HOW TO ORGANISE AND MODERNISE YOUR GARAGE!
Your garage isn't always on the top of your mind when it comes to organization. But in many cases, it is the first thing you notice when you come home. There are many ways to organize and modernize a garage, so we asked our Better Call agents which affordable (and even free) methods they use to take their garage from cluttered to classy:
- 1. Start off with a good clean
It really can be that simple. Remove everything you can from the garage, grab your broom followed by the mop and start by cleaning the floor. If you have any worktops in your garage, wipe them off with a damp cloth.
- 2. Sort out your nuts
No, we're not talking about seeing your doctor. Empty coffee jars are perfect for larger items like screws and bolts while smaller jam jars are ideal for nuts, O-rings and other paraphernalia.
- 3. Recondition your worktops
It doesn't even need to be said, but worktops take a lot of abuse. Dings from hammers and screwdrivers, burn marks from heat guns and soldering irons. If you have a wooden worktop, start with a coarse sandpaper and work your way up to a fine grit. This can be done by hand, but using a sander will save you a lot of time and energy. The idea behind this is to remove scratches, marks and stains, making the worktop look like new again. If you have a metal worktop you can follow the same process followed by a few coats of paint. If your worktop is made of something other than wood or metal, vinyl wrap is the way to go. It is softer so it can damage more easily, but it is also very easy and cheap to replace.
- 4. Packing shelves
We realise space is at a premium in many garages, but hear us out. Many floor standing shelves can be fixed to walls if you plan your placement well, allowing you to still open your car's door. There are various depth shelves available, with different finishes to suit your style. Bonus points if you demarcate and label sections of the shelves, so that everything has its specific place.
- 5. Tools pegboard
There are two types of people. Toolbox users and people who don't. These pegboards are ideal for the latter. It allows you to hang the tools on the wall, allowing for quick and easy access while also freeing up plenty of space on your worktops. As with the packing shelves, it helps a lot if you take a permanent marker and trace the outline of the tool on the pegboard. This will save you a lot of time when you need to put the tool back before grabbing the next one.
- 6. LED lights
Not only will LED lights add a lot more light to your garage, they are also vastly more efficient than incandescent bulbs. You can take this a step further by adding some inexpensive LED strip lighting behind countertops to create some modern mood lighting.
- 7. Paint the walls
This one is a bit more time consuming, because depending on what surface finish your garage is, you are facing a fair bit of prep. A fresh coat of paint or even a different colour, will transform your garage. Colour choice should tie in with the rest of the house, but in a nutshell, lighter colours will make the garage feel larger, while darker colours will make it feel more dramatic and hide dirt better.
- 8. Epoxy coat the floor
We are now venturing more into the styling realm, rather than organization. Epoxy coated floors are all the rage at the moment, with various colours and finishes available. You can have a plain white, grey or black for example, or they can even add some metallic flake to make the floor pop. It is quite simple to apply, as long as your floor is clean. You can have this done professionally, but D.I.Y. kits are available.
