Garages are useful spaces in the home, but they’re also one of the most clutter-prone areas. Most of us store our tools, equipment, bicycles, and unwanted stuff in the garage. Some people might have boxes of their old photographs in there, along with the holiday decorations that only get used once a year. At times, there may also be several useful but small tools in the garage that we tend to misplace due to everything else crowding that space.
No doubt, the garage is also a logical place for many of these things. Storing hunting gear, for instance, just makes sense in that particular place–you can access it easily when it’s needed, and it’s not taking up space in your main living space for the rest of the year. However, storing all these items is just another reason why we should keep our garage organized as much as possible. This is where a utility tool cart comes in.
A utility tool cart is a kind of shelf or shelves on wheels, usually made of metal for longevity and sturdiness. It also usually has wheels, so you can move it around the garage as needed, whether it’s to push all the tools into a corner or bring them near a workplace to get on with a project. Let’s now look at all the ways in which a utility tool cart can be helpful in the garage:
1. Helpful in Maximizing Garage Space
It’s fairly common for many households to use the garage as a receptacle for anything they don’t really need but still can’t throw away. Unfortunately, habits like these also make it common for garages to be so full that they can’t be used for their main purpose–parking cars. Plus, all that clutter can prevent people from finding just what they need in a short time. These reasons are just two motivating factors to organize your garage; you want to be able to locate items easily and work efficiently on any projects. This will not just save your time in the future, but also save money as you won’t buy duplicates of items that are lost somewhere in the garage.
Investing in a garage utility cart is a relatively inexpensive way to start organizing any space.
2. Starting to Organize the Garage
No matter how cluttered a garage space is, a utility cart can really help in getting it all together. Begin by making a plan of what you want from the garage interior–leave space for the vehicles you want to park there, making sure to have enough empty room for them to enter and leave.
Next, make a list of what you have to access and how often you would need it. Separate the items that you only need seasonally, such as winter equipment (sleds, skis, snow plows, etc.), holiday decorations, and so on. You can even make this list in the comfort of your living room or bedroom; once you get to the garage, pull out the items on the list and put them in separate piles.
Of course, making that list inside your home might result in a few missed items. Don’t worry too much about getting everything down the first time round. Once you start looking at the items cluttering your garage, it’s just a matter of putting them in the right pile before organizing.
3. Begin the Planning
One useful planning tip for using a utility cart in your garage is to group similar items together in terms of the task you use them for. Gardening tools, for instance, are best placed next to items like compost amendment, seed packets, vegetable tags, etc. These items can be small and easily get misplaced, so you might consider using one level of a utility cart for grasping all of them together. It’s best to keep all your stuff off the floor of the garage. By having a portable and compact utility trolley,
Of course, utility carts aren’t very useful for holding bulky equipment. However, sorting out and storing the small items will make it easier to access the larger ones when needed. Ideally, store all your large equipment such as lawnmowers and speakers in the corners of your garage. This way, they won’t present a risk to your vehicles or get buried under a lot of smaller items. To make sure that you get enough space for properly placing your belongings, here are some tips on decluttering your garage.
4. Making Projects Flow More Efficiently
A lot of people have workshops in their garages. This may be a woodworking spot if you’re interested in carpentry. Others may have set up a crafting table, or any other kind of worship dedicated to their hobby or passion.
A workshop or workstation also means that one probably has a lot of tools to utilize and keep track of. There are many organization hacks you can try here, including a magnetic strip for metallic tools or a pegboard wall. A utility cart, however, does the trick of keeping all your tools together while also being a portable option.
When everything is organized and has a specific space on a utility card, this can make your projects flow much more smoothly and efficiently. You can also move between various spaces in the garage and even outside in order to complete a certain step of your painting, wooden craft, art project, etc. As long as all the tools required are in the cart, it should be fairly easy to continue working without much interruption.
5. Taking Enough Time to Organize
A garage utility cart is a useful structure in itself, but it won’t automatically streamline all your tools and other equipment. All the trays or shelves of the cart need filling if you want to make the most of it.
The answer here is to organize all the useful items and designate a specific space for each of them. If there is space left over, use it for extras, spare, or other related items which you have yet to buy. In a nutshell, you need to sort out the items that are regularly accessed and keep them within reach in the garage utility cart.
If the task seems too big, see if some friends or family members will come over. Together, you may find it easier to decide what to keep, what to donate, and what to throw away or recycle. Incidentally, other people on the job can also help you store away family mementos instead of wasting time reminiscing about the past. This activity is no doubt an interesting one, but it just takes up more time when you could be on your way to an organized garage once and for all.
You can decide what goes by considering each item and remembering when you last used it. If it hasn’t been used in the past two years, it is unlikely to do so in the near future. Also, throw away anything that falls into the following categories:
- Damaged items (dented cans, rusted metals past repair, broken toys or those with missing parts)
- Expired items (not just limited to foodstuffs, cans of spray paint or mosquito repellent also become useless when left for long time)
- Unfinished projects–again, if they’ve been lying around for a couple of years, they’re probably not going to be finished anytime soon
If you think any of the items above are still useful or can be repaired, consider donating instead of keeping. For instance, if those old baby toys are just dirty and not broken, put them in the donation box. You may also use the utility cart for organizing donation or recycling piles if they aren’t too large. Once you get rid of the piles, you can set up the remaining useful items in the same cart.
You may need another piece of organizing equipment to store or organize small items such as extension cords. For this purpose, consider a Wonder Winder; this can usually be hung on the garage wall and free up some space in the utility cart.
The bottom line here is that you need to invest some time in the utility cart if it’s going to be of much use. Simply cramming a lot of cans or spray bottles in there will not be of much use. Once you’ve cleared things up and put all the useful items in the cart, your garage experience will be much improved.
Conclusion
A utility cart has many uses inside the garage and out. Since a garage requires a lot of organization, it’s probably a good idea to invest in such a cart, especially if you use the garage quite heavily and frequently.
The various compartments in a garage utility cart help us to store various tools and products without mixing them up. We can have one shelf for gardening tools, another for cleaning supplies, and yet another for repair kits, spare parts, etc. If you’re convinced that such an investment is best for you, use the ultimate guide to garage utility carts to get started on choosing the best one for your needs.