6 Garage Shelving Ideas to Keep Everything Neat and Tidy

Garages often become catchall spaces for extraneous items in your home, but these shelving ideas help create organized solutions.

If you use your garage as a storage space, you likely know the challenges of keeping your items organized in this large, empty box of a room. Stacking items on the floor only goes so far and is generally not a great way to organize your belongings since it's hard to see and access what you have. However, an easy way to create an effective organization system in your garage is to add shelving where you can—even from the ceiling! We spoke with organization experts about some of their favorite garage shelving ideas that will keep this space neat, tidy, and functional.

Meet Our Expert

• Anna Bauer, organizing expert and owner of Sorted by Anna

• Mindy Godding, organizing expert and owner of Abundance Organizing

Related: How to Clean Your Garage and Get the Most Out of This Space

Metal Shelving Racks

Both professional organizers we spoke to agree—free-standing metal shelving racks are the easiest solution when thinking about shelving for your garage. "We love using metal shelving racks in garages due to their durability, adjustable shelves, and sturdiness to hold heavy garage items," says Anna Bauer, owner of Sorted by Anna. If you go this route, be sure to add heavy-duty casters to the base so that you can easily roll and move the shelves around when needed, notes Mindy Godding, owner of Abundance Organizing.

Ceiling Mounted Overhead Racks

Don't forget to look up—your garage ceiling offers the perfect unused space to store items. "One storage space that people often overlook in a garage is the empty area between the raised garage door and the ceiling," Godding says. "These spaces are great for long-term or seasonal storage—items that do not need to be accessed frequently." Installing ceiling-mounted overhead racks keeps those items off the floor while also freeing up valuable ground-level shelving space, says Godding.

Floating Shelves

If you'd rather not have freestanding shelves, try installing sturdy, well-mounted floating shelves to the garage walls, as far up the wall as you can go. You'll also have the flexibility to add work benches or cabinets under your wall shelving, allowing you even more storage space.

Related: 7 Garage Color Ideas That Will Elevate This Utilitarian Space

Adjustable Track Shelving

Generally a bit more expensive than floating shelves or freestanding shelving racks, vertical adjustable track shelving allows you to reposition shelves whenever you need to as your storage and organization needs change. It's the perfect solution for, say, storing seasonal items and swapping things out that have different space needs.

Freestanding Cabinets

If you'd rather not look at your belongings, opt for freestanding, closed cabinet shelving. This way, your garage will be both functionally organized as well as aesthetically pleasing, keeping items behind closed doors.

Related: How to Organize the Most-Used Rooms in Your Home—and Keep Them Organized

Modular Wall-Hanging System

Another professional favorite, incorporate a customizable modular wall hanging system into your garage—both pros suggest The Container Store's Elfa System. "What we love about it is that it’s wall-hanging, so you save space within the footprint of the garage, opening up more room for a vehicle; it’s modular, so you can fully maximize all of the available space; it’s customizable, so you can add any components that you need depending on the types of items you are trying to store; and it’s quick and easy to install," says Godding. Baur also notes that using this type of system makes it easy to create designated zones for things like sports, gardening, or outdoor activities.

Related: 10 Tips for Organizing the Messiest Spots in Your Home—According to Martha

Read the original article on Martha Stewart.