Here’s the thing about garage gyms: Floor space is a premium! We’re only working with roughly 400 sq ft of space (we’re lucky to have a 2-car garage) so it begs the question: What deserves this space, the car or the barbell? (That’s a rhetorical question since everyone knows the barbell gets dibs.) I so WISH I could be one of those keep-cool-my-babies folks that can workout in a flurry of garage clutter but I just… can’t… do… it. Clutter, and I’m being very literal here, makes me tense and I about had a seizure when one corner of the garage started to look like a tornado ripped through it because, “HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO A KETTLEBELL SWING WITH A CHRISTMAS TREE IN THE WAY?!” <– Totally cyber screaming while I seize up just typing this.

In less than a day, our garage underwent this makeover all in the name of making breathing room for barbells:

(Not gonna lie, I’m a little embarrassed with that “before” image! I feel like I’m hoarding.) It’s so easy to make sure the pretty gym equipment stays organized but it’s all the other stuff, the automotive cleaning stuff, the tools, the christmas decorations, that takes up valuable workout space. But it’s actually pretty easy to get it all organized and off the floor… honestly, it took us about 4 steps.

Step 1: Remove everything from the space needing to get organized. This will seem to make an even bigger eye sore since you’re essentially just moving the mess but, trust me, it’s for the best. This is also the step where I would paint the walls a nice sterile white shade but we’re just renting this home for the time being so that was out of the question. Unfinished garages… I just don’t get it.

We had to move all the junk over to the bumper plates and power rack side of the garage:

Step 2: Break up that big pile of stuff into small categorized groups of like-items. For us, all the mountain bike maintenance tools went in one pile, the snowboard tuning stuff in another, lawn & garden junk in a separate pile, etc etc.

Step 3 is all about containing the categorized piles. Visually, you can see how big of a bin will be needed for the stuff just by glancing at the piles in Step 2. You can find containers almost anywhere these days: Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s, The Container Store… it’s all good.

Step 4:  Making room for gym equipment means utilizing as much wall space as possible so set up some shelving units and get those bins all up on ‘em! We found this workbench rigged with a power outlet and lights at Harbor Freight Tools and it cost less than a Reebok|CrossFit hoodie. The 4-tiered shelves we got at Walmart. Between all the containers, the workbench, and the shelf, we spent less than $200! Totally worth it for more space to do box jumps and double unders, if you ask me.

Step 5 is really optional and only “necessary” if you’re an organizational freak like me. My idea of “heaven” is getting locked in a room with a label maker and things needing to get organized. Step 5 is all about putting labels on the bins (aka putting the cherry on the sundae. Insert the voices of sweet angels singing here.)

Other ways we’ve maximized workout space by using walls include hanging the bikes vertically:

We got some yellow hooks at Home Depot and we just hang a tire off them:

We also stole our office’s decorative wall shelves and now use it to store our shoes:

Even the shop lights have found a home up on the wall with a makeshift shelf comprised of a board and a couple of L-brackets:

So now all that sits on the floor of the gym are the plyo boxes, the DIY weight tree, the bumper plates, power rack, and the workbench/shelf. Aside from that, all other floor space is fair game for foam rolling and burpees. Lucky me.