Creating Cheap Storage Space in Your Garage

A garage is a large space that is often underutilized. This space is ideal for parking cars overnight to protect them from the outside condition, however it can be utilized for so much more. A garage is an ideal storage space for many things and by correctly organizing your garage, you can find new space to organize items that you thought you had no room for.

The key to organizing a garage for maximum storage space is to think vertical. A garage is a tall structure with lots of overhead space above your vehicles. This space of often left unused, but can be converted correctly to offer you a significant amount of additional storage space.

Some garages have loft areas already in place. These areas can be access through a pull down ladder. Though this setup is nice in appearance they can present problems. Having a finished garage ceiling with a pull down ladder and overhead storage may look attractive, but accessing the space through the small opening is cumbersome and difficult. Furthermore, getting items into and out of the small opening via the ladder is both difficult and dangerous. The small opening limits the size of an item that may be stored overhead. You cannot store items overhead that are any larger than the physical size of the opening.

Therefore if your garage ceiling is unfinished consider this method to maximize storage space. Utilize 4 sheets of 3/4 inch thick plywood. The plywood will be positioned on top of the ceiling rafters and secured in place by several screws. Run the plywood sheets lengthwise and perpendicular to the ceiling joists. Install 2 sheets of plywood on one side of your garage followed by sheets of plywood on the other side of your garage. leave a gap in the middle approximately 4 feet wide. Secure the plywood to the ceiling joist.

For a better understanding of the above consider your two car garage as two separate areas. Run two plywood sheets from the front to the back of your garage on one side. Then repeat on the other side of the garage. The gap running down the middle of your garage between the plywood sheets should be 4 feet wide. This setup utilizes space well and give easy access.

Once the plywood is in place you will immediately realize why the gap of 4 feet in between the rows of plywood is important. This gap allows you to bring large items in for storage and also gives you sufficient room to get out down out of the garage. More importantly, you can safely access the storage area and have ample room to move around.

Now that the overhead storage area is complete you can begin filling it up. Have an assistant help you when loading large or heavy items and continue loading until full. The 3/4 inch plywood is of ample strength to handle a significant load so fill it up. You will be truly amazed at how much overhead storage you gained.