A garage is almost always a hugely under-utilised space within the home. A large, almost empty room that can take on any role you wish from a safe place to keep your car, to a workshop for your DIY projects, a home studio for arts and crafts, or even a personal workout space/gym. More often than not, though, our garages just end up filled with all the random stuff we don't know what else to do with. We take a valuable piece of real estate and turn it into a dumping ground filled with things that only see the light of day one a decade, and even then usually when moving them to get to something else.

To help you tidy up your garage space and make the best use of it, here are our four strategies for keeping it organised.

Clearing Out Your Junk

Junk invariably builds up in a garage space. It's an unfortunate fact of life; when something is no longer being used or when we're clearing out other rooms in the house, it all gets dumped in the garage. Having a regular clear out of all the junk that you no longer need is the first step in organising and keeping your garage clean.

With every item, you come across ask yourself both if you have used it in the last six months, and if you had even noticed it was missing. Bring the kids on board to help out clear out their old toys too — just be careful they don't get carried away playing with things! If there is too much unwanted junk you may want to consider hiring a rubbish removal company.

Hang Your Tools on Your Wall

The garage is the natural home of tools and DIY supplies. But those supplies aren't much use if they can't be accessed easily when you need them. Creating easy-to-access and neat storage solutions for your tools and supplies not only makes life easier but will free up space for other things.

Pegboards are a wonderful way to have all your tools out on display, and therefore easily accessible, without them taking up large amounts of space. They are available in a range of sizes from most hardware stores and only take 30 minutes to fit.

Utilise Your Ceiling Space

Floor and wall space aren’t the only space available in your garage. An often-forgetting space that can be utilised is the ceiling. Many garages have open rafters where you can fit wooden boards to create hidden storage space.

One garage organizing trick is it install wooden ceiling racks. It’s where Rick keeps all his scrap wood from previous projects and other things that don’t fit elsewhere. You could even put some storage tubs up there if needed. I didn’t install any of these because my garage ceiling is so low.

Construction isn’t too difficult. Place some corner braces in the corners for added reinforcement, and used additional corner braces to mount the entire rack to the ceiling.

Even if your garage doesn't have exposed rafters and roof space, you can benefit from some clever suspended and ceiling-based storage solutions. Hooks and pulleys are especially useful for lifting items such as bikes and lawnmowers out the way.

Buy a Stackable Tub for Each Person

Whatever size your family is, the garage is almost certainly a host to a pile of each person's stuff. From sentimental keepsakes to favourite toys, and useful (but rarely used) accessories, things can get out of control quickly.

Individual, stackable tubs for each person allows everybody to keep their stuff in an easy to find a place while minimising the amount of space taken up. A whole wall of shelving can be condensed into a single corner of neatly stackable boxes.

Install Open Shelves Instead of Cupboards

Shelves are less expensive, easier to access (you don't need additional clearance to swing the doors open) and let you easily scan what you've stored. Cabinets with doors give you an excuse to stay disorganized because you can hide the evidence, so they can quickly become messy.

Use them sparingly—like when the things you're storing need to be protected from airborne dust and dirt.

Use a Fold-Up Work Bench

Every garage needs a workbench, but finding a space for it can be tricky. To save floor space, consider installing a foldable workbench on the wall and when you need to do work in the garage, you can take your car out to make room.

You can either look at building one yourself or there are plenty of prebuilt options you can purchase.

Organise Your Fishing Rods

We got sick and tired of our fishing rods getting tangled, so we came up with this easy fishing rod organizer. All you need is a length of 3-in.-diameter PVC pipe and a foam swimming pool noodle for this DIY garage storage system.

Drill 1-in. holes spaced every 4 in. in the PVC pipe. Use a utility knife to cut slits in the foam noodle, spacing them 4 in. apart. Line up the pool noodle on the wall so that at least two of the slits sit over studs. Pull those slits apart, slide in a fender washer, and screw the noodle to the wall with 2-in. screws. Then screw the PVC pipe to the wall beneath it at a comfortable height and insert your fishing rods. Look Ma, no more tangles!

Safety First

If little ones will be using the garage it's important to find safe ways of storing hazardous items. Lockable heavy-duty cabinets are perfect for storing chemicals and tools that are potentially dangerous. With a minimalist finish, they're a go-to storage choice for garages that are also used as rumpus or games rooms, helping to create a seamless transition between house and garage.