Whether your summertime passion is pool parties, gardening or just enjoying being out in the warm sunshine, a well-organized garage can help you and your family transition from inside to out-the-door in no time with minimal stress.
Garages often become a place for a pileup of outdoor gear. But when you want to head outside to enjoy a beautiful summer day, you don’t want to waste time searching for your summertime essentials in a chaotic space. Here are a few simple organizing tips to help get your garage ready for summer:
- Put away off-season gear. Don’t crowd your garage with items you will not be using in the summer. Pack away the skis, sleds, snow boots and shovels to make room for sandals, sunshades, bicycles and pool/beach gear! As the seasons begin to shift, you can slowly introduce transitional items back into the space.
- Organize essentials based on what you do most frequently. If you are a family of beachgoers, think of what everyone needs to take to the beach and have those items ready to go. For example, you could set up a shelf or hooks to hold a beach bag for each family member that contains essentials such as sunscreen, a beach towel, flip flops and other personal items. For a family of hikers, each person could have a cubby, shelf or basket to hold items such as bug spray, trail maps, granola bars and other essentials. The same can be done for enthusiasts of gardening or summer sports.
- A calm arrival is important too. Designate space in the garage for items that will be brought back into your house at the end of the day. For example, you can set up an area with hooks for hanging wet towels from the beach or backyard pool, a shelf or table to set down your garden harvest, a boot tray or heavy duty mat for slipping off muddy hiking shoes, a basket for depositing extra tennis balls, batting gloves and other sports accessories.
- Make the best use of your space. Some garages serve as the primary entryway into a home for family members. Make sure it feels welcoming and uncluttered. One good strategy for keeping the area tidy is to use shelving with decorative baskets to hold seasonal essentials such as sunscreen, pool accessories, extra towels, etc. These same baskets can be filled with gloves, hats and scarves in the wintertime. A bench in the area doubles as a mudroom and provides a place to land and to remove or put on shoes. A bench with hidden storage under a hinged lid or underseat baskets is a great way to stow extra sports gear, shoes, towels and more. Locker-type storage helps keep things out-of-sight for an even tidier look.
- Make sure everyone understands how to use the space. Once you have everything organized – winter items stowed away, hooks installed for wet towels, baskets for sunscreen and bug sprays, bins for pool toys or gardening gear – make sure everyone who uses the garage knows where to find their summertime essentials and, importantly, knows where to return items at the end of the day. This will help ensure smooth exits and entries for everyone for the entire season!
The summer season is a time for outdoors fun and leisure. An organized garage can help you and your family avoid chaotic and complicated packing up before heading outdoors and instead enjoy your summer activities with ease and with minimal delay!
