Keeping your home and garage tidy can be challenging and the number one reason for this comes down to one simple thing. Stuff. We live our lives and we accumulate stuff. So it's no wonder we are always running out of space. Some of this "stuff" is important, some of it just makes us happy so we keep it around. We accumulate things and they add up. Especially in our garage, it seems.

In one journal called “Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century: 32 Families Open Their Doors,” researchers from UCLA studied 32 middle-class, dual-income families from Los Angeles over a four-year period. Their findings showed that the more cluttered a home, the more likely people are to be depressed. So garage or home, many of us have some de-cluttering to do.

No matter how much garage space you have it is never enough. But we can help you maximize your space and reclaim some square footage with a few simple tips. Get ready to say goodbye to the clutter and hello to some organization.

1- Look Up.

There's usually one place that is overlooked when it comes to garage storage. Look up. That's right, your ceiling can be used for storage to free up some much needed space. In fact, ceiling storage systems are very popular right now. There are many DIY tutorials online to help you do it yourself or you can buy a system and have it installed. If it's on the ceiling, it is out of your way and that is an amazing space-saver.

2- Use the walls to your advantage.

If you aren't using your garage walls to store things like shovels, garden rakes, lawn chairs, bicycles and the like, you are really missing out. With just a few wood boards you can make simple tool racks that will hold all of your large yard tools and accessories. Believe it or not, you can even hang really large items like wheelbarrows. Some people also use peg boards to hang up many other tools on their walls. Take a look around your garage. If you have these sorts of things strewn about the floor, you NEED this.

3- The more shelves the better.

This goes with using your walls smartly, but it can't be overstated. The more shelf space you have on your walls, the more space you free up in your garage. Better still, make them deep cabinets so that they can hold more. Corner shelves are a great addition as well. That way you can use the reclaimed space for cool things like workbenches and more.

4- Get that big ladder out of your way

Yes, you can even hang your ladder from either the ceiling or on the wall. Ladders take up valuable real estate in your garage when they aren't in use. Then when you do need it, it is always at arm's length.

5- Buy the right tools.

Half of the battle with keeping your space organized is buying the right kinds of tools and hardware. Look for a lawn mower that folds down for more compact storage or a telescoping ladder that collapses down to nothing. Buying smartly designed items helps stop a storage problem before it begins.

6- Keep those tools in one place.

The larger the toolbox, the more tools you can keep in one place, rather than having them take up room all around your garage. You will want to get one with wheels so that you can move it easily.

7- Label Bins

If you are using bins to store your various odds and ends, make a clear and easy to read label that you can read from the outside so that you know which one contains the "Christmas Decorations", "Winter Clothes" etc. This will save you a lot of time sorting through bins.

These are just a few examples of how you can maximize your space and we all need to because let's face it, the stuff just keeps on coming. A more organized and clean home just makes us feel better.

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