Cleaning & Organizing Personal Organizing Garage & Attic Organization

8 Creative Garage Storage Ideas

Written by

Updated 10/02/19

tools hung on a pegboard in garage workshop — Melinda Podor/Getty Images

Is your garage overrun with "stuff?" From bikes tipping over to deflated basketballs and soccer balls hiding in the corner to a floor littered with loose nails, nuts and bolts, it's easy for your garage to become disorganized very quickly. If you can't even fit your car into the garage because of all the clutter, then it's time to get serious about finding some foolproof storage solutions.

First, get rid of the unnecessary clutter–anything that's broken or that you no longer use–if it's in good condition, donate it! Now discover the best ways to store every item in your garage, from bigger items like bikes, shovels, rakes, and folding chairs, to smaller stuff like tools and kids' outdoor toys.

Check out these storage tips for organizing your garage.

01 of 08

Create a Shelving System

From Rookie to Rockstar

Flexible, functional garage shelving is the best storage option for all types of items, like toys, painting supplies, tools and cleaning supplies. You can buy a traditional garage shelving system, which will hold everything from tools to bikes, or you can DIY your own solution with utility shelving and labeled plastic storage containers.

Garage Organization by From Rookie to Rock Star
02 of 08

Use Bungee Cords to Secure Items to the Wall

Designed to Dwell

Is there anything in the world more useful than some bungee cord? You could just toss balls and toys into a bin, but using bungee cords to keep them secure against your garage wall is a much more efficient use of space.

Stud Storage by Designed to Dwell
03 of 08

Mount Your Bikes Onto the Wall

Yellow Brick Home

An easy way to store your bike (or bikes) is with a simple hook. This idea takes advantage of your garage's vertical storage space. It also makes it easy to take down one bike at a time, rather than trying to get one out from the bottom of a bike pile (you know they always topple over on each other).

Wall Ride by Yellow Brick Home
04 of 08

Use Bins for Small Toys and Miscellaneous Items

Domestic Charm

So you've stored your bikes and larger toys but what about all of those smaller toys, like toy trucks, jump ropes, squirt guns, and sidewalk chalk? It's much more difficult to find a home for smaller items in such a vast open space. That's why this storage idea to use labeled buckets or bins makes so much sense. This is such a functional, efficient way to store all kinds of tools and odds and ends in your garage.

Organizing Outside Toys by Domestic Charm

Continue to 5 of 8 below.
05 of 08

Affix a Magnet to Your Hammer to Hold Nails

Dream a Little Bigger

Affixing a magnet to the bottom of a hammer so that you can keep your hammer and nails together is a clever and simple DIY. This is especially useful for when you're mid-project and you don't want to have to root around looking for the nail you need.

Tool Tips for Crafty Chicks by Dream a Little Bigger
06 of 08

Use PVC Pipe to Store Rakes and Brooms

Newly Woodwards

Storing gardening tools, like rakes, and cleaning equipment, like brooms, is a pain. If you don't secure them against a wall, they could end up in a pile on the floor, which is both unsafe and ugly. By securing them to the wall with PVC pipes, they're accessible for when you need them, but out of the way when you don't.

DIY Garden Tool Storage by Newly Woodwards
07 of 08

Install a Slat Wall

A Beautiful Mess

No garage workstation is complete without a pegboard or a slat wall. The grid makes it easier to customize your storage space for what you actually use in your garage, and it makes it easy to find what you're looking for quickly.

Workshop Space Organization by A Beautiful Mess
08 of 08

Hang Metal Folding Chairs

House Organization

Metal folding chairs are the kind of thing that is great to have when you need them (picnics, parties, gatherings of any kind) but are a terrible pain to store. By affixing hooks to the wall of your garage, you save a lot of space in your garage and at the same time keep those pesky chairs out of the way.

Garage Organization by House Organization