Today, attached structures big enough to park two vehicles are the norm. But it’s usually up to the homeowner to decide how to get the greatest storage capacity without creating messy mountains in the process.

That’s where garage-organizing retailers, like Mike Heidt, owner of Garage Gadgets in Calgary and Bill Dawe, Heidt’s counterpart in Edmonton, come in. Many of them help new homeowners accessorize their naked carports. Others, like a once-frustrated Jamie Hutton, started Ultimate Garage Inc. in Calgary while hunting ways to get his own carport in order. Karen Plester of Garage Strategies Inc. in Edmonton has witnessed the same predicament from equally aggravated customers who relax when they find convenient solutions are at hand.

“People find it overwhelming, especially in where to start,” she says. “We can guide the person with breaking the task down so it’s not so daunting.” Most people are just in need of some help to get their outer house in order.

Evan Deptuck with Kwik Kloset of Calgary West says “How do we organize this space?” is the most common question customers ask him about garages.

Dawe says most garages are more than 400 square-feet with up to ten feet of ceiling space, which is seldom built equipped with storage features. Ideally, he’d like to see new garages equipped with a workbench, complete with a storage unit, as well as crown wall units for homeowners to hang their tools on when not in use.

“Most commonly (the garage) is just the dump zone,” says Deptuck. “It’s where people fix bikes, wax skis—all kinds of sporting activities.” All manner of dirty or foul-smelling items are worked on and stored in the garage, he notes, adding it’s most often because people don’t want them in the house.

Many retailers have elaborate showrooms decked out with a number of storage options available for equipping car shacks in style. They also have an array of garage organizing products, including cabinets and wall storage systems, lifts for such hard-to-store items as lawn mowers and bicycles, even flooring and tiles, some of which sell for up to $6.25 per square-foot.

Among the biggest sellers at Ultimate Garage are ONRAX overhead units, the largest and most popular being 96 inches by 48 inches, which goes for $275.

“People absolutely love those,” says Hutton. “They just allow you to have out-of-the-way storage for seasonal items, which tend to cause a lot of clutter. Next to that we have different wall organization systems; you can start with steel or plastic panels and have a range of components for everything from standard types to specialty items for sports equipment.”

Dawe says he does get a fair bit of demand for cabinets, such as the overhead models which hang from a steel rail near the ceiling, or come with full-fledged floor assembly. Prices range from $1,100 to $1,600 depending on the type of finish you choose.

Heidt’s customers reportedly praise the crown wall units, which vary in price, although more common models go for $179. “They’re great for organizing walls and clutter from skis to golf bags to gardening stuff,” he says. “They come with baskets and shelving of all different sizes, and can even hang a wheelbarrow.”

More mega-sized garages can include everything including the kitchen sink, along with massive wall units for even the most obsessive hoarders and even additional space for a third vehicle.

Dawe has discovered more and more people want four-post car lifts installed for their sporty convertibles. “If they have a high enough garage, they can put the lift in, and that’ll enable them to store their little summer car in the garage for the winter and still park their regular car underneath it,” says Dawe, who can install such a system for around $4,000. “Guys love it because they don’t have to find a special place to store their toy.”

Deptuck does not claim professional garage organization is cheap, but says, “It can be affordable if you do it with intelligence.” He helps customers determine an inventory of what stays in the garage and how it’s stored by “working with the client to give them what they need.”

Hutton even provides a few organizing pointers for customers from determining the purpose of their garages and setting a cleaning deadline, to sorting items into categories, cleaning floors, walls and ceilings, and then enlisting the help of a professional garage designer and organizer. Even after netting all that advice, however, Hutton says most people share one major makeover problem.

“It’s in getting everything off the floor,” he says. “You can do that with 90 per cent of the items. After that, it’s usually much easier to maintain that space and keep it cleaner. Everything has a home and can be put away.”
Most garage organizers make appearances at local home and trade shows so customers can view the storage products and brochures first-hand.