Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2005

 

Organization adds room to your garage

Parking your car outside your garage lately? Or maybe you have a two-car garage, but can only get one car in. With proper organization, you would be surprised how much stuff you can get into your garage and still have plenty of room for your car. After getting the clutter cleared, you’ll never again worry about running over your bike or scratching the doors on a poorly placed ladder.

Husky organization expert Jay Devereux offers tips to help you organize your garage, use space you probably didn’t know you had, and make the most of your work time.

• Clear the floor. Leave nothing on the ground that can be stored in a cabinet or box or hung on a vertical surface. A variety of storage cabinets are available at home centers to keep toys and supplies out of the way.

• Store or hang every tool. Husky makes a variety of locking, rolling tool cabinets to keep mechanics tools and power tools organized and safe. Wheels make maneuvering easy, and drawers allow you to efficiently organize tools by classification. Less time spent searching for tools is more time spent using them on your car, trailer or boat.

• Use that peg board. If you don’t have a lot of tools, you can store them on hooks on a peg board. Devereux recommends white peg boards for easier cleaning and higher visibility. Also, tools stand out better on white peg boards, especially for spouses who don’t spend as much time in there as you do. Hang peg boards in an accessible, easy to reach spot, as close to your work area as possible. But don’t put a peg board near a window or the garage door because exposure to moisture is bad for tools.

• The hookup. Use the space high on walls and over your head for storage of things that you use infrequently. A ladder can be hung on hooks, and the Husky HangAlls straps can hold up to 300 pounds, allowing you to hang almost anything high on a wall. Usually, you’ll find wasted space above your car that can be perfect for hanging things, like a ladder. Secure two heavy duty hooks in a rafter in your ceiling, hang rope from the hook and suspend the ladder from straps at a level where you can reach comfortably but is out of the reach of children.

• Pack it up. Totes and toolboxes are great for organizing tools and make it easy to carry them from the garage to a remote work site. Metal and synthetic material totes organize your tools and allow for easy transport. The Husky Heavy-Duty Pro Tool Bag, made of water resistant SpunTuff material, is handy to have in the garage when you need to grab and go with your tools.

• Wrap and stack. Use socket rails or sticks to put sockets in order. Not only does this allow you to grab a range of sockets for the job site, it also keeps track of the sockets.

• Grow the team. Sick of sharing the garage with tricycles and sporting goods? Get the family involved by designating a corner of the garage just for these things. Kids need to be able to access their toys and participate in keeping their corner organized.

One more thing. safety glasses or goggles and gloves are always good to have on hand. Make sure you’ve got the right glove for the job. Yard work gloves are different from mechanics gloves and each has a place in your garage.

Organizing your garage will free up a lot of unknown space, return your garage to its original purpose and give you back your sacred ground. Check out Husky mechanics tools and storage pieces at The Home Depot nearest you, or visit www.homedepot.com.

— ARA Content