I think the garage is one of the easiest places for clutter to accumulate. We are spoiled by having an extended garage, but this also makes it a magnet for stuff. We piled lots of things in this extra space while we were moving and unpacking, but once we got our things situated, Tom was itching to create a workshop space for his tools.

He’s a pretty handy guy, and wasted no time researching instructions for building a workbench. In one weekend, with a little help from his dad, he built himself a super-sturdy bench! And I mean sturdy! This thing is solid – I can’t budge it an inch, even pushing against it with all my weight! Tom’s tools have made themselves right at home:

Next, we turned our attention to the shovels, rakes, and brooms. We got a ridiculous amount of yard tools for Christmas last year. For some reason, when our families heard we were moving, they all ran out and bought us yard tools! So we really needed a good way to organize them and get them off the floor of the garage. We researched a few different organizing systems online and at a few home improvement stores, but we weren’t impressed with what we found. They either seemed too flimsy to do the job or were outrageously expensive. So Tom tapped into his engineering instincts and came up with his own simple plan – a few 1′ x 3′ ft. boards and a bunch of U-shaped utility hooks.  And voila! A simple hanging system for our shovels, rakes, and more!

Our garage could still use some shelving for gardening supplies, but I think things are off to a pretty good start!

Are you struggling with garage clutter? Or have you conquered it with a savvy system?