Maybe you’re feeling frustrated with the current state of your garage, or perhaps you just moved into your new Chicago home and are wondering how to best organize this new space. Whatever the case, having a garage can be a major benefit for homeowners if they know how to take advantage of it. Many homeowners miss out on the full potential of this space because of a few common mistakes. Let’s take a look:

Not Identifying a Purpose or Goal for the Space

Our garage is often an afterthought, but if we really want to maximize the space, we need to be intentional. How do you want to use your garage? Will you be keeping a car or two inside? Will it function as a storage space? Do you need a place for keeping tools and working on projects? When you don’t know what you want to get out of the space, it’s easy to overlook the value. By assigning some clear purpose, you can set your garage up to match those.

Adding to Disorganization

If you’ve been living in your Chicago home for years, perhaps your garage has built up some clutter. One of the biggest mistakes that homeowners make is to continue adding to that. If your garage isn’t in the shape you want it to be in, don’t put anything else in there until you go through what you have. So often, we end up storing things that we never use. If you continue to add layer after layer of “stuff”, you won’t be getting the most out of your space.

Not Using the Walls

A common storage mistake in garages is not using the walls. If you have boxes and bins stacked up or multiple bicycles taking up valuable floor space, chances are that you’re underutilizing your walls. Whether it’s installing some shelving or getting creative with hooks and other systems to hold bikes and other gear, look to the walls to free up a great deal of space and help you stay organized.

Not Giving Things a Home

Maybe you did a major cleanout of your garage just last year, but now, it feels just as chaotic as before. This usually happens when we don’t give things a specific space. We just keep accumulating tools, storage containers, and equipment and when we don’t give them a specific place in the garage, they can end up getting buried or even damaged. Give your things a clear home that you know where to return them to after using them. This is a major help in maintaining organization in your garage.

Does your Chicago home have a garage? Are you maximizing the space? What challenges have you run into? I’d love to hear your thoughts!