Is your garage so full of stuff that you never park your car in it? Or, is the space so narrow that you don’t believe you can fit anything else besides your car into the space? Get ready to bust out your measuring tape and make the most of your garage space with these creative, space-saving solutions.

Flip it or reverse it

Many attached garages have raised concrete sections near the entryway to the home to prevent water from entering the home’s interior. Depending on the type and size of your car, simply backing in your car can provide you with several more inches of space at one end or the other. This is due to the difference in how far the engine bay and grill extend from the front of your front tire, versus the distance your trunk or truck bed extends from the back of the rear tire.

In a two-car garage, pay attention to the location of the door and think about the best route to provide ample clearance for walking, especially with bags in tow. This could mean that you swap which side of the garage you choose for your vehicle, or it could mean you pull in backwards instead of normally (or vice versa).

For example, if the door is toward the middle of the back wall of your garage, you can park both vehicles such that the driver’s side door of both vehicles will open in the middle. Once you’ve decided how to park to maximize space, this will help you determine where your storage units can fit, and where you might need clearance for a door to swing open.

Go vertical

In many garages, there’s roughly a foot or more of clearance between the side wall and the garage door opening. This can provide room for shelving units, but once again, you’ll need to consider the positioning of the door and how foot traffic will flow through the space when the vehicles are parked there.

If standard shelving units won’t work on one side, one option is to install shelving suspended from the ceiling. This can be a great storage option for lesser-used items that you don’t want to put in the attic.

There are also a wide variety of pulley systems and lifts available for storing bicycles or lawn mowers, so these things can be kept in the vertical space above your car or truck when not in use. Regular-sized garage doors are typically seven feet tall and a basic garage is usually eight feet tall.

In the US, the average height for men is just shy of six feet. So it’s safe to assume the top two feet of vertical space on the walls all around your garage can be used for shelving, cabinets, or lifts of some sort without impeding a person’s ability to walk underneath.

No wasted space

People often forget about the upper space between the wall and the garage door track. But this is a perfect space to store things like ladders, spare lumber, or flooring if nothing will stick out to impede the normal operation of the door.

If you have a metal cabinet system in place throughout your garage, there’s no need to waste wall space in the areas you’ve kept clear for swinging car doors. While peg board can be used in these places, if you want an elegant look to match your cabinet system, you can install metal walls and use magnetic storage for flat items like rakes, shovels, or smaller tools.

Maximizing your garage storage doesn’t have to be expensive. Many simple track and shelving systems can be built using only a few pieces of lumber. Your garage is one of the few parts of your home your neighbors and passersby will see on a daily basis, so give them something to talk about for all the right reasons.