If you’re like most people, your garage is purely functional. It serves as a catch-all storage unit for whatever you don’t use every day. This means you might have stacks of boxes filled with clothing to be given to charity, random holiday decorations, camping gear, sports equipment for your kids, etc. The problem is that over time, this space can be overrun with clutter, ironically making your garage less functional than even a storage locker would be. In many cases, the garage has become so filled with stuff that cars have to be parked on the driveway or in the street.

If all this sounds too familiar for comfort, don’t worry. Even the most unruly of spaces can be whipped into shape with the right plan, some patience and a little elbow grease. Here are some tips and tricks you can use to transform your garage from a mess into a marvel.

Start With Measuring Your Space

Before you start moving things around, get an accurate measurement of the dimensions of your garage. This should include the height from floor to ceiling. Knowing exactly how much room you have to work with will be essential for many of the techniques outlined here.

Keep the Floor Clear

The floor of your garage should be kept as free from clutter as possible. Not only does this prevent tripping hazards, but it also means your belongings can be protected from oil spills, melting snow, leaks and vermin. Whether you use shelving, hooks, pegboards or a combination of methods, you want to make sure you leave as little touching the floor as possible.

Group Similar Items Together

It seems like an obvious tip, but many people find it difficult to keep items used together grouped together in the same space or container. For instance, if you have a badminton net, rackets and shuttlecocks, they should all be on the same shelf. It will save you from wasting time digging around every corner of your garage looking for the drill bits because they weren’t right next to your power drill.

Label Everything

Storage bins and tubs hold a lot of stuff, and if you’re not careful when putting things away you could end up with a different kind of mess on your hands. Rather than spend hours digging through these bins looking for the one item you need, take the time to label each bin with a general description of what’s inside. If you’re looking for a particular string of holiday lights, for example, it helps to know that you only need to open the bin labeled “Holiday Lights” instead of going on the world’s worst treasure hunt.

Use a Mix of Open and Closed Storage

 Not everything should be put on a shelf or closed up in a cabinet. This is why when planning out your storage options, you should use a combination of the two types. It provides you with protection for items that might need to be kept away from the elements or out of reach from little hands, as well as provide easy access to other items that you use all the time.

Dedicate a Space for a Workbench

Even if you’re not exactly the handy type, you at least need a special corner of your garage where your tools can be found. A simple countertop gives you an area for fixing things without worrying about messing up your kitchen table.

Hang Shelving From the Ceiling  

You have more room in your garage than you might think. Suspending a shelf from your ceiling makes a great, out-of-the-way place to stash things you might only use once or twice a year, including shop vacs, folding chairs or your artificial Christmas tree. These can free up more space along your walls and cut down on cluttered areas.

Once you get your garage organized, you’ll find it’s much easier to find what you’re looking for and keep everything nice and neat. Whether you follow these ideas to the letter or just use them as a springboard for your own organization system, you’ll be glad you took the time to do it.

Author bio: Sydney Hamilton currently serves as Senior Director of Digital Marketing with The Container Store. Her team’s mission is to improve lives through the power of organization. With over a decade of experience in retail, travel and hospitality marketing, she enjoys the constant growth and challenge this industry brings.