The Best Shelving Ideas to Organize Your Garage

When you talk to homebuyers, one of the items topping their list of desirable characteristics in a property is garage storage. Over the years, you accumulate many things that create a cluttered mess when they pile up. You could embrace minimalism, but how realistic is that lifestyle with 2.5 kids and a few furry friends? 

Your garage probably offers ample room to stash your belongings while still appearing tidy. The trick is finding the appropriate combination of storage solutions to fit your square footage, needs, and budget. The 12 shelving ideas below will help you organize your garage while taking stock of what you own. 

1. Boltless Steel

The beauty part of garage storage is that you don’t need exclusive designs—only useful items that get the organizing job done. Boltless steel offers an economical choice that also protects your skin from protruding objects that can cut a wayward calf. 

These rack styles make the ideal choice if you rent your home because you don’t need to mount them to the wall or floor. If you can drill into a stud, you can increase the stability. It comes in handy if your 2-year-old likes to play “George of the Jungle” while you swap out your car’s radiator.  

Buy Red/Black Steel 5-Shelf Unit: $179 at the Home Depot. 

2. Hanging Wall Racks

Are your rakes, hoes, and other handled lawn tools all stacked a-clutter in a corner? This arrangement leaves you reaching through inevitable cobwebs to grab your roto-tiller. Plus, a tangle can cause a crash and an ear-splitting bang. Where’s the aspirin for that headache?

Save yourself the painkillers with a set of hanging wall racks. You can organize everything from your snow shovel to your pick for digging rocks out of your backyard. 

Buy Wallmaster 15-PCS Wall-Mounted Removable Rack Organizer: $69.99 at Amazon. 

3. Sports Storage

You live to hit the links, your 11-year-old dreams of becoming the next Mia Hamm, and your youngest shows interest in pee-wee football. Where can you stash all that gear? You don’t want to leave it out in the open. If you do, you could become a target for thieves next time you don’t close your garage door while raking fall leaves. 

You can find a quality storage solution custom-built to hold any equipment. It doesn’t matter if you prefer field hockey or cross-country skiing. 

Buy Heavy-Duty Golf Storage: $71.99 at The Container Store.

4. Bold Cabinetry

Who said cabinetry only belonged in the kitchen? Garage versions give you a place to secure valuables away from watchful eyes. If you have littles in the home, it provides a place to stash holiday gifts, too. You can find some complete with counter space that illuminates with the help of under-mounted LED lights. Hello, Santa’s workshop. 

Buy Bold Series 12-PCS Complete Storage System: $1,899.99 at Wayfair.

5. Tool Storage

If you’re a regular Mr. or Ms. Fixit, you need a place to stash your hammer and screwdrivers. Find an appropriate spot for every ratchet and wrench with this five-drawer rolling tool chest. You can slide it around your epoxied floor with ease — handy when you’re working on a vehicle. 

Buy 5-Drawer Rolling Tool Chest: $189.99 at Walmart.

6. Overhead Storage

Did you think that you couldn’t fit one more thing in your garage with your behemoth of a family truckster minivan? Have you tried looking up? You can attach suspended shelves to your ceiling to hold storage bins and seldom-used small appliances. 

Buy SafeRacks Overhead Garage Storage Rack and Accessories Kit: $219.99 at Costco. 

7. Rail Storage

Rail storage is pegboard’s adult stepchild. Instead of using metal, this system features plastic shelves and boxes that snap onto a pre-mounted rail to meet your storage needs. The best part is, you can add on to the system whenever you run short on space. 

Buy Rubbermaid FastTrack Rail Blox Shelf: $17.79 at Menards. 

8. Workbench Storage 

You need a place to work on your better birdhouse design, but you must also stow your tools. What to do? Why not combine the two with a workbench that includes storage shelves for organizing all your implements—and still have room for that instruction manual you never bother to read? 

Buy 90164 Custom Workbench and Shelving Storage System: $89.99 at Amazon

9. Mounted Utility Cabinets

If you don’t want to go wall-to-wall with your cabinets due to needing space for your lawnmower and ATV, you can mount a smaller unit. Such accessories make the ideal place to store small firearms if you include a padlock to keep little fingers away. 

Buy Suncast Wall Mounted Utility Storage Cabinet: $129 at Target.

10. Pegboard

There’s nothing like the convenience of old-fashioned pegboards. You can adjust the size to hang nearly any implement, from the smallest garden trowel to a full-sized push broom. Are you always worried your new teen driver will wipe out your bicycle when they arrive home? Mount it on the wall, too, to avoid damage. 

Buy Crawford Zinc Plated Pegboard Organizer Kit: $19.99 at Ace Hardware

11. The Cart and Go 

Sometimes, you want portable storage so you won’t have to lug bags of fertilizer and seed from the front to your backyard using muscle power. Spare your lower back the strain with a folding cart on wheels that lets you haul your stash anywhere on your property over rough terrain. 

Buy Staples 30-Quart Expandable Folding Crate on Wheels: $29.49 at Staples. 

12. The Combination Approach 

You don’t have to resign yourself to a single storage solution. A combination center holds everything you need with a variety of spaces. Stash anything from tiny nuts and bolts to full-sized leaf blowers in this multipurpose unit. 

Buy Bror Storage Combo: $586.99 at Ikea. 

Organize Your Garage with the Best Shelving Ideas for Your Needs

When you open your garage door, you want to enhance the curb appeal of your home. Impress passersby with a well-organized space by following our garage shelving ideas.