Garage Storage Systems Can Solve Your Clutter Problems
Looking At Garage Storage Systems
With nearly 25% of Americans unable to fit a single car into a two-car garage, garage storage systems capable of eliminating the mess and clutter have never been more necessary. The trick is not, as some people seem bent on convincing consumers, to simply rent out a U-Store-It unit and make a mess-away-from-home. No, the trick is to use the space that you already own. With just a few intelligent purchases, you’ll find that elegant modern garage storage systems allow you to do just that, while keeping your things visible and accessible.
Garage Ceiling Storage
Perhaps the ultimate in space conservation is overhead garage ceiling storage.
- Ceiling storage works on the simple principle of having a platform affixed to a pulley system, allowing you to stack said platform with stuff and pull it up, up and out of sight, clearing the floor area beneath it.
- This might seem to be a solution that’s only suitable for things you don’t use all that often, but many people use them to store items they use every day.
- Instead of cluttering up your lawn with a garden shed, you can just arrange your lawnmower and gardening tool shelf on a platform, which, despite its rather ponderous weight, can be easily hidden from view by anyone with the strength of a small child, given the leverage provided by the device’s winding reel.
Cantilevered Shelving
Alternatively, that old staple of garage storage systems, shelving, is never to be underestimated for the cheap and potentially very effective means of storage it can provide. Cantilevered shelving tends to be the strongest and most effective, though its construction is a little too detailed to go into here - speak to the carpenter at your local hardware store for instructions on how to build these onto your wall.
Garage Storage Systems Safety
It’s really ideal that such shelving be affixed to your wall, and not be part of a free-standing shelving unit. The thing about having a free-standing unit, especially if you plan to make it yourself (or if you have a garage with an uneven floor) is that it will be prone to fall over, especially if a little kid or a cat decides to climb up the shelves. The ideal home storage unit should be strong enough for you, an adult, to climb up - otherwise it simply represents the introduction of another safety hazard into your home.
The HandiWall System
Of all recent innovations on the theme of garage storage systems, one of the most elegant, attractive and eminently functional garage storage ideas of the past decade is the HandiWall system.
- It is a slat system designed to be secured flush against your wall.
- The system comes pre-packaged with hooks, bins, baskets and other convenient racking accessories that allow you to have all of your tools, home repair and maintenance supplies stacked out of the way
- This is done within easy visibility, ideal when you want to patch a leak or tighten a bolt without the hassle of scrounging through the disorderly mess of a tool box.
The plethora of garage storage systems out there is impressive, but using these three systems should be sufficient to clear up just about any mess in existence. The only addition I’d recommend over and above these would be that of metal storage cabinets on wheels, which allow you to easily rearrange the contents of your garage without straining your back, a crucial feature if you’re using your garage as a storage area for your business. The ideal cabinet would be aluminum, given its relative lightness, unless you intend to put it under very heavy loads, in which case I’d recommend stainless steel.
