Garage Storage Solutions & a Great Gift Idea

A Place for Everything and Everything in it's Place?

Garage Storage Kits really help you get yourself organised and make the most of your space. There is an old saying; a place for everything and everything in its place and organising your garage, your garden or even your home can help you make the most of your storage space and ensure those items are easy to find each time you need them.

Garage Storage Kits - A great gift idea for someone

We all know how efficient careful organisation of your items can be and how much hassle it can save us, but have you ever considered helping others get organised? If you have some birthdays or special events coming up you could consider a garage or home organisation system as gift. Often we are stuck for good ideas when it comes to close friends and helping them get their clutter sorted and their home organised is a great idea.

We all love to have a tidy home, we feel much more relaxed about our surroundings and practically life becomes so much easier, so if you are thinking about an unusual gift for someone then consider helping them get organised there are some real clear benefits:

Here are some benefits of Home or Garage Storage Solutions:-

When it comes to organising your garage there are some very useful garage organisation systems to help keep your garage clear from clutter and make things much more accessible and easy to find. Most of us have garages and dislike going into the garage if it is full of clutter and old storage items that we hardly use. Organising your garage can be a really good investment, freeing up much more self storage space and taking the stress out of going into the garage to find something.

When you buy a garage storage system consider whether you would be better with garage shelving or boxes, whether storage units or cabinets would be best for you or whether you could make use of your garage walls and get a kit that allows you to storage the bigger items such as a lawn mower or bike on the wall and out of the way.

If you are considering a home storage kit then just think about how useful it could be to have somewhere to store shoes, coats, tools and other items that we use every day. Many people cram items under the stairs or into a cupboard somewhere and get frustrated when it comes to trying to find it again. Any wall you have in your home could be utilised to help with your storage problems.

When considering gardening equipment many people suffer from thefts from their garden or their garden sheds and many storage solutions help with keeping your gardening equipment safe and secure. A really cool idea for a gift are garden storage systems as many of these are small enough to fit into a garden shed whilst also being strong enough to store big items like lawn mowers and even bikes

The key to getting someone a storage kit is flexibility. Make sure you buy a kit that is a kit that they can build on. Many kits come as starter kits but you can add to them as you like. Many people who start small expand their storage kits as they see the benefit of them and many people end up with garage walls that are completely fitted with storage solutions enabling the homeowner to keep their garage free from clutter and somewhere for them to enjoy being.

Take Bike Storage & Bike Security Seriously as Bike Thefts Hit Record High

Bike Thefts Hit 500,000 in UK

It is reported that there are over 530,000 bikes stolen every year in the UK and the problem is getting worse.

Bike theft is a real concern for all cyclists and with some cycles costing thousands of pounds, as many enthusiasts will tell you further steps are now required to protecting your prize asset.

So what can we do about it? Well we start with a good sturdy lock and chain for our bicycle. Remember if you are going to leave it for long periods in any one place, maybe outside a work place or favourite entertainment venue, try and use different locations as thieves will get to know where and when you leave your bike. If you leave it in a regular spot for long periods of time it won’t be long before you face a real threat of having it stolen

May of us are now starting to cycle to work and with the increase costs of running a car and the associated environmental issues, more and more, quite rightly, are using this mode of transport. If your work place provides a place for you to park your bicycle ensure that it is well secure and that if possible, it is left in a place where CCTV can see it or in a place where there is a regular flow of people.

What is really surprising is that in 2010 just over 115,000 thefts were reported to the Police meaning that somewhere in the region on 1 in 5 thefts go unreported. The Police need to know about the thefts in order to take complaints seriously, you are doing yourself and others a real injustice if you don’t report it. They will only take it as a serious issue if they know about it.

Also, remember that many insurance companies will require a crime number for any insurance claim so if you are unlucky enough to have yours stolen, report it first and then your insurance claim will be processed much more quickly. Also keep a detailed record of costs, both purchase costs and keep receipts for any accessories that you may have bought for the bike.

Finally many thefts of cycles happen at or around the home. Don’t leave the bicycle unattended for long periods, even if it is on your drive. It takes seconds for a thief to take your bike. Also to protect is from garage thefts and damage try investing in a bike storage kit. There are many on the market available at affordable prices that will store your bike off the floor and on the wall. Securing your bike in a well organised, tidy and secure garage will make your hobby much more enjoyable and your bike a lot safer.

Garage & Home Organisation & Storage Tips

Garage Organisation & Storage Solutions

It’s not just your Garage that gets untidy and full of those items that we someday hope to find a home for, your house can very simply and rapidly become a hoarding place for your personal belongings.

With the winter almost out of the way, this is the time for you to be thinking about organising your garage or your home, a time to de-clutter, to find a suitable storage place for all your personal items.

Here are a few tips for you on how best to do this:

Hallway – Most of us have a collection of winter clothing such as scarves, hats, coats that can take up a lot of space. I would suggest that now the winter is coming to an end, now would be a good time to put these into storage somewhere either in a cupboard, wardrobe or box them and store them carefully in your garage.

Lounge – The biggest offending clutter items in this room tend to be CD’s, DVD’s or game that we don’t use anymore so why not take the time now to box them and store them safely and carefully out of the way. We use this room a lot and most of us like to display our more treasured items such as trophies or photographs, don’t let your living room get cluttered and take the shine off your more treasured display items

Kitchen – Our kitchens can be a constant source of frustration and full of clutter. We stuff things into kitchen drawers and most if not all of us will have surplus items that we never use. Too much cutlery, the odd electric blender we never use and containers for food storage that have never been opened. Get all the clutter out of the drawers, box those items you don’t use and store them carefully in your loft or garage. We all use our kitchen every day and it’s so much nicer when the kitchen is clutter free

Closets – How many of us have last year’s fashion items stored in the closet, items we will never wear again? Now is a good time to clear out those closet items, box them and ship them out to the charity shop. If you are intent on keeping them, box them carefully and find a suitable storage place for them. Think about fixing some storage solutions, maybe wall storage panels, storage baskets, wall storage kits onto the walls to prove you with additional wall storage.

Office – If you have an office at home, storage is vitally important. You may need to store old records or files carefully and securely. Again, think about storage boxes or storage cabinets that will help keep your records safe and secure should you need to call on them in the future

Garage – Finally, the biggest culprit of them all, the king of clutter. Think about organising your garage properly, not just moving items around and piling them into a corner, out of sight is not always out of mind. You have more space in your garage than you think. Many people over look at value of using their garage wall storage space and there are plenty of options available for garage storage. Jump onto Google and type Garage Storage Kits and see the options that are available to you. Some of the garage storage kits are designed specifically to store items from the garage, bikes, golf clubs, gardening equipment and are really easy on the budget!

Storage Ideas to help you sell your home this spring

We may still be feeling the cold and seeing frost on the car in the morning but now Valentine’s Day is upon us, it’s a sure sign that a change in seasons is upon us.

With the change of seasons and the coming of spring inevitably a number of you will be considering selling your homes this year and if that’s the case, don’t overlook some simple but highly relevant tips on how to stay ahead of the competition.

Despite all the gloom and doom of the property market some agents are reporting impressive sales figures with some reporting sales of over 5% higher than the previous year.

Some of us though will overlook the basics as we get all caught up with all that’s involved in selling your home so here’s some tips to help you sell your home quicker:

Clutter Control

Whether you are selling or not this one is always a great idea. With the spring comes the ‘Spring Clean’ and if you are thinking of selling, a good clear up of all that household clutter with create the feeling of much more space in your home. Think about storing household items up and off the floor. Whether you store in the pantry or the utility room or under the stairs, try fixing some Home Storage Panels onto the walls and you’ll be amazed at how clutter free your home becomes and how ‘spacey’ the house looks to purchasers. If it helps you sell the Storage Kits will be the best investment you could make.

Garage Storage

If you are anything like to majority of us, the garage gets used for just about everything other than for garaging the car. You need to create a perception of how much space there is inside and outside of your home. Also the proposed purchase may be a car enthusiast and a nice garage maybe high on the list of priorities for them.

So think about fitting some Garage Storage Kits to the walls of your garage and create an impression of a well organised and spacey garage. The chances are they will only take a quick look at the garage so you will only have a couple of minutes at the most to impress them.

Many estate agents report Garage Space as being a high priority for purchasers so visit our website to get some Garage Storage Ideas and some low cost Garage Storage Solutions to that clutter problem

Shoe Rack – One for the ladies!

Shoe Rack for the lady - Brownie points for the hubby

Well, I know how popular Garage Storage kits from StorageMaker have been recently but people seem to be finding new uses for them every day!

A guy just called me up and asked if it was possible for him to order some of our Slatwall panels and accessories as he wanted to make the most of the storage space in his home. "Sure, of course" I said and went on to ask a few questions to try and find out what his storage ideas were and where he wanted to fit his home storage panels.

Thinking he was going to say in the garage, under the stairs, in an outdoor building or something similar I was a little surprised when he said “I have been thinking about Storage Solutions for the wife’s shoes and your starter storage kits fit the bill! I am going to fit them into her dressing room and she can store all her shoes neatly and tidily”.

What a great idea I thought – a huge problem I know for many ladies, after all most of you do have rather large shoe collections!

We talked about his requirements and he decided that it would be a great idea to fit some Slatwall Panels to the wall in the dressing room and he could then simply slot in some shoe baskets and make a really neat Shoe Rack. He was so impressed with how easily the storage kits can be fitted that after watching the video he promised to order some of the bigger kits to solve his garage storage problems.

A great result all round, the lady gets to store her treasured shoe collection keeping them all nice and neat and he gets a clutter free home.... oh and yes some valuable brownie points!

Garage Storage – Protect Your Car

Garage Storage Solutions against Car Crime

There are lots of reasons why garage storage products can be a worthwhile investment. None more than to protect your car! In difficult financial climates when our economy is struggling and jobs are hard to find, we see a rise in petty crime and recently, car crime is of real concern for all of us living throughout the UK.

Just take a look down your own street and you will see driveways and roads littered with cars parked overnight, even when the owner has a garage. Why? Well most of us immediately put it down to the owners being too lazy to garage their precious cars overnight but that is not necessarily the case.

Many of us still get emotionally attached to our cars; after all they are one of the biggest investments we make throughout our lifetime. Once bought we spend many long hours cleaning our beloved car, making sure the paint in protected, ensuring the tyre pressures are all as they should be, the oil levels are correct and so on.

Then we park the car safely overnight on the drive until we need her (i refrain from using the word it!) again the following morning...only to find that someone has damaged our precious beloved car or worse, stolen her! This is the time when we look at the garage and think to ourselves....why didn’t I just clear up the garage and put the car away! Good question...why didn’t you?

Well it’s not because you’re lazy it’s very often as simple as garage storage problems. Where can I put all this garden equipment? How can I organise my garage properly? What shall I do with all these Tools to keep them safe but out of the way? Well solving your garage storage problems may be much simpler than you think.

If you don’t like the idea of storage cabinets or additional shelving in your garage, have a think about Garage Storage Kits. The kits are easy to fit, made from heavy duty materials so they are sturdy and will last for a very long time. You can add to your kits and panels any time you wish to keep your garage clutter free and you can store your other valuables such as bikes and golfing equipment to keep them clean, safe and off the floor.

So, spare a second thought for your precious car and imagine how you would feel if it was damaged or stolen, simply because you didn’t tidy that garage and store your garage items properly.

So go on, make time, sort your garage and take a look at our garage storage solutions.

Take a look at our video to see just how easy it is to install and how useful they are. You will wonder just how you managed without them.

Visit our online store now

Storage Solutions for your Home & Garage Items – 40% OFF selected kits

A storage problem is something we all face whether at home or work. There is nothing more frustrating than having our possessions lying around cluttering up our garage, home or business premises and when we do get to tidying up, we store everything away without a thought for when we may need those items again.

Garages are probably one of the biggest problems we have when it comes to storage, how do we organise our garage? There is only limited space available for Storing items such as Bikes, Golf Equipment, Lawn Mowers, and Workshop Tools etc. How do we do all this then still have room for the car?

Well, the good news is that we have the answer to all your storage problems and have designed some specific kits to help with your storage problems.

Our Garage Storage Kits come with storage of specific items in mind. Our Trackwall Kits are smaller kits designed to help with the storage of smaller items such as specific garden or workshop tools. They can be used to store household items and provide valuable extra home storage in areas such as the pantry or under the stairs or in the loft.

Our larger wall storage kits are our Slatwall Storage Kits and we have specific kits that help with specific storage problems such as garden tool storage, Golf Club Storage, Bike Storage or Tools Storage.

The good news is that if you buy garage storage kits from StorageMaker™ during January 2012 you can get up to 40% off the normal price – that’s a huge saving and makes your garage storage kits a bargain not to miss!

All our Garage Storage Kits are easy to install and you can add to them any time you wish. They are durable and built to last and allow safe storage of your personal items while retaining easy access to them anytime you want.

Take a look at our video to see just how easy it is to install and how useful they are. You will wonder just how you managed without them.

Visit our online store now and get your garage sorted at a fraction of the normal cost.

Garage Storage Solutions - Why January is a good time to start thinking about organising your Garage

With Christmas upon us most of us will have been rifling through our garage to find our Christmas decorations. As always, although Christmas is such an enjoyable time of the year, no doubt it will soon feel as if it is over before it started.

Come January we will all be thinking about taking down the Christmas decorations and storing them for next year. What better time to tidy up your garage and store your garage items safely for future use.

StorageMaker™ has a great range of products to help store your garage items safely and securely until the next time you need them. Storing your bicycles, golf clubs, and workshop tools has never been easier with StorageMaker™ garage storage kits.

StorageMaker™ Garage Storage Trackwall kits are ideal for storage of your personal items and are so compact you can easily fit them in the house or the garage making them ideal storage kits for almost any household item. You can fit them effortlessly in the pantry, under the stairs or just about anywhere making household clutter a thing of the past.

StorageMaker™ Slatwall kits are great for storage of your bigger personal items such as your valuable golf clubs, your bike or your favourite sports equipment. The Slatwall kits are easy to fit, heavy duty and come with a full range of accessories such as hooks, baskets and shelving. You can start with a small number of panels to store your personal belongings in the garage and add to the kit as you wish. You will be so pleased with the product and quality that you will soon be adding more and more panels to completely tidy your garage and home.

StoragMaker™ garage storage kits offer real garage storage solutions for all your clutter problems whether in the garage, the home, the garden shed or even commercial premises. StorageMaker™ panels are so robust many are being used in commercial premises such as retails shops and warehouses, a great storage and organisation product that is affordable and durable.

So, when Christmas is over and you are ready to store your Christmas decorations, have a think about StorageMaker™ Garage Storage products and tidy up your garage!

StorageMAKER Wall Storage Systems - an Introduction

A garage storage solution that allows you to find your stuff - exactly what you need, when you need it. Stop clutter and organise your life.

Bicycle Storage for Mountain Bikes and Cyclists

Have a look at our new storage starter kits. This one perfectly pieced together for the bicycle enthusiast!

Should we choose the bike over the car for everyday use?

With so many debates raging about the state of the planet and how each person can help reduce their carbon footprint, can we really make a difference if we replace the car with the bike and how easy would it be for you to do?

We need to imagine what our day would be like if we did everything the same but instead of jumping into the car every morning to go about our daily business you hopped on your bicycle. The thought could potentially terrify the bike-a-phoebes amongst us, but hopefully after reading this, you will consider changing your mind.

Perhaps the most obvious advantage of converting to a bike is the cost. There is no need to buy road tax or any other insurance related to a car when you have a bike. You simply pay for the bike and ride off, simple.

There is always the age old problem of parking, whether it is in or near your workplace, trips to town or even outside your home. Not only is it sometimes difficult finding a parking space, you have to pay for the privilege. However, a bike could save you time and money by allowing you to leave your bile securely chained without having to park miles away from where you need to be and paying a fortune to do so. If parking outside your home is problematic, then there is a clear solution. Bicycle storage could be made really simple by investing in a garage storage kit. Not only will this save room in your garage but keep your bike stored in a safe place overnight.

The second clear advantage is fitness. Cycling every day gives you regular exercise which could dramatically reduce your chances of long-term illnesses such as heart disease. If you use your car for the smallest of journeys, for example, a trip to the local shop rather than walking or taking a bike, you are doing nothing to burn calories and will increase your chance of obesity.

Bikes are very versatile and can often navigate around places that cars can’t such as small streets, canal paths and city centres. This could save the commuter time travelling to work, making the bike a much more efficient way of traveling into work.

Ok, a bike isn’t the first choice if carrying shopping or luggage, so for that purpose alone, the car would be the clear choice. But for those seriously committed to helping reduce their carbon footprint, there is always public transport. If you are planning a holiday that you would normally take the car for, why not look at alternatives. There are much more options of travel available now that would probably cost half of what it would cost in petrol for the journey anyway.

Whatever the choices only you can decide what is best for you but with any vehicle or bicycle that use the public roads, safety is always a major factor and if you are choosing to change from bike to car then ensure that you invest in a good helmet and always be road aware.

Stephen Richards- StorageMAKER's garage storage kits are specifically designed for organisation and storage solutions. Industrial shelving, bike
racks and garage hooks are all included in these kits.

StorageMAKER. The Garage Storage Solution.

Top 10 space wasters.

It’s incredible to consider how much precious space in our homes is wasted by near-useless items that we seem to tolerate at the expense of improving our daily lives. It’s not just space either, but money too that could be saved just by improving your home storage situation.

Objects big and small

Everyone has their own definition over what is a waste of space and what isn’t, but to get you focused here are 10 we’ve found around the house to help you get started:

1. Kitchen gadgets: Take a look into the dark recesses of your kitchen cupboards and drawers. How much stuff is in there that you haven’t used in over a year? Sure, at the time you bought the product it seemed amazing and an ideal solution to an obscure recipe. But perhaps now you realise that by the time you’ve cleaned it and figured out how to work the thing you could have made the meal using simpler and more commonly used kitchen items.

2. Old clothing: Perhaps they don’t fit, are beyond repair, or you just don’t like them. What’s keeping them in your wardrobe? Maybe you don’t want to throw them out because they were expensive to buy in the first place. Time to take a deep breath and consider that someone else might use them. Take them to a charity shop, or if they’re quality, then you could always sell them.

3. Tools: Is your garage cluttered? Garage storage can be a constant effort. Help by selling old tools you rarely use or have more than one of. It’s surprising how many duplicates you could find.

4. Magazines and books. It’s great to have library at home, but consider your collection, with magazines especially tending to pile up and occupy space. Time for a clear out in this department?

Making space

5. Get the right shelving and storage. Sometimes it’s not the just amount of things we have that waste space, but the way we store them Get a good
storage solution for your home. Make the most of wall space rather than pile things from the floor upwards.

6. Organise your home storage. Keep your storage solutions in the garage and home simple and efficient. Thing you use more should be in easy to access places.

7. Sort out the garage. Don’t use the garage as a dumping ground. It should be there to protect your car from the winter weather and a workable space for DIY and other home improvements. Get some shelves and throw out old stuff.

8. Use vertical spaces in all areas of your property. Hooks and rods make for great space savers. A home is for living in – not just cluttering.

9. Compartmentalise. Try to keep a theme for home storage. Saving space should be for your ease of use of the things you need, for example clothing in the wardrobe and books on the bookshelf.

10. Old gadgets. Used electronics and home appliances can be recycled. Throw them out for more efficient products, saving money on bills as well as valuable household storage and living space.


www.storagemaker.co.uk

How to de-clutter.

We’re moving house this weekend, and as well as move the things we need, we’re also going to get rid of the things we don’t need. I envisage a major de-clutter, and I’m looking forward to it.

The Plan

It’s always good to have a plan, and even better to stick to it. But first, before the plan, it’s good to have a look around and get an idea of what’s going to stay with us in our new home, and what isn’t. Rather than go around the whole house and try and sort everything at the same time, the plan is to do one room at a time. This means the approach is a lot more efficient, because we can clear a space in the middle of the room for all the sorting.

How do I sort? Well I’m aiming to get everything down to the essentials. Anything left over is for the charity shop, classifieds, recycling or the bin. How do I distinguish between essential and non-essential? Well that gets tricky. I will have an undecided pile, and because this is a team job, hopefully things can get decided by consensus. So firstly, we sort out the first bedroom, using the bed as the space for throwing everything on. Then we literally comb the entire room, separating things we’re going to keep from things to go. The “things to keep” pile then goes into the removal van and the rest goes into the garage storage system we’ve hastily assembled, for further separation into an individual storage solution for charity shop, re-selling, recycling, and the bin.

Making the decision

It sounds simple, but the actual decision of what you’re going to keep or get rid of can get tricky. It’s just not always that easy, which probably explains all of the clutter in our house in the first place.

One of the best ways I’ve found to decide between what to keep and what not to, is pick one item up at a time and make an instant decision. Consider the last time you actually used the item – if it was over a year ago then it’s probably time for it to go. Exclude the seasonal merit of the item; so if it’s a winter jacket, consider its worth in the context of the season it’s intended for.

This process can take around 4 hours per room of your home. The great thing about de-cluttering like this is that it’s not just good to do before you move house. You can incorporate it into your spring-cleaning, or just when you feel the house needs a good tidy up. Simplicity is often the key to a good home. Too much clutter and you can feel burdened, de-clutter and you feel back in control of your own home, and life. This method can be used for organising everything from home storage to tool storage, chucking away the stuff that’s in your way, and re-discovering the usefulness of having less. In essence, an affordable and fun type of home improvement.

ENDS

About the Author

Stephen Richards- StorageMAKER's garage storage kits are specifically designed for organisation and storage solutions. Industrial shelving, bike racks and garage hooks are all included in these kits.

Contacts

For interviews, images or comments contact:

Stephen Richards

Online Manager

Storage Maker

http://www.storagemaker.co.uk