storage Archives - Garage Tailors

Five Things You Should Never Store in Your Garage

February 11, 2014 by Rick Scully

The garage often becomes a dumping ground for everything. Seasonal items, like Christmas lights and snow sleds. Items that have outlived their usefulness, like old tires and bikes children have outgrown. Items you never really wanted in the first place, like the table you inherited from your favorite aunt or materials for a project you always meant to get around to, but probably never will.

Storing the items listed above in your garage might not be aesthetically pleasing, but otherwise poses no problem. However, the garage often becomes home to a number of materials that shouldn’t be stored there. In some cases, it’s because the material poses a danger to your health and safety. In other cases, storing the item in the garage will render it useless. With that in mind, here are five things you should never store in your garage.

1. Propane Tanks

Who doesn’t love a good barbecue? After all, cooking outdoors with family and friends can be fun. You already know that you should never grill inside your garage—even in the winter. Maybe you didn’t know that when you store your grill in the garage for winter it’s best to leave that propane tank outside.

Frequently, the valve on a propane tank isn’t completely closed when stored. Occasionally, propane tanks leak. Propane gas leaking in your enclosed garage can cause a fire or explosion. Rather than risk it, consider storing your propane tank outside in a secure, enclosed space, like a backyard shed.

2. Clothing and Linens

There are many reasons clothing and linens might need to be stored. Sweaters and coats take up too much space in drawers and closets during spring and summer. Bedding, too, is often changed seasonally, requiring storage in off-seasons. However, your garage isn’t the place to store those items.

Especially in the colder months, animals seek cozy places to burrow and make nests. If a raccoon or skunk wanders into your garage, the last thing you want is for him to feel at home and bring his family and friends. A box of sweaters or bedding left on the floor of your garage could easily become home to a family of unwanted guests. Instead, find someplace inside your home to store clothing and linens.

Wherever you decide to keep seasonal clothing and bedding, consider storing it in sealed plastic containers that will keep animals and insects out.

3. Paper Products

A growing number of families are adopting an environmentally-conscious lifestyle, which is to be applauded. For many, going green includes recycling, which is beneficial for the planet and can have a positive impact on your family’s budget. However, if done improperly, recycling can cause headaches and an added expense—pest control.

Store stacks of old newspaper and other paper goods in your garage and you’re extending an invitation to mice and other pests to come on in and get cozy. Discarded newspapers, paper plates and any other paper goods make great building materials for nests or a ready-made, toasty warm spot to sleep and raise a rodent family.

4. Fresh Food

Looking for a cool place to store root vegetables, dog food, bird seed or foods packaged in cardboard boxes? The garage might seem like an ideal and convenient place for these food items. Problem is, animals and insects find it pretty convenient, too. If keeping the two previous items in your garage makes it a potential hotel for mice, stockpiling food there makes it a luxury hotel with a five-star restaurant. Good for pests; not so good for you. Find a place to store food items inside your home instead.

5. Temperature-Sensitive Items

While we’re on the subject of consumable items, wine is another that should never be stored in your garage. Wine is temperature-sensitive. Your garage might seem like the perfect place to store cases of wine. However, the temperature in an unheated garage can fluctuate substantially. Exposure to extreme heat can potentially damage the composition and color of wine stored in your garage, making it unpalatable. This makes for a disappointing and potentially expensive loss.

Wine is best stored in a climate-controlled space. However, it isn’t the only item that’s sensitive to temperature. House paints stored in your garage can also be ruined by extreme temperature fluctuation. The extreme heat and cold to which a typical Canadian garage is subject will cause a marked change in the consistency of the paint, ruining it. Some paints separate, like oil and vinegar in salad dressing. Only in the case of paint, you’ll be left with a curdled, unusable mess.

Leftover paint is best stored in a cool, dry basement. If that isn’t an option, look for another space inside your home that is temperature-controlled and has limited moisture. Before you put those cans of paint away, record the color information somewhere safe, in case you need to have another batch made.

There are a variety of items that can be safely stored in your garage. However, for your health and safety, it’s best not to store your propane tank, clothing and linens, paper goods, food or temperature-sensitive items like wine or paint among them.

Looking to maximize the storage space in your garage for items that do make the cut? Contact a garage renovation specialist to set your garage organizational project in motion.

Seasonal Garage Storage

September 11, 2012 by Rick Scully

Every family is unique, which means their storage needs differ. That’s why garages should be adaptable and suited to your lifestyle. If your family enjoys the holidays, you probably have an array of seasonal items and decorations stuffed into boxes that are stacked precariously in the corner of the basement or garage. Since they’re only accessed once a year, it might not be the most effective or, more importantly, safe use of your storage space.

Whether your holiday celebrations include elaborate Halloween decorations, large Christmas nativity scenes and inflatable snowballs or sukkahs, Garage Tailors Garage specializes in creating innovative storage solutions like overhead storage and platforms that are customized for your requirements.

For example, safely storing a sukkah can be a challenge. For those of you unfamiliar with a sukkah, it’s a temporary, four-walled structure with a thatched roof that is used for eating meals (and sometimes sleeping) during the Jewish holiday known as Sukkot. During September and October, there is a series of celebrations including Sukkot, the Feast of the Tabernacles, or Booth, mentioned in the Old Testament. The seven-day holiday is like an extended Thanksgiving with families gathering to eat in a sukkah in the backyard or on the back porch (the sukkah is meant to represent the fragile dwellings used by the Israelites during their time living in the desert).

The size of a sukkah varies depending on the number of people in the family, and they can be constructed from large pieces of wood, aluminum or fiberglass sheeting that measure about 8 x 10 and include other bracing pieces to ensure structural integrity. Sometimes they’re made from metal frames and canvas or cloth reminiscent of a prospector’s tent. Since it’s an item that is used every year, it’s made to have a level of integrity and re-usability. They can be self built or even bought pre-made from specialized companies.

Even though a sukkah is built to be outdoors, it shouldn’t remain outside all year, especially given our climate. The pieces are usually too cumbersome for convenient basement storage and tucking them away in some unused area of the backyard or under the patio isn’t the best way to care for your investment.

When clients request a storage space for the sukkah, or any other seasonal items, Garage Tailors Garage assesses your garage size and storage requirements before designing the most reliable and viable solution. This can include installing an overhead garage storage system that can be easily accessed by a ladder, a custom platform or a wall shelving enclosure to ensure the various pieces of the structure can be safely restrained. Additionally, because meals are eaten inside the sukkah, the family will often have a folding table and bridge chairs that require a storage solution. These items need to be more readily accessed for other occasions so an ideal organization solution is an area with a Camlok™ system to hang the chairs from.

If you’re looking for a sensible way to store your sukkah, or any other holiday items, I’d be happy to come over and give you an estimate. A simple garage storage project can be completed in as little as two days, so there’s minimal disruption.

In the meantime, to our Jewish clients and friends celebrating the year 5773 on the Hebrew calendar, the team at Garage Tailors Garage wish you a “shana tova” (Happy New Year).

The Value of a Custom Solution for your Garage Transformation

December 20, 2011 by Rick Scully

folding work bench - 1 car garage — Custom Folding Workbench for a 1 Car Garage

Once you’ve made the decision to transform your garage so it better suits your needs, you’re faced with a choice: Do it yourself or bring in a professional?

There are advantages to doing it yourself. You have the satisfaction of a job well done (if you’ve avoided the pitfalls I spoke about in an earlier blog post), and it will likely be cheaper because you’re not paying for labour.

However, when you’re installing an ‘out of the box’ system, you end up with something generic, but it’s unlikely they’ll fit perfectly. You’ll probably end up with some wasted space. We come in and build to the measurements of your garage, using the space from wall to wall.

Everybody has different wants and needs, whether it’s storage, garage size, lighting requirements or aesthetics. A professional may be able to come up with options that you’re not aware of.

For instance, several weeks ago I visited a client who had a one car garage that was too simply not wide enough to accommodate a car, but it was high and deep. I asked him if he had things he’d like to put in a garage. He told me he had Christmas decorations taking up space in the basement. We talked about building a shelf along the back wall for storage, which doubled the storage space available.

He’d hadn’t considered anything other than floor space. I find that overhead storage is the most commonly overlooked area. The space is ideal for storing things you don’t need more than once a year such as holiday decorations or snow tires.

For some clients, the way the garage looks is as important as the job it does, whether it’s keeping boxes and tires out of sight or incorporating more high-end finishes.

The flooring is where customization can really shine. Your floor can be anything from standard grey tiles to something with a granite look. I come prepared with 6 to 8 samples of what’s available, but if a customer doesn’t like those, they can select colours from the Sherman Williams colour palate for a completely custom job. No one else offers that.

We look for the right eyeline, so what we install fits in with the rest of the garage. For instance, when we choose a spot to install slatwall and hooks, we may keep it level to a door. We also incorporate existing features such as light switches. It’s a finishing detail that makes the job more professional.

For your shelving, we can give it either a rough or finished look.

Lighting is also a consideration. You may be using your garage for more than just parking after the transformation, but a bare bulb may not be enough light. We can install pot lights under a platform or in front of cabinets. We can even position small spotlights if you’ve got sports cars you’d like to feature.

Every customer we see and every garage we visit is unique. Garage Tailors Garage tailors the storage solution to maximize the space available, leaving you with a superior product and a garage that meets your specific needs.

Get ready for gardening season

May 5, 2011 by Rick Scully

Spring has been a little slow arriving this year, but it’s still time to think about getting the garden ready for warmer days ahead. And that means making sure all your tools are organized and within easy reach in your garage.

Last month we talked about bringing spring and summer items to the front and storing away winter gear. It’s easy to organize your tools using our slatwall system. And camlocks on our hooks easily release from the wall and then lock back in place. Regular hooks need to be screwed into the wall and can come loose with use. The camlock locks in tight and stays in place even with heavy items.

Here’s how to properly store your gardening tools:

Your lawn mower, weed eater and edger should be in one area with an extension cord nearby

Store gardening gloves, trowels and pruners together in a basket so you’ll always know where they are

Hang tools such as shovels and edgers with the sharp side towards the wall. Make sure rakes and hoes are stored with the tines toward the wall. You don’t want to risk injuring yourself or scratching your car. The hooks we install are all covered in a rubberized coating to prevent scratches.

With some careful arranging, you can even make a space in the garage to put a potting bench or small work area for rainy days. Talk to us about ways to create tiered storage to give you even more space in your garage.

Storage tips for seasonal items

January 3, 2011 by Rick Scully

Happy new year from your friends at Garage Tailors Garage!

Regardless of whether or not better home organization is one of your new year’s resolutions, you might benefit from a few cleanup tips before you put away your holiday decorations. Why? Because approximately 335 days from now you’ll be looking high and low for that red-nosed reindeer tree ornament, and it shouldn’t take you three hours to find.

Tip 1: Before you put your decorations away, take a closer look at the items you chose not to display this year. Why didn’t you put them out? If they aren’t attractive or sentimental, take them to a charity shop so that someone else can enjoy them.

Tip 2: Next year, when you’re looking for the advent calendar your little one wants you to hang up NOW, you’ll wish you’d labelled those storage boxes with more than the word CHRISTMAS! The more specific you can be with your labelling, the quicker you’ll find what you’re after. For example:

Box 1: Tree lights, tree decorations, tree skirt, Christmas stockings

Box 2: Staircase and mantel garlands

Box 3: Card tree, candle holders and other fragile non-hanging ornaments

Tip 3: Christmas decorations (and other seasonal decorations, for that matter) are ideal for garage storage as you reach for them so infrequently. Given how light and easy to handle they tend to be, store them up high in your garage to free up lower storage space for heavier, trickier items.

Out of space in your garage? We can help you make room. Contact us to schedule a free in-home consultation.

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