The garage is one of the most important part of the home. It’s one place we visit a lot, because that’s where we keep, store and save some of the most important possessions we have, that can’t be displayed in other parts of the home.
That’s where you park your car. If you have some DIY projects you want to carry out, that’s where you go do it, especially if it has enough spacing to get projects done.
The garage plays a fundamental role in the maintenance, organizations and proper functioning of any home.
However, for a garage to function the way it should, it needs to have certain things in it, especially if you use it a lot, if you carry out DIY projects from time to time.
There are certain important gears and accessories your garage needs to have for it to really qualify to be called a garage.
Here is a list of these crucial garage accessories you can use to get the best out of your garage.
Parking Guides and Wheel Stops
Some may say they don’t need a parking guide, parking mat or wheel stop, but the thing is even if you don’t need it personally, it’ll help ensure other family members park properly and don’t hit the wall or any other thing in the garage.
You simply place the parking mat or wheel stop right where you want your front tire not to go beyond, and any time you or anyone else drives into your garage, they can stop immediately the tires come in contact with it.
Vehicle Ramp
One thing every car owner should be able to do by themselves is change the oil of their car.
To do that easily without having to whip out a car jack to life the front of your car off the ground, a car service ramp is your best bet.
All you have to do is drive the car on the ramp, and it will lift the front or the back of the vehicle as the case may be, off the ground. Now you can access the oil drain plug easily and drain the oil.
Apart from changing your oil, there are so many other instances where you need to access bottom of your car, and these car service ramps really do come handy a lot.
Jack Stand
Jack stands are one of the most important gear and accessories you should have in your garage, especially if you work on cars.
They’re used to support the weight of a vehicle after raising it with a jack. The jack stand is there as a safety base to prevent the car from falling if the jack fails.
That means, no matter how sturdy you think your jack is, never go under a vehicle raised with a jack only. Jacks give out all the time, and unless you’ve added extra jack stands to support the weight, you don’t want to be under that vehicle when it happens.
Garage Car Door and Wall Protector
You attach these to your garage walls so that even though you pack your car close to the wall and open the doors, any impact of the door against the wall will not damage the wall or your car door.
These are usually ideal for small garages with limited parking space, where you have no choice than to park close to the wall.
You may be careful yourself while opening your own door. But other people coming out from your car like family members might not be as careful, and they may hit the door against your walls often.
That’s why installing these car door protectors against your garage walls is very important.
Garden Tools Storage Rack/Organizer
Store and organize garden tools with long handles neatly in a corner with this storage racks. I’ve seen several garden tool organizers, but this one takes the top spot for me if you’re looking for one specifically designed to store and organized all tools with long handles like rakes, shovels, spades, mops, and so on.
Overhead Garage Storage Racks
Is your garage so small that you don’t even have enough floor space to store items? Then installing an overhead garage storage rack might just be your best bet.
With a very small garage floor space, installing these racks on the ceiling of your garage will enable you store extra items overhead, leaving enough room on the floor for other activities.
Garage Door Opener
This is one of the most important accessories you can install in your garage. A garage door opener makes it easy for you to go in and out of your garage without ever touching the door. All you need is press a button and the door will open or close.
Most modern garage door openers can even be operated from your smartphone. So when you come back home, you don’t even need to step out of the car to open your garage door. You can open it right from your car as you approach the driveway.
You can even receive delivery packages right inside your garage if you’re not at home. You can open the door for delivery agents to deliver your package inside your garage and close the door back from wherever you are, keeping your package safe from package thieves.
A Sound System
This might sound odd to some people but it’s important to have a portable sound system in the garage.
Most of us spend a lot of time in it. We carry out all types of projects in it. Some of us even turn it into some sort of man cave and we hangout in it. So it can be only right if we can entertain ourselves while doing all this.
Having a portable sound system means you get to play some of your favorite tunes while hanging out in your garage. It can even be a portable Bluetooth speaker, it doesn’t matter. Having it there will make your time in there worthwhile.
Motion Sensor Alarm
If someone happens to sneak into your garage in the dead of night, wouldn’t you want to know? A motion sensor is one of the best ways to do that.
It will tell you when there’s any movement in your garage. And depending on the way it’s setup, it could setoff an alarm whenever it’s activated by the movement of an intruder, which might scare the intruder and make them flee, and at the same time notify you of what’s happening in your garage, even though you’re not at home.
Hardware Organizer
A hardware organizer is by far one of the most important accessories you can have in any garage.
We use our garage to store all sorts of things, and if they’re not sorted out and stored properly, everything turns into a huge mess.
Yes, you may have a storage rack already, but a hardware organizer is a different type of storage entirely.
It’s designed to store and organize small items like screws, nuts and bolts, beads and other sewing supplies, kids toys, office supplies and more in different storage compartments or drawers so you can find every little thing easily any time you want to.
You even label each of the compartments so you know exactly what’s inside.
Tire Inflator / Air Compressor
Every garage should have a tire inflator or air compressor. Any one of the 2 is fine. You never know when you’ll want to go out and you get to your car and a tire is flat.
That has happened to me more than once. Sometimes it’s not that your tire is punctured in any place. Sometimes it just leaked some air through the side of the rims, and all you need to do is inflate it back to the correct gauge. And all you need to do that is either a tire inflator or an air compressor.
So, get one of those in your garage.
Rope and Hose Organizer – Reel, Straps or hooks
Ropes, wire cords and hoses can be very difficult to store and organize. You can’t just fold them up and throw them anywhere in your garage because they tangle very easily. You have to find a way to organize them properly.
Most of the other types of storage you have in your garage may not be ideal for storing and organizing these ropes, wire cords and hoses. Your storage rack or hardware organizer may not be ideal.
For hoses, a wall mounted hose reel or a strap like the one shown above should work just fine. While for ropes and wire cords, you can use self-gripping cable ties or small wrap-it-straps.
Garage Storage Hooks
I just talked about this above. Garage storage racks are different from storage hooks. Hooks are meant to store items that can be hanged on them.
You can hang shovels, spades, rakes, chairs and even hoses with a wall mounted hook in your garage. Basically anything with a loop in it, or anything that can be looped like a hose, a wire or a rope.
Bright Shop Lights
You can’t just have the same type of lights you have in other parts of your home also in your garage as well.
Instead, you need bright shop lights. You carry out projects, store things, park your car and maybe hangout in your garage from time to time.
These things need bright shop lights. You need lights that allow you to see everything you’re doing as clearly as possible.
Rolling Creeper Sits
A rolling creeper sit is not just for car mechanics. If you’re lazy like me and you want to move from point A to be in the garage, and you’re already seated on your chair, you don’t want to get up to do that. You just roll there with the chair.
That’s what rolling floor creepers help you do. They help you move from point A to B while working without getting up.
You just roll there while still sitting.
Floor Jack
If you don’t have a sturdy floor jack in your garage, you can’t call that a garage. A floor is different from the usual scissors jack found in most cars.
It’s sturdier and can lift your car faster. But it’s also bigger as well. That’s why it’s good for you to have it on stand-by in your garage in case you need to work on your car.
Work Table / Work Stand
How can you say you have a garage without a work table, workbench or work stand in it? That’s where you carry out projects.
You can do all sorts of things on it. Unbox new items you buy, carry out repairs and so many other things.
You can have a stationary workbench and you can also have a foldable one, for when you have to work outside.
Fire Extinguisher
You never know what’s going to happen. Just like you should have a fire extinguisher in your car, you should always have one in your garage as well, especially if you work on cars or any type of electronics.
The garage is meant for storing all types of things, and you never know what can catch fire during your projects. Always have a fire extinguisher to put the fire if it ever starts.
Pegboard
A pegboard is simply a perforated board with holes that allow you to use hooks to hang or sorts of thing. You can hang tools, you can hang drawers, you can hang pegboard panels on it that allows you to place things on top of it.
It’s a very versatile storage solution everyone should have in their workshop or their garage.
And the beautiful thing about it is that it’s placed on the wall. So everything you store on it is on the wall, thus freeing up floor space for you to use for other things.
Wall Mounted Wet Dry Vacuum
Having a wall mounted shop wet dry vacuum with a long hose attached means you can keep everything neat and clean as you use your garage daily.
There are other types of wet dry vacs, but for your garage, you should go for a wall mounted one, especially if the garage is small, so as to free up floor space.
If you’re cleaning out your car, or carrying out some woodworking projects in it, this will come in very handy.
It’s already mounted on the wall with a long hose. All you have to do is switch it on and move the long hose around to clean up whatever dirt and debris you want to remove.
First Aid Kit
You should always have a first aid box or kit nearby in the garage, especially if you carry out any type of mechanical projects in it like woodworking, welding and any type of car repairs and maintenance.
Make sure you have a first aid kit and hand, because you never know when you might need it.
Workbench Vise
This one is for people who use their garage for carrying out projects like woodworking, metalworking, and any other type of projects.
You need a vise to hold things steady when you need to work on them.
Electric Hoist or Pulley System
If you ever need to lift up something heavy in your garage, you don’t want to do it manually with your hand.
You need an electric hoist. You can just mount it on the ceiling and use it to lift anything you want to lift, from engines to transmissions, construction supplies, heavy Amazon deliveries, whatever you want to pick up, having an electric hoist will make things easy for you.
A Portable Toolbox
Every garage owner needs a toolbox or a tool chest. You need to keep every tool you have organized and easy to access.
Without a toolbox, you’ll be prone to leave your tools all over the garage and finding them when you need them will be very difficult.
That’s why keeping a toolbox that houses your tools is very important.
Garage Floor Mats
There floor mats are some of the most important accessories your garage should have, whether you’re carrying out any mechanical work in it or not.
There are different types of mats all designed for different purposes. Most of them are designed to trap water, snow, dirt and mud debris that your car tires carry from outside into the garage so they don’t come in contact with the garage floor.
These mats also help trap and retain any oil that may spill when you’re doing an oil change.
So, you usually place these garage floor mat right were you park your car so every dirt, mud, snow and debris brought in doesn’t come in contact with your garage floor.
