How to Organize your Garage

A couple of weeks ago I shared with you 10 Garage Organization Ideas that I found helpful when planning our garage reorganization project. Today I’m going to share with you how our project turned out, and hopefully give you some great ideas for how to organize your garage.

A few weeks ago feeling utterly overwhelmed by the summer mess that had appeared in our garage, my husband and I took on the task of getting the garage in order. It was time to stop tripping over coolers and running over pool toys.

When we started the task our original intention was to organize half of the wall in the garage in front of where the cars are parked. The other half of the garage had a mess of garden tools and I was only in the mood to tackle one project at a time. Here you can see what the wall looked like before.

Do you ever work something up in your head to be this gigantic task then you finish the task and think “that didn’t take very long, why was I worried?” Well that’s how this project was. The 1st half of the wall was so easy to organize and looked so good when we were done that we decided to go ahead and finish the other half too.

Here’s the after. I’m so happy with how it turned out. We had a few fixed items on the wall that we needed to work around, but still managed to fit everything we needed. We’ve got a place for the pool/lake items, the kids toys and all of the lawn equipment!

Let me tell you how we put this all together.

We used a system from Rubbermaid called the FastTrack system. We have actually used this system in the past and loved it, so when I was asked by Rubbermaid to share a project with the system I knew that it would be a great fit for us.

The system is very simple. You install the tracks on the wall. After the tracks are installed you simply click the accessories you need onto the track… no additional hardware needed! This way you only have one set of holes on the wall in your garage and you can rearrange the items on the track as your needs change.

This is what it took to create the wall (not pictured 2 more tracks)…

The pieces that hook on to the track are designed for different purposes so if you have a good idea of what you want to hang on your wall before you shop it would be helpful.

(more hook options)

To install the track, place the metal part of the system on the wall in the location that you want. Use a stud finder to mark the studs, you’ll want to try to have a few screws in the studs, although it’s not 100% necessary.

You’ll also want a screw in each end of the system, if there is not a stud there use the drywall anchors that come in the hardware kit to secure those screws.

As you hang the system use a level to ensure that the track is straight. After you’ve screwed the track to the wall just snap the plastic covering over the track.

That’s it… really…

Now install the hooks on to the rail, they all just “click on”. Here you can see our cooler hook, and the photos below show you how we used some of the other hooks in the system to hang our lawn tools on the wall.

Two of my absolute favorite items are the mesh basket and the ball rack.

The ball rack clips onto the FastTrack rail and allows kids to put the balls in the top…

and easily take out the one they want without having to unload all of the other balls.

I love the wire basket because it clips on and off the wall. I put all of our “lake” supplies in it and just loaded the whole basket into the back of the car. When I got home I just clicked the basket back on to the rail.

You can also install wire shelving using the same rail system. The shelving does require a few screws in the wall to keep it from sliding around.

and … since I know you’re all going to ask me what all those ropes on the wall are… they hold up the turtle.. just FYI…

You can pick up the pieces to the system ONLINE and have them shipped right to your home, you can also find pieces at your local Home Depot Store.
Fast, easy, fun. The FastTrack Garage Organization System is easy to install and allows you to store more by making use of your entire wall…not just where the wall studs are located! Visit your local Home Depot today!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of RUBBERMAID®. The opinions and text are all mine.