garage tidy-up Archives - Garage Tailors

Tidy Tool Storage

September 6, 2011 by Rick Scully

3 hook tool rack — Often, people hang tools sharp side out. Hang sharp side towards the wall to prevent personal injury to family members.

So many tools, so little space. Even in the biggest garages, tools and gardening equipment often start to take over. And why does that rake always seem to threaten to fall on you every time you open the car door?

Start by sorting your tools into groups. Put all the gardening equipment together in one area of the garage. Hang rakes and shovels on lockable hooks with the sharp side towards the wall. That way you’ll know they’re secure.

Don’t hang tools on nails hammered into boards – it’s an accident waiting to happen. A slatwall system is a great solution because hooks and baskets can be safely locked into place.

Electric tools, such as lawnmowers and weed whackers can also be hung on locking hooks with their extension cords wrapped and stored neatly on hooks beside them.

Smaller tools with holes in the handle are easily stored on hooks. That way you’ll always be able to find what you need when you need it.

Tools for woodworking or home maintenance, such as drills and saws, can also be neatly stored in the garage. Any tool with a handle can be hung safely and securely and easy to find.

Smaller items (especially tools for a car enthusiast) should be stored in a cabinet with shallow drawers. Place the tools in one layer so you can see them easily. Line the bottom of the drawer with a rubber membrane mat to prevent the tools from sliding around.

Next time we’ll discuss making room for a workbench in the garage, so you can store and use your tools in one place.

In the meantime, give us a call. We’ll help you find a solution to all your garage storage needs.

Keep your garage smelling clean

July 5, 2011 by Rick Scully

Does your garage smell like a garage? Summertime is the ideal opportunity to clear the air and start fresh.

As I’ve mentioned before, if you have a slatwall system and polyaspartic flooring, cleaning the garage is a breeze. But regardless of what kinds of walls or flooring you have, there are a few things you need to do to minimize dirt and odours:

Keep rodents away:

Seal up any spaces where animals can enter. Have a good look at the walls and the ceiling. Mice can get in through the tiniest holes.
If you must keep garbage in your garage, make sure the bins are well sealed and you wash the containers regularly to get rid of any “come to dinner” smells.

Eliminate mould:

Look for white spots on the walls, which indicate dampness. Mildew and mould can form and cause odours and health problems.
Check the roof on a garage that is separate from the house. Mould can also form from water coming in through the shingles

Prevent chemicals odours

Sort through any hazardous products in the garage and dispose of anything you don’t need.
Make sure lids are secure on gas containers or smelly solvents. It’s best to keep this sort of thing behind doors in a cabinet.

Another important thing to note is if you have a room above your garage, make sure your garage is properly drywalled and sealed. Dangerous (and odourless) carbon monoxide gas can escape into your room.

Need help? Give us a call.

Taming the Garden Hose

June 21, 2011 by Rick Scully

garden hose - garage storage — Garden Hose Storage

The problematic hose. That snake of a thing always seems to be in the way and just doesn’t look pretty in the garden.

How many hose reels have you tried, only to find they work for a little while and then either break or the hose gets stuck inside? It’s nice to have the hose handy for using in the garden, but personally I think most hose caddies out there are more trouble than time-saving.

Universal Hook - Great for Garden Hoses — Universal Slatwall Hooks for Garage Storage

The best way I’ve found to store a garden hose is in the garage on a Universal Hook. It’s large enough to accommodate a 100-ft hose and when combined with slatwall, it can easily bear the weight. If you use a hose connector, attaching the hose to the outside faucet is a simple task.

Tip: When you’re finished with the hose, take the extra few minutes to coil it up neatly on the hook to avoid tripping on it or running over it with the car, which could puncture the hose or flatten the nozzle or end.

Need to make space to store your hose in the garage? Give us a call.

Spring ahead – a place for everything and everything in its place

April 19, 2011 by Rick Scully

In keeping with the spring clean theme, let’s move from floors and talk about wall organizers and shelves. Spring is here, and you need your garage to be functional.

First, purge. Go through the contents of your garage and if you haven’t used it in three years – get rid of it. Have a garage sale, or donate items to a local charity. Make sure you take items such as paints or chemicals to the hazardous waste disposal facility in your area.

Spring forward – Move the winter shovels, toboggans and bags of de-icer to allow everyone in the family easy access to garden tools and supplies, bicycles, golfing equipment and other summer items. Have a look at our specialty storage solutions to make sure even the kids can easily grab their bikes and sports equipment.

Organize items in zones, putting like items together in one easy-to-reach area. That’s the beauty of the slat wall system. It’s easy to add baskets and hooks to keep gardening tools and supplies, sports equipment, etc. in their place. One basket can hold windshield wiper fluid and other car needs, and another can hold potting soil and fertilizer, while yet another can neatly organize golf shoes. Keep visual clutter to a minimum with one of our cabinet storage systems.

Next month, we’ll talk more in depth about these effective storage solutions.

Clear your garage of old batteries, pesticides and other hazardous items

September 21, 2010 by Rick Scully

Since our last post, in which we pointed you to Rona as a great drop-off point for old paint, we came across a fantastic site that will help you clear your garage of everything hazardous – from aerosol containers, oil filters and antifreeze to gas canisters, batteries, pesticides and more.

Orange Drop is a Stewardship Ontario initiative that helps Ontarians recycle way beyond the Blue and Green Bin, and their site is really user-friendly.

Here’s what we suggest. Head out to your garage now with pen and paper in hand. Write a list of any hazardous items you’ve been meaning to dispose of. Then go directly to www.makethedrop.ca.

Once you’re there:

Click on the button that reads “Where do I go to make the drop?”

Enter your postal code in the space provided.

Use the drop-down menu to select the waste category of the first item on your list.

Browse the results page and choose the most convenient location for drop-off.

It’s that simple, so no more excuses. Clear out your garage day. Your car will thank you!

Discarded paint doesn’t belong in your garage

September 7, 2010 by Rick Scully

Paint Can Recycling Programs In our last post, we talked about ways to restore order to your garage so that you can get your vehicle back inside before the season turns. The long and short of it was purge what you don’t need; organize what you do. Following that post, a reader dropped us a note asking how to dispose of leftover paint responsibly. Here’s an easy solution.

Remember the saying “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure?” Well, last January Rona launched a new initiative under Ontario’s Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste Program. Under that program, you can now drop-off old paint at Rona stores across Ontario. They recondition about 80 percent of what they collect.

Who knows whose walls your old paint will turn up on, but we think you’ll agree that anywhere is better than a landfill.

Do you suffer from Seasonal Garage Anxiety Disorder?

August 10, 2010 by Rick Scully

suspending shelves Labour Day will soon be upon us, which means summer is drawing to an end … but that’s not all. Any day now, thousands of Canadians will be hit with a common ailment that we at Garage TailorsGarage like to call Seasonal Garage Anxiety Disorder.

What are the symptoms? Anxiety. Will the former glory of your garage ever be restored following the care-free months of summer? If you’re like most individuals, there are kids’ bikes, hose pipes, shovels, rakes and planters strewn across your garage floor. I’d even venture to guess that a few of you have a pile of top soil sitting on a blue tarp in the very spot you once parked your car.

All of this is very well, but the seasons are-a-changing. In just a few weeks, the leaves will begin to fall upon the beautiful, waxy finish of your vehicle. If cars could talk, yours would be saying, “I’m worth a lot. Protect me. Please let me reclaim my space!”

Clearing out the garage is a daunting task – we understand – so to make it easier we’ll be sharing a few tips in our next post. Be sure to check them out.

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