Hello, hello!! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! We spoiled Mr. Sugarplum with love, and confused him with all the mustaches (especially since I much prefer him clean-shaven). We also heard from a lot of friends and family who saw the feature in the Dallas Morning News yesterday…thanks for the love!
I’ve got so much to share with you this week, including the washi crafts I created for the newspaper feature, and I finally get to reveal my Pottery Barn Mystery Box Challenge! But today I’m excited to show you a corner of our garage that got a much needed butt-kicking in the organization department.
In your house, the garage may be the Mister’s domain. But as a DIY home blogger, I contribute at least half the junk that clutters up our garage. It was such a gradual process of adding tools, paint, and materials, that I hadn’t realized just how chaotic the space had become. I almost dreaded the start of each new project, because I could never find everything I needed. Organizing the garage seemed so overwhelming, that I just kept putting it off.
A few weeks ago, I finally ripped off the band-aid and went to it! So quickly, in fact, that I forgot to take ‘Before’ shots. But I’m sure you can all imagine a garage with over-flowing shelves and piles. We have shelves built around the top of the perimeter, but I needed to store things within my limited reach…so my first stop was Ikea (who wants to spend a bunch of money on the garage?!).
I wanted to get these galvanized shelves, but they were out-of-stock, and when the organizing bug strikes, you have to move fast! So we grabbed the Gorm unit instead, and I’m really happy with the quality and sturdiness. Not to mention, super easy to assemble and add extra shelves.
Next, I rounded-up all 187 of the paint cans, and opened each one. I couldn’t believe how many had gone bad, but were still taking up precious space on our shelves. The rest were all half-empty, and many had rusted rims, so it was only a matter of time until they went bad, too.
So I followed Jen’s lead, and transferred them all to pint and quart-sized mason jars (found at HomeGoods) with airtight lids. Then labeled each (using this easy method) with the color name, location in the house it’s used, finish, and type of paint.
Many of my projects are small, or just touch-ups, so I went with wide-mouth jars so a brush would easily fit. This keeps me from having to pour the paint into a separate container, and the jars are easy to hold and shake.
Not only do the pretty rows of paint make me happy, but just like the newly Organized Spraypaint, it’s easy to see what colors I already have on hand.
Once the paint was consolidated, I went after the rest of the garage crappola. I sorted everything into piles by category, then organized them in sturdy plastic bins. With labels of course.
I like to see details, so I’ll show you the contents of each shelf.
The cool thing about this system, is each bin has everything you need for that purpose. No more looking for a drill bit in the bottom of the paint pan! The extra shelves also allowed me to store more things outside (like light bulbs and tape), which freed up room in my utility room cabinets. It never ceases to amaze me how organizing can actually create more space!
Finally, we had all the tools to deal with. We could have put them in a toolbox, but not all would fit, and you’d still have to dig around. I wanted to be able to see everything, and have it at my fingertips….so an off-the-shelf 2′ x 4′ piece of pegboard from the hardware store got ‘er done!
These pegboard hooks
hold everything firmly in place. It’s easier to arrange all your tools on the floor like a puzzle first, then transfer them to the board. I practically jump up and down squealing when I need a screwdriver now.
How about this little corner of organized bliss?!?!
The shelves are un-treated wood, but I was too impatient to paint or stain them first. I figure since they’re enclosed in the garage, they’d be fine. We did use L-brackets to brace them to the wall, though. Next up is organizing the lawn tools and the overwhelming pile of sports equipment!
What’s the condition of your garage these days?! Is your sandpaper mingling with the grass seed?
Your organizational beauty makes me so happy for you, and so ashamed of myself.
That's how your skinny thighs make me feel. 😉
I am currently working on our garage too. It has overwhelmed me for far too long!! There is way too much stuff out there I am having to work one wall at a time. Love the tip about the paint in mason jars – will be doin that!
Haha, ditto Sheaffer!! The more you organize, Cass, the more ashamed I feel of myself. It's very conflicting.
I LOVE this mason jar storing leftover paint idea. Congrats on the Dallas feature!! There's no one more deserving. Can't wait to see your washi tape & PB box projects!
P.S. If you posted pics of Mr. SP with a 'stache, I would totally Pin it.
You made sure made that crapola look good! Love the pretty jars of paint!
LOVE this! I want to organize our garage this summer (or fall) and I just love every single thing you did. We have a peg board already, but I love those wooden shelves you used and I even love how you put your paint in mason jars. Brilliant!
Turned out great Cassie. I need to put our paint in smaller jars, we did put them into new cans and labeled, but putting them in something smaller would work so much better.
Love it Cassie! So beautifully organized. Love how you stored the paint in those mason jars!
Oooh! So proud of my sister from another mister! You are so incredible, you even make a garage look good! Those wooden shelves are amazing and your labels are off the hook! Superstar! When are you coming to help me with mine? It's filled with thrift store finds, items to craigslist, half finished projects, tools scattered from one end to the other and spray paint explosions…. Sounds like a good time to me, you bring your cute face and style and I will provide the mess and wine. 😉
xo,
Jen
It's a date!
Is it wrong to drool over a garage? Well, it would be wrong for mine but THIS is so awesome! We're in the middle of the massive job of going through boxes from our move…almost 3 years ago. So this is some pretty fab motivation – thanks!
Love it! Our garage could definitely use some more organizing, have to add that to the to-do list!
Wow, girl!!! How do you do this all. It looks amazing. I LOVE the paint in the mason jars. I need to do that as well. Great great job!
I HEART your garage. Pink puffy heart love it. It is perfect. GOOD JOB!
Also, a huge thank you again for your guest post!
Jenny
http://www.simcoestreet.blogspot.com
Cassie, your garage is so so so so so awesome…..I want it to magically be mine. I get hives every time I have to retrieve a screwdriver by high jumping over 4 bikes, 2 pieces of half-refinished furniture and 47 brooms/rakes/doggy pooper scoopers. This is definitely on my must do list….and after seeing those beautiful little jars of paint I am ALL over that idea! Thanks for inspiring!
I would love to store my paint in the garage but have always thought that extreme temperatures will ruin the paint. Does the summer heat or the winter cold not affect the paint quality?
From what I've read, paint should be stored between 32-100 degrees F. Our garage is fully covered and enclosed, and the paint is stored against a wall connected to the house (versus an outside wall), so we stay within those perimeters.
If you're in an extreme temp area, you may want to keep your paint inside. In which case, keeping it jars takes up a lot less space!
Hope this helps! 🙂
Thanks, Cassie. I bet my husband told me that just so I wouldn't store my paint in "his" garage! Lol.
ummmmm…… i think i just had an orgasm looking at your garage. ridiculous.
Awwww, so pretty! I love the paint in jars idea…so much easier to see what you have on hand. And I'm incredibly jealous of your vast paint collection, btw. 😉 Have a great night, Cassie!
~Abby =)
LOVE this garage! It's so fun to put a unique spin on it, isn't it? As a visitor from I Heart Organizing, I am going to take a sneaky peek through your other rooms. I had a tip though I wanted to share: seeing all the paint stored in Mason jars makes my heart beat a bit faster for fear of what my children could do should they knock into the shelves. I would suggest putting a bungy cord around the middle of the shelf so if the paint jars fall, they don't shatter on the floor; they will just fall into the cord. Or some other method to protect them from the accidental bump. It makes me nervous just to look at. But maybe that's my kids… Oh who am I kidding, I'm the bumper. 🙂
Looks great! I don't have that much spray paint, but that is an AWESOME idea with the shoe organizer!