Garage Storage Solutions Keep Dad Happy and Sane

Does this sound familiar? “Can someone please go to the garage and get me a hammer and a phillips screwdriver?” “Sure, where are they?” “They should be right there on the shelf.” These are the hopeful pleas that escapes your quivering lips. You know that you own a hammer. You know you own a screwdriver. And, you know they are both in the garage. What seems to be a continuing mystery is where these things live. Of course, if everyone else in the family would just be as conscientious as you are about putting things where they belong, all this useless frustration about where things are could be avoided. Argh!

I know that some sort of garage storage solutions would help me out of this nightmare, and I’m off to a good start. Last summer I even built some shelves. These are great for Christmas boxes, a little food storage, some keepsake boxes, and the odd loose item or two. But what to do with the bikes, winter tires, lumber, that third row car seat I hardly ever use, and all the miscellaneous items that seem to clutter up the place? It turns out, there are actually lot of options when it comes to garage storage solutions and I just wanted to share some of what I found.

One of my personal favorites are garage storage solutions that use that empty space overhead. For example, did you know that you can get racks and bins that are made especially for the space overhead. Yep, you can solve your storage problems with some really cool garage organizers like the ones made by Tote Trac. They have these specialty racks that allow you to store skis, snowboards, luggage, blankets, kid’s stuff, sport balls or whatever. They come in different sizes and configurations. My favorite is their 6 track family pack system. It is fairly priced at around $40 - 60 and allows you to hang the tracks from ceiling or wall joists. In closets, the garage, or wherever. The bins hang from the tracks and are easily accessible. They can be hung on drywall and hold up to 400 pounds. The construction is quality white powder coated steel and can easily be installed by one person. It even has hooks allowing you to hang your bike. Anything to get stuff off the floor!

Another one of the garage storage solutions that is really good is made by MonsterRax. They make overhead storage racks that are are an ideal storage system. Their racks are made out of 14 gauge steel frames and can hold up to 500 pounds. These are boltless and can be adjusted for how far down from the ceiling you want the heavy duty wire decking. Pretty heavy duty item that is well-made and completely modular.

And last but not least, there’s the Prostor Heavy lift overhead garage storage solutions made by Racor. No discussion of garage organizers would be complete without a mention of this ingenious product. It basically allows you to load items onto a platform and lift it up to the ceiling (up to 12 feet high) without having to use a ladder. It has a 250 pound capacity so you can really store a lot of things. It includes a 4x4 platform, winding axle, steel support beams, all necessary mounting hardware, and sells for under $200.

Maybe one of these garage storage solutions will help you. I am excited about getting some of these for my garage. I guess I’ll plan out exactly what to get over lunch. Now where did I put my keys?