Garage Shelving

There are some who avoid it as much as they can, since it can seem too much like hard work. Others say they can never get enough of it. It comes in wood, metal or plastic and you can pop down to your local DIY store or order online. It doesn't come in all colours of the rainbow - most people are happy to stick with sober blacks or metallic greys for theirs. Indeed, the strength of passions which garage shelving, this seemingly most innocuous of subjects can unleash can often be surprising.

For many, the garage is not just where you keep the car. It is a sanctuary, a place away from the rest of the house and family, somewhere entirely your own. However, it is nonetheless primarily a place for storing stuff (It's not hard to be struck by the sheer variety of things people keep there, from fishing rods to boat trailers.) Space is at a premium in our overcrowded times, when all of us have more things than ever before, more than we know what to do with or have room for. And, with houses prices still sky-high, it makes sense to use all available space as efficiently as possible. If you're lucky to have a decent sized garage, then you can really maximise its storage capability with careful use of the room you have.

In that sense, your garage, and, by association, garage shelving can say a lot about you. Just by looking around your garage shelves, you can tell the hobbies their owner enjoys, from yachting to mountain biking, from hiking to scuba diving. Does your shelving boast fine old wines gathering dust, or is it more likely to be home to a few cans of lager you don't have room for in the fridge?

There are also, of course, huge differences in the way people keep their garages. Some are so overstuffed that you can barely open the door to get in there. Other people report there is no use in searching for any specific thing in their garage shelving, since you'd never stand a chance of finding it. For others, garage shelving is a mirror of how they run their lives, a model of order and meticulous organisation - walking boots lined up with their laces all neatly stowed inside, row upon row of clearly labelled see-through plastic boxes containing all their worldly DIY goods. Nuts, bolts and screws are all carefully segregated.

One thing is sure, the more tidily you have your stuff stowed, the easier it's going to be to face that DIY job you keep putting off, and the more you will get out of your hobbies. If the place is a mess, you only have to factor in some poor lighting and a bit of dank winter weather, and your garage becomes a no-go zone. Which all goes to show, there's a lot more to garage Shelving than meets the eye. And one thing is for sure. You'd certainly notice its absence if it wasn't there.