The Lazy Man's Guide to Garage Storage

Let's face it, not everybody has the desire, time or energy to set up a real nice and organized garage storage system in their garage or shop. Any super organized system is going to cost some money; granted, some are very affordable and others are more expensive. And they all allow you to put everything you have in it's own special little place. But let's face it, some people just don't want to go to all that trouble! I had a neighbor once who had his own garage storage solutions, I studied it a bit, asked him some questions to help me solve some of the mystery behind his thinking, and came up with some basic guidelines to what he does. I call his system The Lazy Man's Guide to Garage Storage, and here are some basics in a nutshell.

1. Put everything in a box. Now, apple and orange boxes from the grocery store work best. They have lids, the sizes are uniform, and they are free. But that is the organizational side of me speaking. My neighbor did have some of these boxes, but overall didn't want to go to the trouble to check at the grocery store for boxes (remember, the key word is lazy). So he had boxes of all shapes and sizes, mostly from packages he had received, or boxes that stuff had come in that he had purchased. Some had lids, but most had flaps or were just kept open (easier to see inside). Shoe boxes seem like they would be too small to do any good, but I have noticed that the lazy man has a lot of shoe boxes in his garage - plus he seems to know what is in them! They seem to work great for small items. One box will have a bunch of nails, another one various drill bits, another one full of rags. Labeling all boxes is optional, usually done only if a pen happens to be handy.
   


2. Group like boxes together. You can do this neatly, but the truly lazy man's way is to just toss the boxes in the corner. In one corner can go all the kid's stuff and old keepsake boxes that you almost never get into, but you can't bear to throw the stuff away. Along one wall, boxes full of Christmas and other holiday decorations. Then another pile for camping and sporting gear. If the lazy man is lucky, his garage has shelves in them that can be used for some of the piles (these shelves existed when he moved in). The last main pile will be the man's stuff, things like tools, and though it may look cluttered, he can find anything he needs.
   


3. Acquire some type of work surface. Besides watching TV every night, and as many games as possible on the weekend, the lazy man does get an itchin' to do something at times (maybe due to his wife's nagging), and that usually means tinkering around with something. This requires a work surface of some kind. But no fancy work benches for this guy in his garage storage system! Why spend the money when you can just set up of a couple of saw horses with an old door on top, or scrounge up an old table that a friend or neighbor was about to donate to the dump or local charity store. If the table is too low to tinker effectively, some wood or concrete blocks work great to add a bit of height. On top of the table is often a collection of the aforementioned shoe boxes. Though cluttered, it is easy to push everything aside and do whatever needs to be done.
   

Well, that is about it for The Lazy Man's Guide to Garage Storage. It may not work for everybody, especially if you like your stuff super organized, but you would be surprised by how many people use a garage storage system similar to this keep their garage organized!