Yahoo Lifestyle Your garage sorted
Many garages are an example of wasted space and in order to find anything useful you have to dig your way through a mountain of clutter. But it doesn’t have to be this way. First, toss everything you don’t need into a skip bin, sell off any scrap metal to a recycler and paint your garage from floor-to-ceiling in a bright colour.
Next, set up a work station or two and create efficient storage systems using every available horizontal and vertical surface. Steel mesh, cabinets, bins, jars and cans will soon have you and your garage sorted for less money than you might think.
To use metal rubbish bins as mobile storage, simply attach castors. Then create labelling for the bins and any other storage object you can’t see into. Simply invest in a roll of black self-adhesive film, like Nylex Cover-it or ConTact, and cut out large letters.
Before you set up your new storage systems, make the garage a place where you want to be. Lighten ceilings or woodwork with a colour like Dulux Bleaches and opt for bold Sunshine Surprise for the walls. Grey and black details complete the scheme.
RELATED: Declutter your garage in 10 easy steps
Coat your concrete floor with a non-slip, stain-resistant, terrazzo-look finish, which comes in kit form. Basically, you prepare and etch the surface, mix an activator into a base coat and roll it on. Then, sprinkle with decorative flakes and wait for it to dry before applying a clear base.
Free-standing, rust-resistant and available in many configurations, you’ll love the convenience of galvanised metal shelving and cabinets. They can store a mountain of different things – brooms, mops, garden and pool-cleaning products and equipment, even documents in archive boxes.
Almost every garage has an old fridge – some work, some don’t. Whether you use yours to keep food, or as spare storage, it deserves a makeover. First clean up the fridge so it’s free of rust. Then mask off the chrome hardware and etch the surface, before spraying it a glossy black.
Discarded and disused bookcases and metal racks, repainted to match your garage’s colour scheme, are terrific for storage. The shelves are a good height for aerosol cans, cables and large liquid containers. You can stash frequently used items on the lower shelves so they are easy to access.
RELATED: How to store more in your garage
Clearing-out tips
Call in favours from your friends, hire a skip bin and watch your accumulated clutter disappear almost instantly.
If you’ve been hanging on to old paint in the vain hope you may use it again some day, it’s time to toss it out – responsibly. Putting it in the skip or pouring it down the sink is out of the question. Just pour paint hardener into water-based paint or timber finish, stir and leave to solidify. Wrap the hardened waste in newspaper and bin it. Refer to your local council for disposal of oil-based paints.
Rest a solid-core door – prepped, primed and painted – on stacks of storage crates or a low-level metal cabinet and, hey presto, you have a sturdy workbench ready for service. While you’re at it, sort nuts, bolts, screws and nails into all the mayonnaise, Vegemite and jam jars you have been reluctant to part with.
Use all available surfaces, including often under-utilised ceiling space, to store tools and equipment. Use saddle clips to secure steel mesh to ceiling joists and to battens, pre-fixed to a wall. Watch where you position the ceiling mesh to ensure vehicle access, walkways and the garage door are not impeded in any way.
Make room for a whiteboard so you can keep track of family movements, write shopping lists or make sketches of DIY projects you have planned. A whiteboard with an in-built eraser and marker tray is indispensable, as it ensures these items are always on hand.
A bin rack will sort you out in no time and keep you organised. Available online and from larger hardware stores, the strong polypropylene bins slide out easily and lock in place, ensuring effortless and efficient storage of bits and pieces. Think string, tapes, light bulbs and tools.
