Are there so many things in your garage that threaten to take up space in your car? You can take back control by using the smart organizing strategies we offer here, which have been selected by the best organizing experts in the country. They have calculated the time needed for each project and have recommended which materials can simplify the job. You’ll also find tips for organizing food in a freestanding freezer, often found in a garage.
“The first step is always to review what you have and decide what you no longer need, use or you like it,” says Cary Prince, certified professional organizer and board member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals.
After that, edit without thinking too much. Get rid of everything you haven’t touched in a year: Throw out what isn’t useful to anyone and make plans to sell or donate the rest. You’ll be surprised how much space you can reclaim by finding a place for everything and keeping it in its place.
Overcrowded garage or storage room
– Time required: 1 day
– Items needed: Storage boxes, baskets or shelves, toolbox, hooks and/or shelves
Classify and store
Group storage items into general categories such as hardware and tools, household items, gardening, sports, and holiday decorations. Place smaller items in sturdy, labeled boxes or containers (Weathertight Totes protect from moisture and pests, and stack neatly; $ at The Container Store) and store them on wall racks like the ones from Uline, which come in various configurations ($205 at Uline) .
Organize by size
If you are a craft lover and have many tools a classic multi-drawer wheeled tool chest (example: the Craftsman Tool Cabinet 2000, wheeled, steel, 26.5″ wide x 34″ tall, with 5 drawers, $279 at Lowe’s) will allow you to store them efficiently and have a work table, says Prince, founder of Cary Prince Organizing. Alternatively, you can mount a pegboard (available at home supply stores) on a wall and hang the tools on hooks. Get larger tools like shovels, rakes, and brooms off the floor by hanging them on hooks, or install a tool rack, like the Walmann Wallmann Wall Mounted Tool Organizer ($50 on Amazon), along a side wall.
Park all your RVs
Designates a “parking space” for heavy objects such as snow blowers and lawnmowers. Hang bikes from rafters, or use floor or wall mounts like the Wallmaster Bike Rack ($13 for two on Amazon). Items like sleds, skis, and surfboards are light enough to hang on a side wall along with other sports equipment.
Overflow Chest or Upright Freezer
– Time required: 1 hour
– Items needed: Wire freezer baskets, clear stackable containers, a permanent marker
Take inventory
Empty the freezer and throw away expired foods, then sort what’s left by type: fruits, vegetables, meat, desserts, pizza, etc., recommends Amelia Meena of Appleshine Organization and Design.
Restore strategically
Replace each category in the freezer compartments or shelves accordingly to how often you consume them, taking into account the size of the items. Put things you use regularly, like frozen vegetables or pizza, where you can get to them quickly; lesser-used items (extra bread or cuts of meat) don’t need to be as close at hand.
Repack to compact
“There are a lot of packages that are bigger than necessary,” says Meena, who takes individually wrapped frozen foods – like pizzas, sandwiches – out of their boxes, writes reheating instructions directly on the plastic with a permanent marker and puts them in convenient freezer containers. She also collects the contents of several boxes (“two boxes of chicken nuggets can be opened and repackaged into one box”) and uses resealable bags to freeze leftovers.
Label and date each bag, lay flat to freeze, then stand upright for storage.
Use bins and baskets
For a chest freezer, place stackable clear bins (like the bin set Lock & Lock Easy Essentials Food Storage, 22 Pieces, $35 at Home Depot), labeled across the top, along the bottom. On top of them, put easy-lift freezer storage baskets (like the Design Ideas Freezer Storage Baskets, $9 at The Container Store) so you can easily browse by “category,” says Meena.
Some chest freezers, like the top rated in CR’s tests below, make life easier by including smart storage features like bins and dividers.
Editor’s note: This article was also published in the May issue of 2022 of Consumer Reports magazine.
Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2022, Consumer Reports, Inc.
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works with consumers to create a fair, safe, and healthy world. CR does not endorse products or services and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2022, Consumer Reports, Inc.