8 Best Garage Storage Solutions – Reviews and Buying Guide

This cabinet set from NewAge Products – our best-rated garage cabinet on the list – is the ultimate in garage storage systems, but it comes at an extremely high cost premium. The cabinet system includes 2 large lockers on either end, a set of 3 wall cabinets suspended about six feet in the air with opening doors, a tool cabinet, and a floor cabinet. The two lockers each have four large shelves with plenty of vertical space between them for storing large volume items and are lockable in case you want to keep anyone else out. The rolling tool cabinet is particularly useful since it can be brought out from under the garage cabinets and over to whatever project you’re currently working on. Also useful is the six-foot-long stainless steel worktop, which can serve as a full bench and the epicenter of your projects.

The availability of multiple cabinets, each with multiple shelves, allows for a huge variety of organizational schemes. For those who don’t have enough tools to fill the cabinets initially, this is a cabinet system that you can grow into and will keep organized as you go.

The quality of the cabinet system is evident in its appearance – it makes a statement about your garage. The cabinets are all made of 24-gauge steel and come with a limited lifetime warranty because the manufacturer is so certain of the cabinet’s durability.

What are our favorite features?

• High-volume cabinet system with lots of distinct cabinets and shelves
• 24-gauge steel for lifetime durability
• Includes six-foot-long stainless steel worktop

What could be better?

• Very expensive compared to other storage systems

If you don’t need to reorganize your entire garage and probably looking for the best rail garage storage system since it’s easy to install, take a look at this pegboard from Wall Control which is a great organizational tool. The pegboard is constructed from galvanized steel, making it significantly stronger and capable of bearing more weight than traditional pegboards. Plus, mounting it onto the wall is simple, straightforward, and fast with the included hardware.

The pegboard itself comes with an array of shelving, bins, and hooks that allow you to begin the organization process, and it’s easy to purchase additional organizers later. The pegboard is designed with slots for both traditional ¼-inch peg hole devices as well as slotted openings to fit accessories sold by Wall Control. Users noted that the included accessories were not particularly helpful for complex organizational schemes and encouraged purchasing the boards alone and only the accessories you need afterwards. Since the pegboard is made of steel, you can also attach magnets to it to customize beyond the peg holes themselves.

Note that the pegboard is sold as two individual panels that are each about 16 inches by 32 inches, meaning that they can be placed side-by-side to form a single large pegboard or placed in different parts of your garage. However, they must be placed vertically given the orientation of the slots.

What makes it special?

• Lightweight, durable, strong, and easy to install
• Two boards can be placed together or separately
• Works with a wide range of accessories and magnets

What cons did we find?

• Many of the included accessories are not helpful for complex organization

If you keep a lot of items in your garage that you rarely need to access, this overhead storage rack from Fleximounts is one of the best ways to use the space between your head and the ceiling that it otherwise wasted. The mount is constructed of heavy-duty steel and can hold up to 550 pounds, so you won’t have to worry that the system will come crashing down. Although the system takes some work to install since it requires a ladder – and ideally a helping hand – once it is up it virtually never needs to be adjusted.

One rack is eight feet long and four feet wide, which leaves a huge footprint for holding boxes. Plus, the rack hangs down up to 40 inches from the ceiling, which offers enough clearance to load tall boxes or multiple boxes stacked on top of one another. If you were looking for the best bike garage storage system, there is another advantage to the Fleximounts system: hooks can be added on around the edges of the wire platform after-market, allowing you to hang things like bikes, skis, and yard tools from the rack.

The rack comes with a 10-year warranty for peace of mind, but can last much longer without issues. The only downside to this system is that you need to be cognizant of driving your car under the rack if you load something onto the roof rack of your car. Also, if you have a massive garage lighting system installed, you might want to check the product dimensions beforehand.

What stands out?

• Uses overhead space and leaves garage floor open
• Large footprint and plenty of clearance for stacking boxes
• Inexpensive

What cons did we manage to find?

• Difficult to install
• Difficult to carry stuff onto the rack and difficult to access it afterwards

When you are looking for the best cheap garage cabinets and cabinet systems, shelf units are also worth considering. This unit from Seville Classics is a traditional wire shelving unit with few special features, but just having shelves alone to work with can make a big difference in your organizational capacity. All five shelves are adjustable in height in one-inch increments, making it easy to diversify the height between shelves to fit in large volume items as well as smaller things. Plus, the shelving unit is on wheels for easy movement around the garage if you decide to change up the garage’s layout. Two locking brakes keep it from moving when you don’t want it to go anywhere.

If you were looking for the best metal garage cabinets, this pick is right for you. The shelving is very durable thanks to the high-grade steel construction and UltraZinc plating that prevents signs of wear and rust.  Each shelf is rated to hold 300 pounds – putting the total weight capacity of the unit at an enormous 1500 pounds. Better yet, there are no tools required to assemble or disassemble the shelving. The shelving comes with a one-year warranty, but it is unlikely that anything will happen to the shelves for years to come.

What stands out?

• Huge 300-pound weight capacity per shelf
• No-tools assembly
• Durable and resists signs of wear

What cons did we manage to find?

• Few organizational tools or schemes beyond the shelves

This set of shelving combines Fleximount’s ingenuity with the usefulness of traditional wall shelving. What sets these shelves apart is the whopping 400-pound weight capacity, which means that you’ll be able to stack extremely heavy objects onto these shelves without worrying. Whether it’s a toolbox, an air compressor, or a garage fan, this storage system will handle it all. The shelves only jut out from the wall by two feet, however, which may limit the size of objects that you can put on these shelves.

Because the shelves are sold as a two-pack rather than as a single long shelf, it is possible to place these shelves either side-by-side, stacked above one another, or around completely different parts of the garage. This flexibility also means that you can customize how high off the ground you want to place the shelves, and how much clearance you want to leave between the shelves and the ceiling.

The shelves are relatively easy to install and come with all needed hardware. Thanks to the heavy-duty steel construction, they are extremely durable and will last for years to come. Plus, they come with a 10-year warranty to guarantee the product.

Why did it make our list?

• 400-pound weight capacity
• Two-pack allows versatility in placing shelving

What is not ideal about it?

• Expensive compared to other wall shelving units

This overhead system from Racor attempts to alleviate the fundamental issue with ceiling-mounted garage storage systems – it is difficult to get items onto and off of the rack. This system solves that by incorporating a puller system into the rack, such that the ceiling-mounted arms can lift and lower the wire rack from the arm tips to up to eight feet below the ceiling.

The system is rated for up to 250 pounds, which is impressive given that your stuff will be held in place by four steel cables. However, the platform itself is only four feet by four feet, which does not leave much space to work with. Thus, you will either need to buy multiple racks, which quickly becomes expensive, or you will be limited in the amount of stuff you can store with this system.

The raising and lowering system on this rack is also not ideal, since there is no easy drop-down cord you can pull on or button to press that raises and lowers the platform. Instead, you need to turn a metal hook with an included metal rod, which can be slow even when turning the rod with a drill.

Despite these limitations, the rack is relatively easy to install into the ceiling with a ladder. Although it is well-constructed, it only comes with a one-year warranty.

What are its best features?

• Alleviates issues with moving items on and off overhead storage systems
• Rated for 250 pounds
• Quality safety lock
• Works as a cargo box lift

What could be improved?

• Platform is relatively small footprint
• Expensive if buying multiple for added storage
• Pulley system requires turning a metal hook
• Only one-year warranty

When it comes to versatility, it doesn’t get much better than this wire rack shelving system from Seville Classics. The racks come loaded with 22 heavy-duty polypropylene bins, which can be locked to the shelving or easily pull out for access to the items inside. The bins are in three distinct size classes for loading them with different items in a variety of sizes. In addition, the bins come with a set of dividers to create even more organization and a set of labels to help you remember where you put everything.

The shelving unit itself is on four heavy-duty wheels that hold up well over years of use and can be locked down to prevent the rack from sliding when you don’t want it to move. The shelves can each hold up to 150 pounds, although the distance between the shelves is too small to place many large volume boxes.

The shelving is easy to assemble – and, if you ever need to, disassemble – so you can get started organizing quickly. The shelving is extremely durable thanks to the platinum epoxy finish that prevents against wear and rust, and the unit comes with a limited 10-year warranty against manufacturing defects.

What makes it stand out?

• Easy to move thanks to wheels
• 22 storage bins of varying sizes with dividers and labels
• Extremely durable

Which disadvantages must you keep in mind?

• Distance between shelves does not allow for large volume boxes
• 150-pound weight limit

Although it is one of the simpler and more traditional garage storage systems in our roundup, don’t underestimate this storage cabinet from Prepac. The cabinet is a whopping 32 inches wide and 65 inches tall, so it leaves plenty of space to store items. The cabinet only has three shelves, but a nice feature is that two of them can be adjusted in height so that you can customize how you stack items on the shelves.

The cabinet itself is made of composite wood, while all of the hinges and handles are made of metal. The cabinet is relatively stylish, and so would fit in well with a furnished garage or even a basement.

Since the design is relatively simple and the construction strong, this cabinet is also very durable and requires very little assembly. For peace of mind, it comes with a five-year warranty which makes it one of the best garage cabinets for the money.

What do we love it for?

• Simple, strong, and stylish cabinet
• Large and comes with two adjustable shelves

What were we disappointed with?

• Relatively expensive compared to more useful storage systems