Sort contents into piles of related items — house maintenance and repair supplies, sports gear, garden tools, holiday decorations, recycling, etc. For items that need to stay in the garage, install shelving and cabinets that will house the items close to where they’re needed.

Storing similar items together, like these shelves for pet supplies in the HGTV Green Home 2011 garage, streamlines household routines.

Hang coat hooks for jackets and hats, and install a rack close to the outdoor door for muddy boots. To draw the eye away from clutter, turn the wall into an eye-catching space. In HGTV Green Home 2011, the wall is painted a copper shade and stained with diluted wall paint to add architectural interest.

There are lots of options at various costs for garage shelving. The most crucial point is to provide enough shelving to store your items but to not cover every wall. You want to have space for a workbench and hanging tools, like in the garage of HGTV Dream Home 2009.

A bold paint job takes this space from just-clean to dazzling. Having tools and toys conveniently stored where they’re easy to grab but easy to put away makes it more likely the garage can maintain its shipshape condition.

The garage from HGTV Dream Home 2010 features an organizing and workshop system featuring cabinets with sliding metal storage bins, plus a slatwall storage system with space to store sports equipment, tools and more.

The back wall of the car barn from HGTV Dream Home 2011 serves as a storage area for snowboards, which double as decorative art in the space, too.

Two trumpet chandeliers create the illusion of livable space in the garage of HGTV Dream Home 2012. Locker-style cabinetry, among other solutions, provides storage space for tools, lawn equipment and sports gear.

The garage’s slatted walls and ceiling hooks accommodate storage of sea kayaks, beach cruisers and golfing equipment in the garage of HGTV Dream Home 2013.

A humidity-controlled closet within the HGTV Dream Home 2013 garage houses golfing bags, clubs and equipment and fishing nets.

Display racks, installed on board-and-batten siding, turn surfboards into wall art, as well as keep them safely stored. The vaulted space with catwalk-style shelf provides ample room to store surfboards and small sailing vessels in the garage of HGTV Smart Home 2013.

A garage floor doesn’t have to be pretty. However, to reduce dirt tracked into the home, you might consider adding floor tiles. These tiles come in a variety of colors and can be mixed and matched to create various patterns.

Multiple drawers and cabinets keep everything organized and at your fingertips, so you don’t have to go searching through boxes in the garage at HGTV Dream Home 2007. The features allow visibility and accessibility of frequently used items, while other materials can be locked away.

Use items from around the house to help you organize. For example, transform an old file cabinet into a storage bin for large yard tools. Add casters to the bottom to make it mobile for busy outdoor days.