7 Steps to Help Organize Your Garage

Sweep away dirt and use a garden hose or power washer to attack grime, salt and oil stains, making sure to cover any electrical outlets first. Consider rolling on a fresh coat of concrete paint or sealer for extra protection. Because icy or wet garage floors can be a slipping hazard, lay down durable rubberized floor mats in high-traffic areas.

3. Prepare summer equipment for winter storage

Forget shoving items to the back of your garage without first cleaning them and getting them ready to spend the winter in storage, says Lipford.

"Do not succumb to the laziness of saying, ‘I'll take care of it next spring',” warns Lipford. “If you really want to be a proactive homeowner, then you should completely drain the gas out of every combustible engine you have, and dispose of it properly, or put a fuel stabilizer in."

Over the winter, the condensation inside a gas tank can damage gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers, he adds. And before storing that hardworking mower, flip it upside down to take a look.

"Make sure that blade is good and sharp, so it's ready for you in the spring,” he says. “Many times, you'll have an accumulation of grass clippings under the deck of a lawn mower, and that'll lead to a lot of rust.”

Extend the life of garden tools, wheelbarrows and patio furniture by hosing them down. Sharpen and lubricate hedge trimers and pruners, and drain your pressure-washer reservoir and hoses so they don't freeze and crack during winter. Then, clean and sharpen your snow shovels and take the snow blower in for a professional tune-up.

Today's Homeowner

4. Rotate seasonal items

Store gardening tools and summer sports equipment toward the back of the garage, and bring shovels, snow brushes and skis toward the front. “If you do a little bit of zoning, it's much easier to manage and see what you have so you're not buying duplicates,” Lipford says.

And if that first snowstorm always takes you by surprise, Lipford has a simple solution: A five-gallon bucket with a lid. “Put everything in there — deicer, rock salt, sand — so it's at your fingertips when you need it,” he says.

5. Reclaim floor space by looking up

Imagine everything lying in the driveway up on the wall, suggests Lipford. Hanging pegboards or slat wall panels with hooks, bins and baskets makes it easier to store (and find) everything that tends to get lost in the jumble. “Use any type of shelving to get things up off the floor, and any type of rack – whether it's homemade or purchased at the home center – to hang rakes, shovels and weed eaters,” he says.

Don't overlook the ceiling: Overhead racks are ideal for heavy-duty storage like tires and other bulky or seldom-used items like holiday decorations and coolers.

6. Add affordable DIY organizing solutions

You don't need fancy systems to keep your garage neat.

"Many garages don't have finished walls, so it's very easy to nail a short piece of wood onto a stud to create a little bracket for a shelf,” he says. “Even if you have finished walls, you can nail or screw something to put inexpensive hooks or larger nails on for hanging shovels or rakes.”

You can also repurpose household items: A hanging shoe bag can store spray paint cans and lubricants, while standard coat hooks can corral rolls of tape.

"Plastic gallon coffee cans have very large openings and they're stackable, so you can put anything from nails and screws to light bulbs in them,” adds Lipford, who also suggests installing a space-saving fold-down workbench. “Attach it with brackets that fold down out of your way, and when you're ready to do a project, you simply pull it up and it locks into place.”

7. Give your garage door some love, too

Most people neglect their garage door, says Lipford, who suggests applying lithium grease to all moving parts, and then opening and closing it a few times so the grease can penetrate.

Check weather stripping around the door's perimeter for wear. Lipford advises gluing down a vinyl threshold directly under the garage door with construction adhesive.

"You can drive your car in and out on it, and it seals everything up,” says Lipford, who further insulated his garage door by gluing two-inch foam sheets to the inside sections.