You probably spend a lot of time in your garage, but there’s no reason why the space has to be an uncomfortable, disorganized hovel. Likewise, turning it into a clean, efficient work area shouldn’t drain your checking account.
The name of the game is shopping smartly and effectively. Sure, you might really want that newfangled gizmo, but what about first …
Few more ideas. 1) Wipe board with different color pens.. great "in your face" reminders, and you can cross things off as you go., 2) old bike tubes for padding and to prevent scratches, 3) old bearing race halves for use in a press,
In reply to das86turbo :
You mention a wipe board - I have some shelving units, one of which is creating a 'wall' in the garage. I put dry erase board on the back of it to
A) conceal what's on the rack from prying eyes
B) use as a dry erase board for my ideas/checklist.
It's a great 'tool' that was cheap and multi-purpose
We have an expansive patio; I use a small deck box to store bigger items for the Datsun (doors bell housings etc).
I didn't want more than one shed in the back so this was a really good solution; it creates additional seating and frees up garage space.
The only other thing I'll add is put as much as possible on wheels: most of my F500 engines and spares are in storage bins (snowmobile engines are small). They are stacked against the wall in the 3rd car bay of the garage. Having them on wheels lets me move them if I need more work space for the Datsun.
Hallways are good places to store hardware so you can see them and get what you want quickly! Added the light fixtures years ago so I could see.
I need to do this in my garage and basement 
Update on the lights:
Instead of 4' fluorescent strips, get 4' LEDs instead.
IIRC enough to brightly light a 2-car garage were about $80 on Amazon. I have an extra pair over my workbench as task lighting.
I appreciate the workmanship on Trucke's hallway shelves. The downside of rabbeted shelves is lack of adjustability. An easy alternate is to drill a series of holes and use the little "L with a pin" shelf holders. The 1" spacing of pegboard scrap makes a good drilling jig, although it doesn't last very long. Then, when you want a different arrangement, just move the shelf holders to the new spacing.
I didn't see any mention of sinks. If you can keep the pipes from freezing, a laundry sink is a very useful addition to a garage.
My tip is to buy clear storage totes. It's much easier to look and see what's in them then trying to constantly label and relabel. Home Depot has smoked see-through totes that are pretty strong
Garage Journal is the place to go if you really want to geek out. They tend to have much larger spaces than most, though. I'd strongly suggest a LOT more light than you think you need. I went with relatively cheap dual 4 foot housings and high CRI led bulbs and it's been the single best addition to the garage. If I recall I have something like 20 of them in my 3 car garage and its great. There's a while lighting forum over at GJ with links to lighting simulators/tools, and you can do it fairly cheap as you'll need enough you can get a doscount at lighting supply sites if you call.
In reply to das86turbo :
I do all 3 of those things! So much that I just scrapped some excess bearing halves that I had several duplicates of. The 4x5 white board in my shop is priceless. If I can't even find a 10mm how am supposed to remember what's next on the list
A more recent tip from my fabrication of a ramp truck to haul the Exocet with: welding curtains.
I'm doing a lot of welding, grinding, painting, etc, on this project. As we have a dual purpose parking / project garage, I'd like to avoid getting the other cars dirty and certainly don't want weld slag flying toward them. So, I hung a large tarp I had from another project of sorts, from the ceiling. So far so good, though if I were doing it again, I would probably have hung it a bit differently.
I swear that no matter how big your garage is, you will always find scenarios in which it could definitely be larger. =P
Renovated our kitchen, old cabinets right into garage. Set alittle higher than std. kitchen height. Totes would not fit so I added wire shelf.
Slat board is from commercial clearance warehouse. $200 new - paid $25 and $10 for all different sized hooks. I've got lawn tools on it but you could configure it for anything.
Yes, everything piled up. We just sold house, downsizing pre-retirement.
YAY !
In reply to das86turbo :
I have a free whiteboard on the door. I write my shopping list there....Lowe's...Carparts....tools...internet.
Take a picture when you leave. Order or have the list with you when you shop.
Old coolant hoses also good for sacrificial protectors.
Grind away 0.030 from OD on the old race to use to press in New race.
In reply to Tom1200 :
Alternative to wheels.,
Make a base pallet out of 4x4s. Pallet Jack to move as needed. Good for workbenches made from old file cabinets and double thickness plywood, with or without 1/4 Inch plate from steel scrap yard. The pallet base won't move when you are working.
In reply to das86turbo :
In reply to Tom1200 :
In reply to BimmerMaven :
Very clever, I like it.
In reply to RonB001 :
Sinks
Shop for used restaurant stainless..single and triple. I pd $50 and $75. New price is scary...
Don't forget to add a hot-only hose-bib to the sink....old washing machine hose and garden sprayer...
In reply to BimmerMaven :
Looks like triple didn't upload...
In reply to 86Starion : that's the one I'm always looking for too...10mm does not want to help fix the car!
You described my shop pretty well, but I am going to get clipboards and paper pads for all my cars... GREAT IDEA!!! I use wipe boards, but the legal pad creates a history that goes away when I wipe the board clean.
The one thing I did that has been the most copied in my shop is a can rack made from metal framing members. Tin snips and some short reach rivets make for really easy fabrication. The shelfs are the perfect width and the channel works as a retention lip. You don't even have to put this against a wall because the channel retains on both sides. I'm starting to think about this as a rolling "wall" now :-)
The rolling bench is my favorite piece. I'm using it here to fab a new windscreen for the Panoz.
One of the things I appreciate the most in my garage setup is that the laundry room is right off the garage, and not only is the washer/dryer in there, but also a sink and toilet! That way I never have to go in the house to wash my hands or use the loo......
I agree on the LED lights - they rock! I got mine from Costco - twin bulb 4 ft long for about $20 each on sale. You cannot have too much light in a shop.....
I also use the clear tubs on the wire racks from Home Depot, easier to find stuff and the lids keep it from getting dusty.
One last thing that I really like and use constantly - storage for nuts and bolts. I used to just throw them in whatever container I had lying about, but I've decided wire brushing old rusty bolts is just not worth it, so I keep a selection of new, grade 8 stuff on hand. I buy from Bolt Depot, service is good, prices are OK and that way I always have what I need - no time spent digging thru tons of old rusty hardware to find that last bolt needed to finish a job. I built an a-frame with bins on both sides, the bins are the lids for the containers so again, stuff stays clean and they're transparent and labeled so it's easy to find that size I need.
In reply to BimmerMaven :
Great idea!
Wall cabinets are salvage from Habitat restore. Floor cabinets are just 2x4 frames with plywood tops and doors, leftover laminate flooring from house remodel makes a great benchtop. Rustic tin on walls is salvaged from barns in my area. Red shelving unit in the corner under the big screen TV (cheap on CL) is a flat file cabinet (think blueprint storage), I use it for hardware, sorted into clear plastic bins. Poster/signs are decades' worth of collecting, garage sales, flea markets, birthday/Fathers day/etc presents. Trophies are from my fling with autocrossing my 5.0 LX Mustang about 30 years ago.
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