Garage Storage with Acrylic
The garage is often one of those areas of our homes that occasionally gets forgotten when it comes to organization.
A drill bit here, a wrench there, a container of last year’s Christmas ornaments placed on the shelf just until you can get to it later.
Later can often come weeks, months, or years later leaving you bewildered as to where that drill bit went, which bin is the Christmas stuff in,
and perhaps even a cluttered mess that looks too much to handle. Whether it’s a tool for your hobby or your profession, being able to find
what you need in your garage in an easy manner is an instant stress relief and time-saver. You get what you need and have more time to work or play.
Maximizing your garage storage can be done quickly and easily with the right materials and ideas. Here’s how you can tackle your garage storage head on with acrylic.
Most agree that the cornerstone to any well-organized garage is the pegboard. That recognizable, perforated sheet hanging on a garage wall, or the picturing of one on a beautiful, blank garage wall.
Using wall space is a very important key to organization no matter where it is. But with a garage pegboard, the layout of tools and the spacing of hooks is nearly unlimited in flexibility. Valuable space that might be taken up by toolboxes or old storage boxes and bins on the floor can be freed with a great pegboard.
So why go with an acrylic or plexiglass pegboard?
Masonite is not humidity or element proof. It’s very susceptible to weather. If you live in a very humid state or even work with liquids, oils, and water in your garage, getting the Masonite wet can render it useless and quick.
Removal and re-installation of hooks when you need to adjust for tool and object size can damage the holes of the board. That makes it even more difficult for the hook to stay in place.
Metal pegboards are usually made of steel and do look sleek. Of course, the use of steel adds strength and sturdiness Masonite is lacking. However, they are not a cost-effective, affordable choice. They are the most expensive kind of pegboards out there. They are extremely heavy and cumbersome to position and hang when in larger sheets, making covering an entire wall if that’s your plan almost a nightmare in effort.
Also, steel rusts when exposed to too much moisture and humidity. Not to mention, stacking too much weight on a steel pegboard won’t ruin the pegboard but it will likely cause damage to where you mounted it, like your sheetrock or wooden frame. Lastly, consider that steel conducts electricity making it dangerous and ill-advised when working around anything with wires or an unfinished garage.
Now, consider the acrylic or plastic peg board. This kind of pegboard can offer unmatched versatility as well as the strength needed to do its job. Not only that, but companies like us, TAP Plastics, can offer in-depth customization to the thickness, colors, sizing and more to a pegboard that could be designed exclusively with your needs in mind. TAP can drill the holes for you or you can purchase a drill bit and do-it-yourself. Install the new acrylic pegboard like you would a Masonite board and you will have a modern, durable and functional addition to your garage.
Just some of the benefits of using an acrylic pegboard:
- Having all your tools presented visually and easily and finding them at a glance.
- No clutter on the ground or your working table/area
- Out of reach from little hands if needed
- Acrylic and plastics are very lightweight, more mobile than metal and Masonite
- The widest selection of styles, shapes, sizes, and customizability
- Durability to the moon--never rusts, never molds, never splinters or warps, can be moved and reinstalled with ease.
- No need to buy furring strips, meaning utilization of all pegboard holes
- Available in all sorts of plastics, recycles and repurposed as well
- Strong enough for all your heavier tools
Photo frames can do more than just hold your favorite portrait. They are amazing label holders. Print off what you need, slip it into a photo frame, hang or hot glue the label to any container or basket and you will instantly know exactly what’s in any box in the garage, transparent materials or not.
Examples of fantastic photo frames that can quickly be turned into your garage storage containers labels, shelves, boxes, and anything else you can think of:
Polystyrene U-Frames
Polystyrene slant frames
Laser cut card holders
Wall frames
Many acrylics and plastic boxes for storage are transparent, making knowing what exactly is in the box, whether labeled or not, even easier. Take one look and you’ll know if that’s Christmas tree tinsel or Halloween outdoor decorations.
Keeping your screws, nails and small items secure.
Not only is keeping that one jar of nails, screws, washers and miscellaneous difficult to find anything you need without dumping the entire thing out—it’s dangerous. What if you get jabbed by a rusty old nail? Or one of those tiny, very sharp finishing nails?
Acrylic and plastic organizers aren’t just for bead crafts. Many organizers, especially those with adjustable dividers make the perfect place to store all the small bits and pieces.
Keep your:
- Wood screws
- Drywall screws
- Sheet metal screws
- Multi-Material screws
- Anchors
- Finishing nails
- Framing nails
- Common nails
- Staples
- Specialty nails
- Washers
- Nuts
- Bolts
- Hooks and Eyes
- Rope and chain connectors
You can keep acrylic shelves as simple or as classy as you wish to fit your style and needs for your garage. Custom cut shelves can cater to any garage size and space, thickness too can help with look as well as sturdiness. Use beautiful brass brackets or plain, either way the acrylic shelves will look both modern and be entirely functional.
Fishing Rods
Got a bit of an issue with your fishing rod lines always getting tangled, or the rods themselves always falling over? A 3” diameter clear acrylic tube in any length with a foam swimming pool noodle is all you need to keep them from tangling and falling over.
Use a utility knife to cut slits in the foam pool noodle every 4 inches apart. Drill 1-inch holes every 4 inches apart, line up the pool noodle to the wall so at least two slits sit over studs. Slip in a fender washer in those two slits, screw the noodle to the wall, then screw in your clear cast acrylic tube to the bottom matching the slits and there you go. Nice, neat, evenly spaced and tangle free fishing rods!
Sports storage
If the kids or even your own basketball, soccer ball, footballs and more are rolling around loosely in the garage or you never seem to find them, you can make a super simple solution with just two clear acrylic circles and some bungee cords.
Drill 8 holes evenly spaces on two acrylic circles. Drill a hole to hang one end to a hook on the garage wall, then hook the bungee cords to the top and bottom acrylic circles. Slip the basketballs or soccer balls in between the bungee cords and you have an easy access vertical storage space for sports!
These simple storage techniques are simply the tip of all the many different and creative, wonderful ways acrylics add to our convenience and garage storage. Using acrylics in the garage will not only keep it from being a mess, it makes sure you know exactly what you need and where you put it last! Go from cluttered, unable to park your car, to a clean, open space to park and work all in one with acrylic in your garage!