How to Actually Fit Your Car in Your Garage

Even though research reports that nearly 80 percent of all Americans have either a garage or carport on their property, just 30 percent use the space to actually house their vehicle. If you’re like the majority, that’s because there’s just too much other stuff taking up all that space.

With a little bit of time and effort, however, you can get your garage in tip-top shape with these nine organizing tips from Erie Insurance:

Free up floor space by nailing angled wooden brackets to the wall. Use the brackets to hang lawn chairs, shovels, sports equipment and other bulky items.
If your garage is a sea of roving sports balls, hook a few bungee cords into a secure surface and use them to corral basketballs, soccer balls, beach balls and the like into neat piles.
Organize your yard tools by rolling up a PVC tube and placing some screws into the spot where the edges meet to create a tool slot.
If small objects like nails and screws are littered throughout your garage, grab some mason jars and labels, and start collecting these wayward items in their new containers.
There’s nothing like a well-placed magnetic strip for getting scissors, screwdrivers and other small metal tools out of the way…yet making sure they’re still accessible.
If you’ve got your picnic and beach gear taking up space in your garage, invest in a nice big laundry basket to collect umbrellas, scuba gear, sand toys and mini coolers.
Make the process of cleaning up easy moving forward by mounting a paper towel holder to the wall and using it to hold a roll of garbage bags.
Once you’ve got everything cleaned out and organized, consider making your garage more aesthetically pleasing by giving it a fresh coat of paint or installing floor tiles on the walls.
Host a garage sale...literally. Whatever you do, don’t put unwanted items back in your garage. Try selling anything that’s still in good shape, otherwise, go online and determine how to safely dispose of things you no longer need.