Storage cabinets are unnecessary in a garage. Open shelving is more practical because it is less expensive, is extremely sturdy, is simple to set up and rearrange, and makes its contents readily apparent.
In spite of the fact that open shelving can be seen as unfinished, cabinets with doors are prefered by parents of young children because of the added layer of security they provide from poisonous chemicals and dangerous garden tools.
There is a wide variety of garage cabinets to choose from, some of which you may not have even known existed before now.
Cabinets made of MDF and laminate can be purchased for shockingly low prices, while stainless steel custom cabinetry designed and installed by professionals is the epitome of luxury.
Cabinets from the kitchen or bathroom can even be reused in the garage.
Which to Get First? Garage Workbench or Cabinets?
For most people, garage storage cabinets and garage workbenches are two separate considerations when planning for garage organisation.
However, doing it right from the start is essential if you want a seamless integration, matching design, and a garage organisational system that will keep you satisfied for decades to come.
It is precisely because people are so accustomed to seeking immediate gratification that they find happiness and the concept of being "worry-free" to be so elusive.
Creating a long-term and effective garage organisation system is the first step towards achieving inner calm.
If you're working with a limited budget, you can get started with installing cabinets around your workbench and then move on from there.
In this way, you'll have a convenient place to work right away, complete with a workbench and storage for your tools and supplies.
Think about where you'll put your workbench and where you'll put your storage bins and shelves (such as taller cabinets and vertical wall organizers). Expanding your plans for the future will be a smart move that you will be pleased you made.
Benefits of Custom Garage Cabinets
Improve Accessibility
In no more than a few seconds after entering your garage, you should be able to locate the specific item you seek.
GarageSmart® Storage Cabinets, Draws, & Work Benches are the perfect way to organize your garage! With GarageSmart®, you’ll have plenty of storage space for all of your tools, sports equipment, and other belongings.
If you have boxes and clutter strewn across your garage's floor and any flat surface, it's time to get rid of the clutter and make some room.
Garage cabinets are a great way to organise your belongings and keep them out of the way.
Cabinets allow you to group items of a similar nature:
- Store equipment in a cabinet close to the table.
- Put your gloves for the cold weather in the cabinet near the front door.
- Fill one of the wall cabinets with auto repair tools and materials.
You won't waste time rummaging around because everything you own is right where you left it.
The navigation is so simple, even your young children will have no trouble locating their desired items.
Reduce Clutter
If there isn't a designated storage area in the garage, it's tempting to just stack boxes, tools, and other items there.
The garage becomes an eyesore one day, or you trip over a stack of boxes while searching for your favourite holiday wreath, and you decide it's time to get organised.
Streamline your garage and make it more usable right now by getting rid of unnecessary items.
Cabinets allow you to give everything a home and group like items together.
You have removed the cleaning supplies from atop the swimming equipment.
Your garage is well-organized, so it's simple to find what you need and get around.
Improve Garage Safety
Cleaning supplies and even poisonous paint have a safe home in a garage. However, these and other items you may keep in your garage pose a potential threat to your family's safety.
What are the potential outcomes of your children or pets ingesting antifreeze or licking an old paint can? They might get fatally ill.
Storing poisons, chemicals, and other potentially lethal substances in a locked cabinet out of reach of children is essential.
The locked cabinets prevent your children and pets from accessing potentially harmful items.
And cabinets are great for securing anything flammable or combustible as well.
They won't catch fire if kept away from matches or other flame sources.
Custom cabinets are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also functional in preventing injuries from falls.
In the event of a spill, the cabinet's interior will catch at least some of the liquid, preventing it from spreading across the floor.
By having cabinets, you lessen the risk of being crushed by falling boxes.
You also won't have to worry about accidentally stepping on a rake or barbell if they're stored safely out of the way.
Instead, everything you own is stored in a cabinet, where it is out of the way and easily accessible, making the garage much safer to navigate.
Increase Your Home's Value
People looking to buy a house will appreciate if it has a garage. They might plan to park there, work on a project, or play video games there.
However, if your garage is a disaster zone, you won't be able to show it off to its best advantage.
Spend some time putting in the cabinets.
They hide mess and open up the room so it feels more welcoming.
Buyers will focus on the space's potential rather than your clutter.
Extra storage makes the garage a better, more secure place for the family to park cars and other vehicles.
Customize the Cabinetry to Fit Your Needs
Numerous activities can be performed in a garage.
Putting in cabinets in your garage makes it convenient to store tools and materials for a variety of projects, such as building furniture, repairing vehicles, and tending to a backyard garden.
Cabinets come in a wide variety of sizes and can be customised to fit your specific needs.
Put in tall cupboards to store skis, little drawers to store nuts and bolts, or a number of shelves to store the tools and materials you'll need for home repairs.
The cabinets can even be installed in a location of your choosing.
You can hang a row of them from the ceiling, set a few on top of a workbench, or mount them on the back wall.
When it comes to selecting cabinets for your garage, the possibilities are practically endless.
Garage Cabinet Dos and Don'ts
DO 'look inside the garage cabinet box' to ensure it can support heavy items
Truth be told.
Unlike the light boxes of cereal and thin glasses that line your kitchen and bedroom closet shelves, the heavy items you have stashed in the garage are not easily broken by the slightest breeze (sweaters, jeans and t-shirts).
Rather, the contents of your garage shelves include paint cans, auto parts, bags of potting soil, bottles of antifreeze, and windshield washer fluid.
Moreover, a degree in neurosurgery is not required to comprehend....
Things stored in your garage are significantly heavier than those kept inside your home.
You can get away with using shelving that is only a half inch or a third of an inch thick in a bedroom closet or kitchen pantry, but this thickness is far too shallow for use in a garage.
Shelves need to be thicker so they don't bend or crack (I know some of you are experiencing this issue in your garage right now).
One inch thick shelves are preferable to the half-inch thick shelves used in the "old" kitchen cabinets the previous owner "slapped up" in the garage in order to "get some extra storage on the cheap."
DON’T buy a cabinet which doesn’t have a back panel
I'm going to let you in on a dirty little secret, but only if you promise not to tell anyone else.
Many companies that specialise in "home" (and "closet") organisation also sell garage cabinetry, which is essentially the same product used "inside" your home.
Plus, you already know that the climate in your garage is a little (or a lot) different from the comfortable environment of your house.
These garage storage companies also do not offer a prefabricated set of garage cabinets in a box.
The shelving and storage system they offer features thinner shelves and "shared support panels" (with no panel to protect the back of your walls).
While this setup is fine in your bedroom closet (away from dirty bags of soil, gardening tools, and your kid's muddy footballs and field hockey sticks), the garage is a much more "rugged" environment.
All right, I'm trying to be politically correct. I've seen some of the things in your garage, and they are pretty disgusting.
A garage organisation system that isn't a full cabinet and has no back panels is NOT acceptable.
Yes, they are "less expensive." They aren't as durable, though, and won't hold up to the "loving" (sarcasm intended) use that your family gives the garage.
You also won't enjoy opening your cupboards as much in a few years' time. Walls inside will likely get dinged up and dirty, and you'll have to try to repaint them whenever you find the time (which will probably never happen).
DO purchase cabinets to keep your children and grandchildren safe
The primary motivation for purchasing garage storage cabinets is, predictably, to store things.
While storage is essential, you should also prioritise safety, especially if you have young children or grandchildren.
And we all know the worst possible scenario (and phone number) that could arise.
If you're looking for things to outfit your entire garage, GarageSmart® got you covered. We can turn your cluttered garage into a clean, crisp, highly functional area for your home.
You know it's bad news when you get a call telling you your kid (or grandkid) drank something poisonous from one of your (unlocked) garage cabinets.
Your life doesn't have to look like this disaster though. Put away the poisonous chemicals for good by installing a $25 lock on the cabinet door.
Think about how much more at ease you'd feel knowing that a $25 lock was protecting your valuables compared to not having one.
Further, replacing locks is much more cost-effective than visiting an emergency room.
DO NOT disregard the warranty that is included with the cabinets
Inquiring about the "fine-print" of the guarantee will help you distinguish "cheap" from "quality" cabinets.
A plastic garage cabinet can be purchased for less than $100, but when you consider that the warranty is a "blink-of-an-eye" 1 year in length, you realise that you are indeed getting what you pay for. That's...not a whole lot, to be honest.
On the other hand, you can find garage cabinet lines that come with lifetime guarantees for the heavy gauge steel and long-lasting laminates.
And if you're paying someone to instal it, they should have faith in their own abilities and offer some sort of warranty or guarantee (and provide a long labour warranty also).
DO comprehend a garage storage plan's "math"
Not taking garage measurements (and doing your'math') can really mess you up, as anyone who has bought a big 'ol SUV or truck and then discovered (after excitedly driving it off the lot) that it won't fit in their garage can attest to.
It's also not something to just dismiss to not give some thought to the'math' of garage storage cabinets. This is why.
Know the width, depth, and height of the items you intend to store in the cabinet before you buy it.
Window frames, electrical outlets, and soffits all need to be taken into account when determining the proper size for your cabinets.
Make sure your SUV or truck fits inside the garage with the doors closed before checking if you have room to open the cabinet doors.
When it's below freezing in Columbus, Ohio (or anywhere that gets snow), no one wants to risk pulling their rigs out just to get to their storage.
DO NOT rely on "repurposed" kitchen cabinets to function properly in the garage
I think it's fantastic that people are finding new uses for old furniture. But it can be extremely risky to use the right product in the wrong situation.
One bad idea is to mount an old wood kitchen cabinet with 1/2" thick shelves in the garage.
Let me tell you, today is not going to be a good day if this cabinet topples over from the weight of the paint cans you have stored inside and lands on your spouse's new sports car.
If this happens, you might end up spending the night in your garage.
It's not smart to use old wood kitchen base cabinets that get dry rot or bug infestations from sitting on a damp garage floor (when these cabinets were made to be in the wonderfully climate-controlled house).
Although "repurposing" is good for the environment (and can save you money), storing kitchen cabinets in the garage, where the temperature and humidity can fluctuate wildly, is NOT a good idea.
DO insist on easy to adjust shelves
Well, if you're anything like me, you probably won't be rearranging your shelves any time soon, especially if they're bolted together like the ones you see in some garages.
Shelving in garage cabinets should be easily adjustable so that no storage or floor space is wasted. And you know you'll be wasting space if your shelves are as fixed as your daughter's terrifying dating preferences.
Ensure the shelves of your garage cabinets can be adjusted before you buy.
You can avoid future stress, exhaustion, and financial strain by preparing ahead of time.
You will feel more in control of your life and more capable of providing for your family if you take the time now to draught a plan.
If done right, adding a second bathroom to your home will not only give you peace of mind, but it will also boost productivity, add usable square footage, and increase the value of your home.