I have a normal size two car garage and it is always a mess.

It does not help that I have lots of wood working and metal working tools.

What tricks do people have for keeping thinks organized?

I don't care if it looks neat but I want my garage to be functional.

John

cabinets with doors to keep all the dust out
Rolling equipment (get the table saw and large tools on wheels)
Lots of closed storage to put everything behind closed doors makes it easy to hide the mess.

Rich

This is a thread that cries out for pictures. I will try to take a couple pictures of my mess of a garage this evening. In short, I am in John's predicament, though my clutter is caused by other stuff, not just car and tools.

Skip

Sounds just like mine. If you can figure it out, let me know.

People ask how I got the 914 in there. I told em, i just opened the door, put the bumper against the first thing, and kept hittin' the gas till it fit.

Not really a stretch...

Shelves collect things, cabinets store things worth saving. (be ruthless with storage selection)

I'm with Rich.
Also, one has to discipline ones self to leaving time for clean up after a work session. 30-45 minutes is usually enough. Even a large shop can go to hell if left to it's own devices.

There is no silver bullet

...so, this is like a AA meeting?

We CAN share our awful shop pictures and they will stay under 914world/client privilege?

No way, if my pictures got out they would have me filmed and shown in that damn "Hoarders" show.

Nice try

Good luck.

John, I have a smaller garage than you - just a 1-car

1. I bought a 4 post lift, so I can get a car up in the air & out of the way

2. Big Ass Snap-On box to keep all my tools

3. Storage area above the garage

4. Cabinets

5. locklid Totes

what, yearly cleaning doesnt cut it?
I am talking yearly with a dumpster....ruthless use of the dumpster.

Putting doors up on the shelves this year...just to much clutter.
Rich

Plastic milk cartons stack well and can be moved easily with a hand truck.

Maximize wall space with cupboards and narrow shelves.

Get max use of corners - great for a couple of stacks of milk cartons.

Collapsible step stool helps make high storage easily accessible (in my case, that's anything over 6' )

Wheels - anything you can put on wheels is a plus

Get a lift; two post, four post, scissor, it doesn't matter. It creates an inviolate footprint that you build around.

Don't be like this guy :

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TC,

Your single car is about as big as my 2 car garage...

Im going to be following this thread.... I need a lot of work to organize all the crap I have in my garage (Especially while doing paint an bodywork, where I need a clean work area...)

I have a large countertop in my garage and cabinets underneath. I have a rolling large 4 drawer cabinet thing that I keep my bodyshop tools in and keep it in the car area of the garage..
I think the best thing to do is to go UP with storage.

rafters.

I hang things on the walls.
I as well have a standard 2 car garage and somehow have been able to fit 2 teeners, a project drivetrain, an MC lift w/vintage race bike, Stainless build table, Work bench w/vise, Press, blast cab, Parts washer, sm Rollaway w/grinder & drill press.. and a BUNCH of flip top containers of parts.
Like mentioned before you gotta take time to keep it clean & organized otherwise you cant even walk around!

Biggest improvement for me was the huge roll around tool box I bought at HF, then added the side cab on it.

I just have lennies914 come over and guilt me into cleaning it up!!

This is the neat side of my garage. The other has workbenches piled with junk.

I think the idea of cabinets with doors would help make it look neater.

I also want to have somewhere to put up cool posters and display stuff.

You could always put pictures on the cabinet doors.

I have zero wall space right now, it is all shelving or stuff hung from the walls.

John

Click to view attachmentA basement! I cannot keep my garage clean at all so I store everything in the basement. Sux when it comes time to look for something though.

Ya mean like this

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I'm impressed with your parallel parking skilz.

looks like dan roots garage... well the way he packs cars in and still has room to work on them

The dent in the photo is from the rear bumper tits on the 914, so I am not that good at parking.


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Not a bad problem to have. Too many Porsches

John,
Here is a picture of my garage. I built a rolling welding cart and tool bx cart. I store stuff to the ceiling too.

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I would add some doors to your shelves. I made some out of cheap 1/8" masonite. Look better and keeps the dust out. I made this box and put a door on it w/o a frame.

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This is an old picture but you can see the masonite I used everywhere. The tall cabinate on the left is really metal shelves that I cover with masonite.

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I hung two targa tops and my hoods from the ceiling using ~3" nylon strapping screwed into the ceiling joists.

Stu

Just be careful. 99% of rafters aren't designed to carry much of a load on the bottom.

That is a great idea because I want to put posters or photos on the anyway.

It would be nice to keep that fine grinding dust that gets everywhere off my good stuff.

I have thinking I will need to mop out my garage to really get rid of the fine dust. It never seems to all go away with vacuuming.

Seems like big tool boxes are also popular. I have only one fairly small roll aound right now.

John

Excellent idea. My wife pretty much cleaned out the shelving at the Crate & Barrel she worked at when the store closed. I have a ton of shelving waiting to install. (Her brother, our contractor, is still finishing off structural repairs to the garage.)

Skip

Tough Box 27 Gallon heavy duty totes are great, $12 each at Home Depot. They are large black fiber reinforced plastic storage tubs, usually with yellow lids. They claim 300+ lbs capacity each. I used to store all my 914 parts, including tranny's, in them, stacked 3-5 high with no tilting or sagging. Have seen them recently at Walmart and Home Depot. You could possibly put them on moving dollies, provided that the load is balanced.

Regarding wall space, what about using sliding panels made from hollow core doors in front of your shelves?

I like pegboard. Some pics of my last garage

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John, if you have a Habitat for Humanity thrift store in your area ( we have one here & I know there is one in Vero), Builders & Remodelers will bring in old Kitchen Cabinets to donate.

during one round of organizing and de-junking my garage, i decided to just buy a storage shed for the backyard. now I have two disorganized spaces instead of one.

some of the posted ideas may just help me out...

Man you guys think its hard to keep your garage clean with a 914, try a big fat domestic car in there too...

Yeah I agree with the cabinets and shelving, use all of your wall space, or hang off the roof. When I moved into my house the garage was packed with junk, but once I got the cabinets in and put stuff away I just had a 2' perimeter around the garage that was taken but the rest was free for cars...

I have a 25x9 Shed & I still don't have enough space

I also have a Trailer full of Parts

"Trailer full of parts"
Ahhgh! BTDT (still DOING it!)
My race car trailer is storage for my hardwood collections (20 yrs worth)
(I just moved) two car garage, only one 914 in it
{I have two and a half)((Kar=B=Q))

will take picture when Finally settle in (yeah right

I've always got at least 5 repair projects going (car, truck, house, pool, appliance, etc.) The best thing I can do is keed a lot of paper box lids around. I use those to keep some degree of seperation between projects. Tools & parts for the truck in box tops by the truck. Tools & parts for the teener or BMW likewise. Sometimes the boxes get stacked up, but at least not blended.

I also have picked up old kitchen cabinets to put in a garage...

hi,
if you are looking for garage improvement, here is the place to go

http://www.garagejournal.com

and this is the garage to see

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthr...12-Gauge+Garage

anyway, this forum has given me me lot of inspiration for my own garage.

TOM