It is an honor to be interviewed as an organization expert. No matter the source. And this particular article is one I think you’ll enjoy because it’s all about garage organization. As you know – my absolute favorite space to transform in a home is the garage.

Lydia, the writer of this Domino Magazine article, was so fun to talk with! A couple weeks ago we spent about an hour on the phone talking all things garage organization. She did an incredible job turning our conversation into this article.

She pulled a few images from the Instagram feed – some which I had not seen in a while. Made my heart happy to see them. Especially my beloved garage tool wall.

In the article, among other topics, I also answered her question – what are my top five essential garage products? I wanted to break those down here for you. Her breakdown was short, of course, since it’s a magazine article. But here on the blog I can elaborate.

You’ve heard me say = IT DEPENDS. It depends on what those essential products are – it’s based on the situation we are working with, available space, volume, etc. So this list of five is general. But do agree these are top of the essentials list.

CLEAR BINS

Clear bins like these make it easy to see what is inside, sometimes without the need for a label. I also like that clear bins can be cohesive. So if you have a bunch of random bins that aren’t the same brand, size or colored lid…they will look somewhat coordinated because they are clear. If you have a bunch of random concealed bins of various colors, it can cause a lot of visual clutter.

One of my goals in a garage is to bring some sense of aesthetics to the space. Most families come and go from their garage. Seeing a coordinated garage when you pull in can do wonders for the soul!

WALL-MOUNTED SHELVES

Free-standing shelving sort of sucks, if you ask me. It’s a pain in the a$$ to adjust the shelves, which means you will be less likely to take the time to adjust them. Everything needs to come off, shelves adjusted, and then contents put back.

Who has time for this?

Also, many of these free-standing options are not easy to manipulate. Even me and my team pull hairs out while adjusting.

The idea is to make organization easy for you – not a pain.

I am a huge wall-mounted fan because you can easily adjust shelves and customize a wall / space to fit your contents. Elfa, for example, is in sections which means you can have some shelves spaced more distanced, some closer together, etc.

UTILITY HOOKS

I like using your smaller wall spaces, typically near a door, to hang large gardening tools, brooms, mops, rakes, etc. Anytime we can take advantage of vertical wall space, it’s a success.

You can also use utility tracks to hang bikes, sports bags, mesh bags for balls, ladders and more…as seen in the above image.

PEGBOARD SYSTEM

Similar to the above, using your wall space to hang small tools and go-to items is a great use of space. I love using pegboard or my favorite Omni-wall to create these beautiful systems…

These systems get those small items out of your drawers or from living in bins. It saves space and you can add a little work surface underneath for added function.

OVERHEAD RACKS

If you have space between your garage door and ceiling, overhead racks are a great tool. You can pile on items like memorabilia, holiday or things you aren’t using but one to two times per year.

These can be purchased from Amazon or Home Depot but should definitely be installed by an expert. Or you can locate a company in your area who sells and installs same day…which is the type of vendor I work with for this type of project.

The article also mentions my favorite inexpensive product for keeping those scooters from flopping over, becoming a tripping hazard.

Love this one!

Really proud to have been featured and grateful for the opportunity. Thank you, Domino Magazine! You can read the article here.

Back soon with more guys!

xo,

Sam