5 Simple Ways to Get More from Your Garage

In many homes the garage is an unloved and underutilized space; one that’s either crammed with teetering piles of domestic detritus to the point that it’s a hazard or completely empty save for a few spider webs.

If you’re looking to get more from your garage, the following tips will have a transformative impact on what can be an incredibly useful area.

Photo credit: Pexels

First and foremost, your garage is a great place to store your car, keeping it out of sight of thieves, protecting it from the elements, and making sure it looks good and starts every time.

You might not be inclined to use it if you need to get out of your vehicle to haul the door up and down by hand. And you might not want to have yet another device you need to take with you to remotely operate a powered door mechanism.

That’s where fitting your garage with a residential door opener that you can control from your smartphone comes in handy. The latest products in this niche can sync wirelessly with your handset of choice, so you can raise or lower the door at the touch of a button without having to set foot outside of your car.

One reason that garages often get overlooked is that unlike the rest of your home, they won’t have the same level of insulation, so in the colder months they’ll be freezing while in the summer they’ll be boiling hot.

There are a few simple insulation upgrades you can do yourself, such as by installing weather strips on the gaps around the door so that the heat doesn’t escape.

If you want to go further, you could choose insulation materials to affix to the walls and roof, making it a much more livable, usable space all year round.

If your garage is dingy and dim, it can be both uninviting and dangerous. Modern lighting can solve this, and there are several options to consider.

A swift and affordable option is to go for a battery-powered light which is also motion-sensitive. That way it will turn on when you enter, turn off when you leave, and won’t require any hard-wiring.

Getting a professional electrician to fit permanent ceiling lights is the next step up, and while this will come at a cost, it is the better choice if you’re planning to use the garage regularly.

If your garage is attached to your home, then there may be an internal door connecting it with the rest of the property.

If it’s a separate structure, the main point of entry could well be the primary, large-scale door that’s designed to accommodate one or more vehicles. In this scenario, you’ll find that getting in and out is more of an effort if you’re on foot.

The answer is to pay to have a secondary door installed, this one fit for humans as opposed to automobiles. Just make sure it’s lockable and insulated in its own right so that it doesn’t compromise the integrity of the garage or pose a security risk.

Don’t just leave your possessions in random piles throughout your garage, but keep them organized and accessible by purchasing specific storage suited to this space.

From shelving units to chests of drawers, from workbenches to ceiling-mounted bike racks, there are a whole host of solutions available. So don’t delay, get started on transforming your garage today!

Published in: Ideas | Author: Yanita