Convert your garage back to its original purpose

Garages are coveted by homeowners across the country, offering a space to park a car and protect it from the elements.

But many people do not park a car in their garage, since it tends to become the official catch-all of a home. When an item cannot be crammed into a hiding space elsewhere, it often ends up dumped into the garage, where it joins the long list of other abandoned items.

It can be easy to let garages become a wasteland because everything put inside a garage is behind a closed door. That mess can quickly build up, and reclaiming your garage requires energy, time, organization and a plan.

Go through your items and sort into three piles: Garbage, donate and keep. After all of the trash and donations are removed from the premises, you can then look at what is remaining and begin planning out a more organized storage system.

There may be things in the “keep” pile that are simply out of place in the garage and may be better stored elsewhere.

Think about which items can be moved to a basement or attic because of their infrequency of use, such as holiday decorations, suitcases and collectibles. You may prefer to move lawn and garden items out of the garage and into a shed in the backyard.

To maximize the amount of space you have as a work area or a place to park your car, invest in as many tools as possible to utilize vertical space.

Shelving, hooks and cabinetry will take things off of the floor, while storage units with doors can hide items that lack aesthetic appeal.

Rolling tool caddies and cabinets can keep all tools neat and in organized drawers.

Think about how the garage will appear from the curb when the door is raised and create a design that will be functional and neat.

When putting items back into the garage, label where everything is stored. This way you’ll be able to find everything easily.