What You Should Keep on Hand in Your Car Garage

Your car is a huge part of your life - it gets you and your family where you need to safely! Your car lives in your garage, making it crucial for you to stock your garage with everything you might need to keep your car on the road. If you are looking to reorganize or reinvigorate your garage space, here is a great starter list of things that you may want to keep on hand.

1. Utility Hooks and Storage Shelves

The key to getting the most out of your garage is keeping it clean, tidy, and organized. Unfortunately for most people, the garage becomes a storage space for all sorts of gizmos and gadgets. Before you buy anything else, maximize your space by making sure that you have a solid organizational plan and the right hardware to do it installed in your space.

2. Jumper Cables

A sad fact of life is that car batteries die and need to be jumped once in a while, they just do! Having a set of jumper cables that are easily accessible in your garage may save you, your friends, and your family some trouble down the line.

3. A Reliable Toolkit

Whether you own or rent, ware and tear around your house or apartment is normal. Having a stocked and robust tool kit on hand in your garage will help you to fix things fast. This is not something to skimp on - a great toolkit can last a lifetime, so make sure to invest in a high-quality one.

4. An Electric Air Compressor

Are you still using your summer tires come winter time? With the changes of weather and seasons, it is very normal to see your pressure tires ebb and flow. Driving with a deflated tire can be very dangerous, which is why it is important to have a compressor on hand to make sure all of your tires are where they need to be.

5. A Sports Caddy/Organizer

If you have kids in the home, you know that sports equiptment takes up a lot of real estate. You don't want your children lugging in their muddy soccer balls or grass-covered lacrosse sticks into your clean home after a long day of practice. A sports organizer can be a great addition to your garage and can save you a ton of space on storage. You can also look into getting a car detailing membership to keep your car tidy.

6. A Critter Catcher

Your garage is the barrier between the inside of your home and the great outdoors, which means you are bound to face a bug or two while working. A Critter Catcher is a great way to pick up and safely remove these pesky insects.

7. A Shoe Rack

For many households, the garage is the entry point of the home, meaning there is a lot of coming and going. To keep your home clean and tidy, invest in a solid shoe rack to put at the edge of your garage. You don't want to track in mud on your rainboots or gunk on your sneakers. Leave them outside to keep your home spick and span.

8. Car Jack

If you've ever had a flat tire, you know how annoying they can be to try to remedy when you don't have the right tools on hand. Having a car jack in your garage will bring you peace of mind. They don't take up a ton of space and they are absolutely invaluable when it's time to change those tires.

9. Bright Lighting

If you're going to be doing a lot of work on your car or other household projects in your garage, make sure to invest in a good source of lighting. It is not safe to work on machinery in dim or bad lighting.

10. Handheld Vacuum

One of the ways you can keep your car tidy is by regularly vacuuming on top of, underneath, and between the seats. A portable, hand-held vacuum makes this task quick and easy.

11. Seat Cleaner

Even the cleanest of cars is bound to have an accident here or there. Whether you spill something on your way to work, or accidentally drop some of your food from the drive through, your seats are bound to be the victim of a mess at one point or another. Having seat cleaner on hand will help you clean these messes as they happen, which will help your car be more valuable and cleaner for longer.

Having a stocked garage will make life easier for you and your family. Use this list as a jumping off point to create your perfect garage!

12. Extra Car Parts

With your garage’s main use being storage for your car you might as well include some spare parts to your automobile within it as well. It is just easier to keep any additional auto-related parts in close range because you never know when you will need them. For example, a spare windshield can be stored within a garage or an engine. Like mentioned before you never know when or what you’ll need.

Written by Taylor McKnight, Author for State Auto Glass