Organized Garage: Craft & Project Supplies

This project has been a long time coming. Isn’t funny how you can put something off for years and then when the mood strikes you can tackle it in just a day. Well that happened with this. Our garage is somewhat organized but let’s face it. We have a lot of stuff. Where the heck does it come from? Between camping gear, bikes for all of us, summer toys, tools, projects supplies, etc. . . it all adds up. I have finally gotten control of my own rack {garage rack, people}. I can’t tell you how excited this makes me. I am finally showing you what things look like behind the curtain!     I used a combination of plastic bins, baskets, and Ikea paper boxes to give everything a new home. I will share more about each one below. I printed the labels out on the computer and adhered them to scrapbook paper with glue. I simply used rolled blue painter’s tape to adhere them to the plastic bins. I used a dab of hot glue to stick them to the two baskets.   So here is a shot you may have seen before. We have a metal rack on either side of the garage door. My husband has the one to the right for his tools and work items. I have the rack to the left. Ignore the “Café” sign. We had that in our first home and it brings back such fun memories of totally gutting that place and redoing it with our own two hands. While the garage is certainly not a café, the sign brings a smile to my face. You can read more about how we organized this space here. So here is the deal. I needed a place for all of my crap junk. If you are a blogger, you will relate to this for sure. There are so many times you go to do a DIY or to take photos of a project and you need tape or a paint brush . . or a million different items. While I do have a craft closet in our laundry room for some items, the rest of it needed to be stored in a spot that was labeled and easily accessible. I tried to show you below what is now on this cart. As with all organizing projects, I began by taking everything off of the cart and sorting into Keep, Trash or Donate. There was also a pile for “keep but not on this rack!” My all time favorite bins above are the “fun finds” and “blog boxes.” There are many times when I am out at Target or a cute store and see an item that I know would make a great project one day. One day! So I buy it and bring it home and store it somewhere in the house. Who knows where. Half the time my daughter unearths it and asks to make something out of it. To which I always say yes as I had forgotten about it anyway. NO MORE! When I grab an item that I want to make something out of now, it goes directly in the “fun finds” box. That way it all stays in one spot. Likewise, If I have a blog project in progress . . . all of the supplies can get tossed in one of those empty white boxes rather than piled high on my kitchen counter or family room floor.   While I love our kitchen, it is cozy. And by cozy I mean absolutely no storage. So there are a few pieces I pull out for holidays and such and I keep them in this basket. They are wrapped in a bag to prevent dust and they are safe and sound until I need them. … I don’t like to buy too many seasonal items that I will have to store. Instead I like to switch things up a lot with framed artwork, graphic prints or DIY projects. Because I do that a lot, I have a few extra frames that are always floating in and out of rotation {usually on my mantel}. So when they are not being used, I can now keep them in one spot {rather than shoved behind a chair or something ridiculous like that!}.   Where would I be without the paint collection?! I had two entire shelves dedicated to paint. Including paint cans that were left by the previous owners. Crazy. I sorted through all of it. We responsibly got rid of most of it and what remains now fits on one shelf along with two bins for paint supplies such as tape, brushes, sanding paper, and more. As I mentioned earlier, I don’t buy large seasonal items. But I do have cute banners I have found or made as well as party supplies for the various holidays. So I decided to sort it all and label it so that I can pull it out when each holiday rolls around. The main event, Christmas, is stored underneath our staircase which is accessible through our mini mudroom area.   I now have one entire shelf dedicated to craft and project supplies. So that cute roll of burlap ribbon that is floating around the house now has a home. I even have a bin that is empty. AMAZING!!!! While some of the bins have the holes, I am not too worried about dust because I have the red curtain that covers all of this. It really works out nicely and hides it all away. If you are new around here, you may have missed my tips for getting your garage summer ready. You can check it out below and see more of what we have done with this space.   summer ready garage tips So there you have it my friends. Finally, a peek behind the curtain! It didn’t always look like this. While it wasn’t a disaster, it was a black hole. I tossed stuff on there and that was the end of it. I feel so much better knowing I have things labeled and in one spot. I also love knowing that I have a “blog box” for projects that are in the works and a “fun finds” box so I don’t lose cute things I pick up here and there. It was a long time coming, my friends. In case you are wondering, the sources for some of the containers and garage items can be found below: silver storage racks storage drawers white boxes red curtain {similar} similar black and white doormat similar woven baskets