Kid storage ideas - please share your wisdom

[tony_h]

I did a search and couldn't find anything. I can't be the first in this situation.

I've got 3 boys and a wife trying to take over garage space. I saw an episode of Garage Mahal where the re-did a garage for a football coach and his cheerleader teacher wife. They did a locker-type (not a metal locker) arrangement and it started me thinking about kid space in the garage.

I've got a 3-car garage with various shelving (mostly 5-shelf floor units from Lowes), 2 vehicles, a dirt bike and 5 bicycles in it. There is a spot for shoes (we mostly enter the house through the garage) and various other kid stuff.

I'm wanting a spot for each boy to be able to put their shoes, toys, dirt bike gear and sports equipment. Are there any ideas out there? Any inspirations? Open lockers, shelves...?

Thanks in advance.

 

[GN4WHLN]

I find kids fit best in plastic tubs with snap on lids. A large one will do for the wife. Don't forget to cut some holes in the top so they don't suffocate.

Oh... you mean to store their stuff...
Metal shelving works well because you can reconfigure shelf placement as necessary and move the shelves if you reconfigure your garage. Tubs on the shelves are good for keeping things neat and clean. Bikes are a pain. My best advice is a shed in the back yard. Aside from that, hung from the ceiling is OK.

I keep our riding gear in a closet-like cabinent. Helmets, goggles,and gloves on top, jerseys/pants on the hangers, and boots on the bottom. It keeps them clean, out of the way, and ready to go.

By the way, welcome to GJ! I tihink you'll find a lot of interesting stuff here and the members are really good guys.

 

[ddawg16]

I took a slightly different approach....I built a second story to the garage so they can keep ALL of their stuff up there.....

But I'm not a bad dad....I let them keep their bikes in MY part of the garage....in return, I don't have to sleep on the couch.

 

[expatriated]

I have the same issue with skates, balls and all that small stuff going everywhere. I've bought a large Gladiator unit. Inside it, on the shelves are the large rubbermaid containers so everything's in the rubbermaid totes and out of sight behind a door.

The bikes I haven't found a solution for in the summer. In the winter, they all hang from the ceiling but it's too much of a pain to get them down every day in good weather and we ride every day.

 

[tony_h]

Thanks for the ideas...keep 'em coming. Pics will help too...if you have 'em.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

I did a search and couldn't find anything. I can't be the first in this situation.

I've got 3 boys and a wife trying to take over garage space.

The garage is yours. The rest of the house belongs to you and your family, but the garage is yours. It's a living, breathing, part of you. Don't give it up, you testicles will be next, my friend. Stand firm. Give them a shed out in the yard, but never surrender the garage.

 

[Flathead Red]

For shoes, I built a shoe shelf" which is nothing more then a staggered two shelf unit that sits by the door. It allows enough room for everyones shoes and keeps them in one place so I don't trip over them. As far as storage goes of kid gear goes, I would use the large upright lockers. They have adjustable shelves and can be closed to keep junk out of sight.

Red

 

[tony_h]

The garage is yours. The rest of the house belongs to you and your family, but the garage is yours. It's a living, breathing, part of you. Don't give it up, you testicles will be next, my friend. Stand firm. Give them a shed out in the yard, but never surrender the garage.

Maybe a little too close to the truth here -- seems like our biggest "discussions" come when I drop a load of "stuff" I find in the garage on the dining room table.

I already built the shed.... I think she's a believer in Manifest Destiny.

 

[Dragster Racer]

Handiman mag has a bunch of articles with hanging baskets for storage of that kind of stuff. Seems good to me.
I have evicted a lot of non-shop stuff out of my shop. They have a 3 car garage for cris sake! And a basement. Keep the other stuff out of my shop! We do kind of share the barn. Ok, that's mosly mine too, but keep your stuff out of my shop! I can't even keep it clean with only my own stuff.

 

[PassnThru]

The garage is yours. The rest of the house belongs to you and your family, but the garage is yours. It's a living, breathing, part of you. Don't give it up, you testicles will be next, my friend. Stand firm. Give them a shed out in the yard, but never surrender the garage.

Hey - probably half of my detached garage is devoted to the outside toys for my 3 boys. I look at it like this - they have learned to appreciate having a garage from a very young age. Personally, I'm more than happy to share my garage with my kids.
As to the OP, mine are younger with bicycles and such as opposed to dirt bikes. Can't help you much there. For everything else, lots of free standing shelves. Why freestanding? They'll grow up quick and that stuff will disappear.

 

[bezzi44]

Has anyone used any of the sports equipment baskets and racks that go into any of the wall mounted systems? Do they actually work/fit enough stuff? Do they actually get used? Got any photos of them acutally 'being used' you could share?

I'm a little opposite to most of the members here. I'm the WIFE who has all the sports equipment (hockey, golf etc) and the tools. Hub is a hunter so he's got a multitude of tree stands hanging on the walls. We have a decent size garage 30x30 if I remember right, 3 kids, 2 cars, a gazillion bikes and burleys and skates and **** everywhere. Nothing gets put back in it's place, not that it really has one right now.

So Hub's going away for 10 days fishing in Canada and I want to take this opportunity to get the garage organized. Any suggestions on storing a multitude of sports equipmet - sticks, bats, balls, hockey bags, golf clubs, fishing poles, bikes, trikes, scooters, skates, snow tubes, tree stands bla bla bla - would be great. OH, and cheap too.

 

[theroyz71]

I never thought about storing my kids. What about all of their junk?

 

[51rider]

To the OP, in a word: Ikea!

We have some stuff from them that stores all my daughters toys. The toot goes in plastic totes that come in different sizes & colours (she chose pink-no suprise there!) and then slot into a storage unit. You can get different size units as well as the bins. These are open units but I'm sure you could add some doors if you wanted.

You could colour code the bins for specific gear and allocate a unit for each child. They also have inexpensive wooden shoe racks that you could colour code for each child.

I'll have a look for the product name for you & see if I can work out how to post pics too.

Bezzie44, try a search for shop fittings-I'm referring to retail shops here! Most slatwall is a standard dimension & the display hangers/baskets etc should just drop right in-you might even be able to get some from places that are closing down or junking old display gear.

 

[bezzi44]

51Rider - if you can find the IKEA product line, that would be great. Not everything is available on-line for Ikea and also different countries have different lines.

I've sketched up a DIY moveable rack that I'm considering building this weekend. When I say sketch, I mean 'artist's rendering'. Maybe I should do a more detailed plan and get some input for you guys. My plan would be to kill 2 birds with one stone... use up scrap wood I have laying around and get most of the kids equipment in one easy, organized spot.

 

[51rider]

51Rider - if you can find the IKEA product line, that would be great. Not everything is available on-line for Ikea and also different countries have different lines.

Found it!! It's called 'TROFAST' comes in either a solid pine or white finish. I didn't clarify in my orginal post that the unit is open at both the front and back.
The boxes come in loads of different sizes (and colours) and can be purchased both with & without lids. They are called TROFAST storage boxes.
I have checked for you & it is available Stateside! Linky belowhttp://www.ikea.com/us/en/search/?query=trofast

Hope this helps

 

[BetterDays]

 

[boiler7904]

Dreading the day when I have to share the garage with kid's bikes and outdoor toys. My wife already knows not to try invade the one part of the house that's mine. She has 1620 square feet of house and 190 square feet of attic to store her stuff. I get 420. How is this equal?

 

[PassnThru]

Dreading the day when I have to share the garage with kid's bikes and outdoor toys. My wife already knows not to try invade the one part of the house that's mine. She has 1620 square feet of house and 190 square feet of attic to store her stuff. I get 420. How is this equal?

It's called "Married - with children". There is nothing equal about it.

 

[HTGTS350]

Best to store them in soundproof cages so you can't hear them or better still don't have them, sounds like option 1 is for you.

 

[mcdtommy23]

Private school in another state? Grandparents? Good short term storage.

 

[bezzi44]

51rider - thanks for the link.

Everyone else - too late. Now it's just tick tick tick to they're off to college

 

[jethro29]

build a seperate building or large shed for the wifes and kids stuff outback the garage is off limits to them unless they are old enough and willing to turn a wrench.lol