this cool Ikea gadget (I can't find the link because I don't know it's crazy Swedish name?! Can anyone help? Bueller?) 

We've got another one near the bikes for helmets.

Puuuuuuurty! The ladders hang from these heavy-duty screws, drilled directly in the wall.

Whew!! That concludes the tour of our Happy Organized Garage!! I thought about painting the walls, too, but Texas is already near 100-degrees...ain't nobody got time for that! So I swept the floor
instead.

Have you tackled any part of your garage? I'd love to hear tips you have on getting and keeping it organized! Happy holiday weekend, lovebugs!

"Hi, I'm Cassie, a DIY and design-obsessed Texas girl, and lover of travel, fashion, sarcasm and Mexican food. When I'm not hanging with my sweet and funny family, you can find me kicking the '80s out of our home, one budget project at a time, on my blog Hi Sugarplum!"