Our Top 3 Reasons Garage Storage is Important in Minnesota

A lot of demands are placed on a garage in a place like Minnesota. Most people who have garages live in suburbs or towns where public transportation isn’t a viable everyday option so most families have two cars (or more as teenagers get their driver’s license). Minnesota is also a place with four distinct seasons and, most likely, at least two completely different sets of recreation and sports equipment to use or store depending on the season. Read on for some tips to manage and take advantage of your uniquely Minnesotan garage storage needs.

Minnesota Garages Work Hard

There are four seasons in Minnesota, but really it breaks down to hot, cold, or really cold for those of us who live here. During the warmer seasons, everyone can be found outside, and most of us have a lot of recreation equipment to help us have fun while the sun shines. When winter blows in and the snow flies, some people head indoors, but many more bundle up and take advantage of the outdoors in various ways and with different equipment.  

This means garages in Minnesota need to store and organize more equipment than garages in less extreme climates. It’s not every place you’ll be able to take advantage of a stand-up paddleboard, bikes for the entire family, a portable fire pit, and cross country skis and sleds. Sometimes all in the same month. Custom garage storage should create solutions that take advantage of all the space available in your garage.

Seasonal Storage

Seasonal storage in a place like Minnesota also means your garage will have to deal with the often messy and destructive challenges of the season. Parking a car in the garage in Minnesota is a lifesaver because no one wants to scrape the windshield of ice before work, but it means that every time you pull the car into the garage, you’re bringing road salt, slush, and grime with you. 

It’s essential in Minnesota to take advantage of vertical storage in the garage because everything left on the floor is subject to becoming part of a puddle of slush several months of the year. Organizing your garage to keep everything away from the ground can be as simple as installing hooks to hold rakes, shovels, and sports equipment. 

Look up and assess how much clearance you have overhead. If you can get your SUV into the garage with room to spare, consider hoisting large, bulky items that are rarely used or out-of-season overhead. Roof boxes used twice a year for road trips, kayaks, and large bins of holiday yard decorations can all be tucked away on high shelves or stored in the rafters in nets or a series of nylon straps. 

Your Garage Should Work For You

Your garage is an extension of your living space, whether you park your car and barely give it another thought or delicately thread your way to the car every morning, hoping not to set off a chain reaction of toppling bicycles. The garage should not be a burden but a place that does what you need it to do without causing you stress. 

Custom garage storage can help you create the garage you need whether you’re looking to carve out a workshop with locking tool storage and a workbench, or all you want is to be able to find the rake when the leaves start to fall. Most of all, you should be able to get to and from your car every time you need to use it without hoping you don’t run over a frisbee or open your door into a hockey goal net.

Start by taking stock of everything you have in the garage. If you’re storing bulk purchases in the garage and you don’t have room for your car, it might be time to find a place to keep the paper towels in the house. Clean and declutter your garage one long afternoon. Take everything out and don’t put anything back in until you’ve cleaned the space and gotten rid of junk or things you no longer use. 

Look into custom shelving solutions once you can see what you need to store in the garage. Line the walls with wire shelving with pull-out bins and hooks to take advantage of every square foot. Wire is affordable, strong, and easy to maintain in a Minnesota garage. 

Customized laminate cabinets and worktops can help you create the workshop you need to get started on projects. Store tools and chemicals away in cabinets with locks for a clean, uncluttered look and keep paint and hazardous materials out of little hands. 

Talk to a Storage Expert

Harkraft has been creating custom garage storage solutions for Minnesota homeowners for decades, and we understand the unique challenges of Minnesota’s seasons. Every homeowner and every garage is different. We’re here to help you think through the options and create the custom storage for your garage, which means you’ll never open your car door into the snowblower again. Contact us today to learn more about garage storage that is uniquely yours.