Arthur K, Author at - Page 14 of 17

Posted on December 14, 2018June 10, 2023 by Arthur K

Craft Wall

We talk a lot about garage walls on our StoreWALL blog but slatwalls can be a great addition to any class room and its Craft Wall.

Art teachers are always keen to show off their pupil’s achievements and hanging art and craft is a great way to do this.

A recent order from a client in Melbourne included a range of wall panels (1.2m and 2.4m sizes) and a large number of bins. No hooks, shelves, bags or brackets. The order got me thinking about the use of small and large bins in a home, garage or workshop.

Craft WALL

With school just about to end for the year in Australia and school teachers will begin preparing for 2019 and improvements that can be introduced.

Following a recent visit to my 8 year old’s class room, I noticed how craft bits and pieces where kept. The class room had a large chest of drawers which housed much of the craft materials plus a large selection of tubs. The school has a dedicated art room but the kids also do craft activities in their class room. The chest looked effective but messy with some drawers closed, others half or fully open.

I couldn’t help thinking if a craft wall wouldn’t be more effective. The advantage of a craft wall is that materials are on display and easy to access. Tubs stacked on top of each other would be eliminated. The StoreWALL range of bins is extensive and easily replaces the messy tubs.

It’s not just bins sizes that StoreWALL offers, it’s also a range of shapes and colours. We have what are called Slot Bins, Cube Bins and Large Bins of various sizing. In terms of colour we carry Clear, Crystal Clear, White, Black and even Grey.

A Craft Wall isn’t just for your class room, its a great option for your garage or even inside your home if craft is a hobby or business. By combining bin sizes, shapes and colours, your craft wall can be effective and well organised. This applies equally for workshops and garages.

Below I have added a short video on the StoreWALL bin range so you can see its extent and how practical it can be for a Craft Wall.

Posted on November 26, 2018June 10, 2023 by Arthur K

Build Your Own StoreWALL Bundle

We operate Google analytics on the StoreWALL Australia website and it provides us with valuable information on which pages clients visit. StoreWALL bundles seem to be a very popular section of our StoreWALL online store. In this week’s post we take a look at how to build your own StoreWALL bundle.

Getting Started With StoreWALL

StoreWALL is a wall panel solution built for homes, workshops and garages which is equally suitable for heavy duty applications in industrial environments. The key premise with StoreWALL is that you have a wall and wall panels.

If you are starting with a bare wall then you are in luck as we will work through the process helping you to build your own StoreWALL bundle.

Even if you already have StoreWALL or wall panels from another supplier, you can read on as we will cover how to use our accessories on your walls.

StoreWALL Slatwal Panels

Most people come to our website looking for hooks, brackets, shelves or baskets. They have identified they need one or more of the accessories and begin to look at who supplies them, the range on offer and for how much they cost.

StoreWALL accessories need a slatwall supporting them. As I mentioned earlier, this can be StoreWALL’s or someone else’s.

Let’s assume at this stage that your wall is bare, made from plaster board or brick or comprised of exposed wooden studs.

Slatwall Colour – Grey or Grey?

Grey or Grey isn’t exactly correct as StoreWALL does offer up to 7 colours but our standard colour is Weathered Grey. Other colours are available but as a special order.

Having picked Weathered Grey, the next question is what are you looking to do with your wall and considering you need slatwall panels, how much of the wall you need covered.

Wall Size

StoreWALL offers two sizes of wall panel – 1.2m or 2.4m. If your wall space is small, the 1.2m panels will probably work best. Made from thermoplastic not only are they water proof and highly durable, they can also be cut to size. If your work area is medium or larger then the 2.4m panels will be more economical.

1.2m panels can be purchased individually or in a carton of 6 panels. Each panel covers: 0.371 sq meters.
2.4m panels can be purchased in a carton of 4 panels. Each panel covers: 0.74 sq meters.

Once you have measured your wall area, simply divide it by either 0.371 or 0.74 and work out how many panels you need and whether the 1.2m or 2.4m panels will suite you best. Outside of the length, both panels are exactly the same in thickness, height and composition.

To InstallStrip or Not?

We recommend using InstallStrips as it makes your wall sturdier and able to handle more weight. However they are not compulsory.

If you are using InstallStrips, they will be fitted to your wall first using screws. Once fitted, the wall panels are added to them.

If you are using 1.2m panels you require: 1 InstallStrip per panel
If you are using 2.4m panels you require: 2 InstallStrips per panel

What do I do if I don’t want InstallStrips? No problem, simply screw your wall panels directly to your wall. I suggest buying coloured screw so that they don’t show up against the panel. You can find grey coloured screws (primer coloured) at your local hardware store.

Build Your Own StoreWALL Bundle

Now that your wall has been taken care of, its time to Build Your Own StoreWALL Bundle.

What is really obvious with StoreWALL customers is that they begin with the key accessories they need today and then add and remove accessories a couple of years later.

Therefore don’t stress looking for every accessory just in case you might need it. Focus on what you need today and in the next 12 months. If and when those needs change you can adjust your wall accordingly.

Most people need hooks, whether they be for bikes or other garage items. Hooks are a great way to get items off the ground and onto the wall so they can be accessed easily but also protected. Consider some smaller and larger hooks as a bundle.

If you are interested in shelving, consider our brackets which allow you to build your own shelves. We also offer a 760 mm metal shelf which is 390 mm deep and super heavy duty.

Over the next few months we hope to expand our shelves menu with some new options recently launched in the US.

We also offer a great range of baskets in deep and shallow form. Baskets are a great way to store small and bulky items.

The simplicity of StoreWALL means you can combine a range of accessories and lock them in so they are secure or move them around when you want to adjust your settings.

Posted on November 17, 2018June 10, 2023 by Arthur K

New StoreWALL Products

We will be stocking some new StoreWALL products over the coming month (Feb 2019) which I think many of our existing clients and those looking to use StoreWALL for the first time will be really excited about. The new product range includes larger brackets, new shelving options, tools holders and baskets. I have provided details of them below.

Our new StoreWALL products will be in our store hopefully before Christmas. Look out for them and the blog post promoting them. Also look out for our newsletter on these great additions.

The new range is all listed in our shopping cart with pricing included. Stock will not be available till the 2nd half of February. Please check with us if you want to pre-order.

New StoreWALL Products – Angle Brackets

Whilst we have had brackets available in two sizes since we launched, the angle brackets are a welcome addition as they add the ability to hang much larger items from your wall like kayaks and larger surf boards. We will be adding two sizes to our store, the 254mm and the 381mm option.

New StoreWALL Products – Dover White Wall Panels

Since we launched I have been keen to introduce more than the standard weathered grey wall panel option. StoreWALL has over 7 colour options. Carrying them is not quite an option at the moment but introducing at least one or two more colours is. We will be adding the Dover White and Brite White 2.4m panels as a trial and see what demand we receive. Depending on demand we might also add the 1.2m wall panel in time based on demand.

Trims for both colours will also be coming in.

New StoreWALL Products – 381mm Magnetic Bar

The Magnetic bar is a bit of a specialty item and I hope will prove popular. As the title states it allows you to connect and hang all types of metallic tools or items without actually needing to hook them. Ideal for pliers, screw drivers and other tools. It is finished with nickel plate to provide additional durability.

New StoreWALL Products – 406mm Tool Organiser

These new tool organisers will be here in a fortnight and we already have orders for them which is exciting. As you can see from the photo they have pre-drilled holes so you can slot your tools in and have them accessible when you need them.

New StoreWALL Products – Brush Chrome Clip

The new clips we are adding will help you to hold your gardening gloves and other smaller items that you want on your wall but not hidden away. The clips are padded to protect whatever it is that you are holding. The direction they hang can also be changed.

New StoreWALL Products – Caddy Basket

We already stock all sorts of baskets and all sorts of sizes. The Caddy basket is small in size. It’s dimensions are 150mm in height and depth and 300mm in width. Ideal for small sport items and cleaning needs.

New StoreWALL Products – Thermoplastic Lightweight Shelves

We are adding some additional shelving options. These new shelves are plastic not metallic and come in 800mm and 1.2mm lengths hanging 254mm off the wall. They will compliment our larger and heavier metal shelves which have also been very popular but are larger and heavy. These new options are much lighter and easier to move around. The shelves will need brackets which will be sold separately.

New StoreWALL Products – Ledge Shelf

The final addition is the ledge shelf. This is essentially the standard shelf but with the added lip and will come in both the 1.2m size. The plastic surface is thermoplastic the same as the wall. The lightweight thermoplastic does not require paint or finishing, and is simple to keep clean.

We look forward to your feedback on these new items and hope to bring in more in 2019 as the StoreWALL range in the US grows and we see demand for these products in Australia.

Posted on November 10, 2018June 10, 2023 by Arthur K

Coloured Slatwall

Slatwalls are a popular wall surface used by retail stores to display their merchandise. Over the past 10 or so years, the concept of wall panels in your home garage has really taken off. Most wall panels, in particular slatwalls built for retail stores are white or grey in colour. Plastic slatwalls like those offered through StoreWALL are grey in colour. Accessing coloured slatwall outside of these standard white or grey colours can be challenging.

This (image on left) is what your typical timber slatwall panel looks like. This supplier offers white, dark grey and a wooden (Tasmanian Ash) finish. These slatwalls are built specifically for retail stores and the colour range reflects this. Whilst they can also be used at home and in the garage, there are some limitations. The composite wooden material they are made from is not going to perform well in garages that are likely to be exposed to really hot, cold or damp climates. It’s also a soft wood making it likely to show even the slightest knock.

Thermoplastic slatwalls like those from StoreWALL will not warp or attract moisture no matter the climate. They are also a dense plastic so are harder to dent but also the colour runs throughout the thickness of the panel making it less likely that knocks will show.

Coloured Slatwall

This week I was contacted by a previous StoreWALL client who had used the Dover White StoreWALL panel. It was used throughout his workshop and it looked fantastic. White has become rather popular and if you look on the internet for StoreWALL images you will see that white (both Brite and Dover White) regularly feature along with the Weathered Grey and the Baltic Pine.

StoreWALL is the only supplier of garage wall panels with such a variety of colours in several different panel grades.

Over the past few years, StoreWALL has expanded its wall panel range to include 9 coloured slatwall panel designer options:

Weathered Grey
Brite White
Dover White (now replaced by Khaki)
Khaki
Graphite Steel
Rustic Cedar
Global Pine
Barnwood Grey
White Wood
Black (released end 2021)

I have included an image above demonstrating the range. From the left to right the colours are Brite White, Dover White, Khaki, Weathered Grey, Global Pine, Rustic Cedar and Graphite Steel. In addition to the 7 designer coloured slatwall options, StoreWALL also have in 2021 also released a Black Wall Panel.

Below are further images of the coloured slatwall range with each colour labelled to assist you.

Coloured Slatwall Panels

coloured slatwall - brite white — Brite White

These series of images show the panels unpacked. You can see the colour coming through compared to the cardboard box in each case. It assists with drawing a perspective on the colour options.

storewall garage wall storage — Weathered Grey

Accessing Your Coloured Slatwall

In Australia, we stock almost every colour offered in the US. Special orders can also be placed for select colours and certain quantities.

Please give us a call or email to enquire. A quote can be provided for you.

Posted on October 29, 2018June 10, 2023 by Arthur K

Measuring your Garage Storage Solution

In this week’s blog post we focus away from ideas and to the practical side of pricing and measuring your garage storage solution. The internet is filled with ideas on what you could eventually make your garage look like, but Instagram and Pinterest don’t really tell you how to get from A to B.

Measuring your Garage Storage Solution

Let me be frank, there is no best garage wall storage solution. There are lots of ideas and ideally you can pick a little or a lot from many of them. The end result should be something which will cater for most of what you need to store today and the next few years. Expect to have to review and adjust your design a few times over the life of your garage.

When you are looking for ideas, spend just as much time in your garage as you do on the internet or the hardware store. Its super important that don’t lose focus from the goal of managing your items. Knowing what is in your garage is important when solving how to store it. Sometimes we can get carried away with the desire to make it look like what is in the photo.

Cleaning up the garage

I have covered this lots of times in previous articles but your first step in a garage makeover is to clean up your garage. Do your best to throw (better still give it away if its in good condition) out enough without causing a family WW3. The clean-out is import because it will free up space for more stuff. It’s also important because in order to install any new garage storage solution, you will need room to work.

The clean out should be carried out over a few weekends. Repeating it is important because your are likely to throw out more the more you review what is stored and never used. As I mentioned earlier, spend time in your garage to understand what you have.

Walls or the Whole Garage

Working on the garage of a new home (which is empty) is different and much easier compared to working on an existing garage with its pre-existing mess (even if it has been cleaned out).

If it’s an existing garage you might consider starting with one wall and then extending the design gradually to the rest of the garage.

Most garages make-overs will require a combination of the follow features:

Shelving – whether you need more of it or need to replace what you have, shelving is super important. DIY shelving comes in various lengths, depths and heights. Think about how many shelves you will require. Consider what you have to store and the space you have to store it. My garage shelving is used to hold luggage, plastic storage containers and food items. DIY shelving is accessible from all major hardware stores as well as online. DIY shelving is affordable and very easy to setup. The aluminium frames are very strong and can hold hundreds of KGs.
Bench space – it could be 1 metre or several, but no matter how much, you need some. Most hardware stores can assist with varying ways to build bench space into your garage. There are several portable benches which come complete with drawers and cupboards built in. Alternatively you can also just build your own and there are lots of youtube videos showing you how.
Cupboards and drawers – if this is important to you then you will need to look at some professional storage solutions which can be built and installed for you. If it’s just drawers that you are after, a pre-made set that is portable (on wheels) might also be worth considering.
Wall Hanging Storage – slatwalls, and pegboards are a great way of hanging tools and everyday garage items via hooks. StoreWALL’s range of hooks will hang anything from bikes to ladders. Slatwall options like StoreWALL also cater for baskets, bags and shelves all hanging from the wall.

Measuring Your Garage

Prior to selecting what to add to your garage or storage area, you need to measure up. If you are renovating just one wall then measure the whole wall (ceiling to floor and corner to corner). Note these measurements. You will also need to measure the areas you want to dedicate to Shelving, Bench, Cupboards, Drawers and Slatwall.

If you are combining storage, draw up a plan and design. Add your measurements and visualise the end result.

In a recent example, a client called me looking to add hanging bike storage to his garage. We worked through the actual wall space he had to use. This included looking at how much of the actual wall he wanted covered by the StoreWALL slatwall surface. With 4 bikes and each bike taking up about 500mm each, he required about 2m of wall surface. In addition to hanging bikes he also wanted baskets for the helmets and hooks for other items in his garage.

The benefits of StoreWALL’s slatwall finish is that all accessories can be added and moved around or removed altogether depending on your need at the time. You aren’t locked in.

Measuring your Garage Storage Solution – Client Example

Measuring your area (and re-measuring it) will provide a clear understanding of the space required by each garage storage idea. As per the previous paragraph measuring your Garage Storage Solution will help you design it.

In the case of the client with the bike hooks, his garage was 4m in length. He decided to buy four 1.2m StoreWALL panels (each 1.2m panel is .3m in height with a surface area of .36m) making two rows of 2.4m of StoreWALL slatwall. The total surface area covered by the two rows of panels is 1.4m squared (calculated as two rows of .7m). Each panel comes with 4 slatwall grooves which allow for the hooks to be added and moved around.

With any slatwall installation you also need to consider what surface you will be installing on ie what the garage wall is made from. Slatwalls will need to be fastened to the wall. If the wall is plastered then you will be able to install them using the studs under the plasterboard (usually spaced 450mm apart). If the wall is bricked, you will be able to drill into the mortar or brick and fasten to this. The only challenging wall surface will be a tin/aluminium wall. These walls will usually also have a wooden or metallic frame. In this case you might need to add additional frame in order to support the slatwalls.

Posted on October 21, 2018June 10, 2023 by Arthur K

StoreWALL Garage Installation Ideas

cincinnati-garage-bike-rack-with-gardeners-and-lawn-care-services-shed-traditional-extreme-storewall

When you are investigating options for reorganising your garage storage area its important to see working examples others have completed. This week I have searched the web and found several examples of StoreWALL garage installation ideas.

Two Wall StoreWALL Garage Installation

This is a busy garage on the left has much of the wall area installed with StoreWALL. They have implemented a large range of hooks as well as shelves to manage their many tools, brooms and other gardening equipment. Notice the use of StoreWALL’s specialist pole hanging hooks. They are both secure and can hang multiple poles from the one hook. This approach saves space on your limited wall.

StoreWALL Stairwell Installation

This is a much smaller fit out of StoreWALL. It’s also not in the garage but inside the home. Making better use of your smaller storage areas is ideal use of StoreWALL accessories. In this small area they have lined the wall with StoreWALL panels. The use of accessories has enabled this family to hang and store all sorts of cleaning tools. Each item has its rightful space and so can be returned once used. This eliminates that cluttered cupboard which most of us end up with.

StoreWALL Sporting Garage Installations

This StoreWALL garage installation has been built on only one side of the garage. To the far left we have brackets for storing the bikes horizontally. As you can see this method of storing and hanging bikes is effective but takes up one third of the space. This garage has also combined a range of hooks for helmets and other sporting gear. They have kept all of their sporting balls within tote bags which enables them to see what is held in the bag and easily grab it. In addition you also have box hooks for gardening scissors as well as hooks for smaller ladders and electrical cables.

StoreWALL Fitness Room Installation

Whilst this isn’t your typical garage, many people (including myself) have converted part of their garage area or an internal room into a workout area. This example is rather large but it shows how you can hold weights whether in dumbell form or as free weights using StoreWALL accessories. Baskets and shelves can also be used to hold much of the smaller equipment like skipping ropes, grips and weight gloves. Hooks are then used to hold your boxing gloves, belts and weight balls.

Part Wall StoreWALL Garage Installation

This example shows how you can use StoreWALL for only part of your garage wall and still allow for what is hanging to be removed from the floor. Floor space can be used for heavier items that need to be accessed frequenlty. This garage has installed StoreWALL on the rear wall but has only used StoreWALL on half of it. StoreWALL is installed about 600mm from the ceiling and about 1000mm from the floor. In total you have about 3 panels of StoreWALL running horizontally across the wall. Interestingly this garage wall also has smaller cupboards at one end. StoreWALL has been cut to size around this cupboard to create a clean and professional wall and garage setup.

Complex StoreWALL Garage Installation

If you are looking for a great custom build for your garage then this example will provide you with some inspiration. The owners of this garage have combined 6 sets of mid sized cupboards, two sets of drawers, bench space, built in shelving and a full wall of hanging accessories. This is a very busy wall.

StoreWALL is used end to end on the wall and in-between each of the pieces of furniture, including in between cupboards. The main tool section is above the bench space and in-between the two cupboards. One end of the wall has been lined with hooks to hang a range of garage items from sporting to gardening equipment. They have also added additional StoreWALL shelving to hold baskets and some bags.

Wall to Wall StoreWALL Garage Installation

This is a great example of having StoreWALL from floor to ceiling across the entire garage. Two walls are shown in this example. The garage floor is nicely tiled. StoreWALL’s slatwalls then butt up against the lower tile to create a really clean finish for the wall.

This garage combines tall cupboards, bench space with cupboards as well as hanging cupboards. The range of accessories is minimal at this stage but they combine brackets for the biles and baskets for the larger items.

Notice they also have power points on the wall which they have cut around. Similarly they have trimmed StoreWALL around the windows.

StoreWALL Bike Installation

This basic bike installation was included because we have been inundated with calls regarding bike hooks for the garage. You can see the StoreWALL bike hook in this example holds the bike vertically from the tyre. The rear tyre is either touching the floor or also suspended. If it is not touching the floor then it is likely to be touching the wall.

This garage has combined a range of hooks and baskets to cater for helmets and other bike related gear.

Posted on October 13, 2018June 10, 2023 by Arthur K

Slatwalls for Workshops

Over the past month we have received several enquiries from office fit-out companies wanting to utilise StoreWALL’s slatwalls for workshops or their office environments. Visiting several offices recently I took specific notice of desk areas and in particular the partitions used. Some companies utilise standalone partition walls to separate work areas, whilst others had mini partitions as part of the desk setup.

Slatwalls for Offices

Wall Slats have been a popular option for office desk setups. Notably they can be cut to size and then also allow for a range of accessories to be added. These include large and small shelves as well as boxes and bins. Generally the slatwalls utilise a metallic finish ensuring their durability and ease of cleaning or dusting.

For your added convenience, Slatwalls can be cut to size and come in a great range of colours to compliment the office look/feel. Wooden slatwalls can be easily painted. Slatwalls from StoreWALL are made from thermoplastic with the colour built into the material and running through the panel’s depth.

Slatwalls in the office offer a very clean and professional finish. See the image to the right as an example.

Slatwalls for Workshops

Utilising slatwalls for workshops is also very popular. Consider a mechanic’s workshop or cabinet maker. Slatwalls enable the workshop to store important tools in select sections of the wall storage area. Tools are secured and unlikely to cause a hazard nor be damaged.

Slatwall accessory options include shelves, hooks, brackets, baskets and bags. These are all great options for the workshop environment. If using StoreWALL’s slatwall panels, it would be worth considering the Heavy Duty range which are larger, thicker and harder. This provides for additional durability in a harsh environment.

The hooks can be used for individual screwdrivers or wrenches. Shelves can be used for paints and larger tools. Bins can be used for screws and nails. Baskets can be used for larger items as well as paint and cleaning materials.

Options really are endless. You also have the added advantage that should the workshop owner want to move items around, they can do so within seconds.

Accessory Locking

A key requirement when using Slatwalls for workshops is the ability to secure the accessory to the wall. Many cheaper slatwall options are really simple to clip in and just use a small plated hook to secure themselves. What users regularly find however is that excessive on/off movements loosens the accessory and makes it prone to coming off the wall. In an workshop environment the locking mechanism is super important. Tools are a key to a businesses success and also really expensive to replace. Having tools fall of the wall with light or even heavy use is not ideal.

StoreWALL offers an exclusive locking mechanism in CamLok which with a twist of the locking key, your accessory will never come loose. You are totally in control when you want to loosen it and move it around. StoreWALL offers CamLok on every single accessory it offers (except the bins). Every hook, shelf, bracket and basket carries this exclusive mechanism.

Coloured Slatwalls

Slatwalls can be painted but this really isn’t long lasting in a high use environment. Slatwalls that have the colour running through the content of the wall are a better option. This ensures that even if dents occur they will be barely visible. Secondly, StoreWALL offers a great range of slatwall colours including our regular weathered grey, Brite White, Dover White, Khaki, Graphite Steel, Rustic Cedar and Global Pine.

Garage Slatwall

Garage slatwalls are exactly the same as those used at workshops or the office environment. The only difference is being able to buy in smaller quantities, the durability of the material used to make the slat panels and generally non-commercial pricing.

Posted on September 27, 2018June 10, 2023 by Arthur K

Maximising Your Garage Walls

Double garages have always been at a premium even when I was young and every home was on its own block. Today, houses are bigger on smaller blocks and the garage sits inside the building. A double garage is still at a premium and maximising your garage walls has become ever more important.

If you are building or have just built your new home, your garage walls (atleast 2 of them) will be shared with the inside of your home. This means you are usually starting out with 2 or 3 empty white plasterboard walls, and one exterior facing wall made from brick or your chosen exterior surface.

The challenge for you now is maximising your garage walls so that you can fit as much as possible whilst keeping it all nice and tidy.

Maximising Your Garage Walls

The typical first step for most households when decking out their garage is to seek out shelving (aluminium shelving). Shelving offers a great way to stack as much as possible into your garage utilising most of your available vertical and horizontal space. Aluminium shelving ranges in price from $150 for a 2m x 2m x 0.5m frame with 4 shelves. These are easy to put together yourself and can hold a max 400kg.

I have three of these shelves in my garage and they do keep everything off the ground and reasonably tidy. What I found with mine is that I ended up stacking lots into each shelf to use up the space which in some sections made it a little hard to pull things out when I needed them. I ended up using containers to store most of the storage which helped but then concealed much of the contents.

A slatwall garage solution is a great compliment to a new or old garage. Unlike garage shelving, slatwalls make it easy to access those garage items that you regularly. Whether it is tools or sporting equipment, having a garage solution that offers easy access is really important. In addition, slatwalls from StoreWALL offer a really nice finish to your garage walls. The weathered grey colour will blend in with your concrete driveway and provide a clean look and feel.

StoreWALL Slatwalls

StoreWALL slatwalls are complimented with a huge range of accessories to ensure you can maximise your garage walls. Whether it is baskets you need for sporting equipment or paint cans or hooks for tools or wood, StoreWALL offers it all. There are over 25 hooks to choose from catering for all of your small and large items.

Using shelving to store your tools doesn’t work. You can’t effectively hang your tools on a shelf. You can keep them all in a container but that doesn’t cater for all tools nor everything else usually kept in a garage.

I have one wall dedicated to tools and it holds several handsaws, a silicone gun, gardening saws, power cord extensions and several hammers. I also have several smaller shelves with cans used for degreasing as well as putties and several gardening oils. Storing these items in a big shelf is not really suitable.

Then you have sporting goods. We use tote bags and baskets for the soccer balls, training cones and the roller skates and blades. There is also another basket for all the other balls and racquets that have accumulated over the years.

Hanging Bikes

Bikes are a real challenge no matter the size of garage. I was a a friend’s the other day and saw that his 8m garage wall was used to hold 3 bikes (hung horizontally on hooks). The bikes looked like works of art on the wall. They were high enough not to interfere with anything else, but they really didn’t;’t maximise the garage wall. One wall for three bikes is not a great use of space. StoreWALL’s bike hooks allow you to hang your bikes both horizontally and vertically so that you can maximise your garage walls.

If you are keen on maximising your garage walls, do some research into slatwalls as a compliment to whatever shelving you might also require.

Posted on September 23, 2018June 10, 2023 by Arthur K

Storage Options for Small Homes

With a growing family and a family home which in today’s standards is way too small, finding storage options for small homes has become our everyday challenge. My wife and I have become experts in making the most of every square foot we have in the home to ensure we can fit it all in.

This week’s post has a focus on clever storage ideas for small houses like ours and most likely yours.

Clean Out

The best way to manage your storage challenges is buy less stuff. The second key is to move on all of your old stuff to make way for the new stuff

Sounds reasonable but in reality it isn’t always practical. Somethings just can’t be thrown out nor sold. So we need to be a little creative and research options which are sensible storage options for small homes.

Under bed storage

Under bed storage is a really effective way to store clothes, blankets, toys and other key items. Particularly those that you need to access regularly enough but don’t want to see every day. Some beds come with built in drawers, others offer it as an accessory usually on wheels so that you can roll them out easily. Having the design or the colour of the drawer match the bed is usually a good idea.

However if you don’t want what the bed offers or anything on wheels for that matter, then consider baskets or other forms of containers. There are lots of options that are shallow enough to fit but easy enough to grab and pull out from under the bed.

We have used baskets and several forms of containers for years. It has been a great way to collect and hide books and toys. Today as the kids are a little order, it holds some clothing, blankets and bulkier items like roller skates and blades.

Towel Storage

Towels that are used during the week, whether it be for hand drying or for showering can be hung behind your bathroom or laundry door. Instead of taking up precious wall space this space behind your doors should not be wasted. There are plenty of hooks that can be used for this and with a door stop, you wont have the hooks hit and damage your wall.

The space on your wall that was going to be used to hang your towels can now be used for shelving or something else. If used for shelving, you can store soaps or towels or just display items that pretty the place up. Remember, this article is about storage options for small homes so we need to make the most of every inch we have. This particularly important for heavy use rooms such as the bathroom.

Above The Door Shelving

Shelving options are plentiful at stores such as Ikea and they come in all sorts of styles and budgets. A great shelving idea that is not used enough is adding storage above your door. Its vertical, it has the width of the door and it is never used. You might want to consider storing soaps or even some of your better towels there. The one challenge with this area of the room is dust. Ideally you want to prevent your towels from collecting dust and not being usablev.

It’s a similar space to that above your kitchen cabinets. Never used but a great dust collector. You might want to consider maybe keeping the towels in a nice container which looks well presented and then can hold your nicer towels. This way the container collects the dust should you be a little lax in dusting up there.

Concealed Spice Shelves

Managing your collection of spices can be challenging. Like most families you will likely have a collection of glass and plastic bottles or varying sizes. You will also have plastic packets (refills) or varying sizes. Finding one place to hold them all which doesn’t take away from other storage is challenging.

I have however found a few ideas for those with smaller kitchens. The Sticky Clip in Spice Racks can be added to the back of any cupboard door or even your splash-back (although there might be nicer options if you are going to display them).They are simply stuck on and then your spice bottles are clipped in and stay in place ready to be used.

The one challenge is that the size of bottle they hold is fixed or limited, but the idea is certainly worth exploring.

Another option is a 4 tier spice rack which actually fits into the cupboard itself.

Kick-board Storage

Now, the disclaimer behind this idea is that you probably need to own the home. This idea is also best implemented when the kitchen is being designed from scratch. That space below your kitchen cabinets is never used and totally wasted. Kick-board drawers are a great and really practical idea. They add heaps of volume to your kitchen. A 10mm or so drawer around most of the perimeter of your kitchen can’t be underestimated. Whilst the drawers will not be big in depth they can be as wide as the cabinet itself. A great idea for storing towels and even platters plus anything else that you want hide away.

Over-The-Cabinet Door Hooks

My wife started to use these hooks for towels and whilst I admit I didn’t love the idea at first they are very useful. Instead of just holding towels, you can also hold baskets and other items. Best of all there is no need for additional hardware. There is a great range of hooks on the market and they allow you to hang anything from towels to clothing and baskets. It is really simple to use as well. Just place the hooks over door and hang the basket on the inside or outside of the door. The basket can be used for waste in the bathroom or laundry or as extra storage in the kitchen

Corner Shelving

Take a quick look around your home and you will notice that you have corners that aren’t put to best use. Why not consider installing floating shelves to create extra storage space. Depending on the style of shelving, you could create a really visually appealing spot for books, vases and photographs.

Posted on September 7, 2018June 10, 2023 by Arthur K

Tips for organising your children’s sports gear

Everyone agrees that having your kids spend less time in front of a screen stuck inside the house and more time outside playing sport is a good thing. The challenge in an age where we want everything nice and tidy is keeping it all organised. Having the right kind of storage system for organising your children’s sports gear is more than half the battle. Below we have provided some simple rules and tips which you can use for better management of your family’s sporting equipment.

Cricket & Baseball Bats, Hockey Sticks and Tennis Racquets

Most people stick the bats in the corner leaning up against the wall. Over time more and more gets piled on top of them and when you want to pull the bat out, its impossible to grab without knocking everything over. You can avoid this hassle and mess by keeping bats, sticks and racquets pegged onto a slatwall or pegboard. Today’s slatwall solutions come with a great range of hooks allowing for bats, sticks and racquets to be securely attached but easily accessed. Most hooks are usually long enough to hold more than one item.

Balls

Whether they are larger balls like basketballs or soccer balls, or smaller tennis or cricket balls, they can easily be kept in buckets or tote bags. StoreWALL offers a great range of Tote Bags which cater for balls of all sizes. If you don’t want a bag, consider a deep basket or a bin for organising your Children’s sports gear. What you want to avoid is finding all the balls on the ground because the kids where looking for the tennis ball which was at the bottom of the basket. Consider a container for smaller balls and one for larger ones.

Protective Gear and Clothing

A great way to organise uniforms is to either colour cod them or to arrange them by sport or family member. This makes it easy for everyone to identify whose clothing it is or which sport it belongs to. For items like gloves or cricket pads, I suggest you keep them all together with the related clothing. This ensures they don’t get misplaced or moved away.

As an example, your cricket clothing, pads and gloves could be kept in one specific basket or tote bag. Once the kids are done with using them, putting them away is as simple as placing them all back into the ONE basket.

Sports Shoes

The ideal way to protect your soccer and football boots is to clean them after use (both training and matches). Regular cleaning with a wet rag protects the synthetic surface from scratching and staining. It also ensures whatever dirt (soccer and football being winter sports) accumulates under the shoe is not transferred to all of the other shoes or the floor.

Most sports stores sell tote bags designed for shoes. They keep the shoes aired so that they can dry out but also in a protected bag so that pairs aren’t split up. Some suggest to use peg boards to hang your shoes but I don’t find this really practical. Dirty shoes are not the nicest accessory to have on show. Use a larger tote bag or deep basket to keep your sports shoes together. If you follow the concept of having a basket for each key sport played by your kids, then you can add sports shoes to that basket as well. Preferably once cleaned.

Organising your Children’s Sports Gear

We all want our kids to spend more time outdoors than they do today. Organising your children’s sporting gear needs to be a shared responsibility. Easier to say than do, but with some discipline it can be achieved. It’s important that children learn from an early age that we don’t do everything for them. Organising their sports gear independently is one of the many things they can learn early on.

Tips on grouping sports gear

When deciding where the sports gear will live, consider:

Size and numbers – how much space is it taking up and how many do you have
Seasonality – is the gear used throughout the year, or can it be moved to a different place when not used
Shape – some things take up a lot of space due to their shape (e.g. balls).
Ventilation – it’s better to keep shoes in a well-ventilated container and room.
Accessibility – make sure the children can access their gear without your help.
Dirtiness – how dirty is the equipment.

Get the Kids into the Routine

An important key to achieving some success with organising children’s sports gear is having a routine before and after sport activities. Kids should know what they need to take with them for training and matches. Clothing, drink bottle, boots, towel, hat etc. Help them get into the habit of gathering these items before each session. The routine applies equally after the session is done ie returning everything to where they found it.

Here’s an example

Soccer boots get returned to the garage.
Put them in the soccer basket.
Drinking bottle is returned to the kitchen sink.
Put sports bag away in the laundry (where it lives).
Get undressed and throw everything in the laundry bin or return it to the garage with the rest of the sporting gear.

Whilst I would love to say that my kids follow all of these rules, they don’t but I have found that keeping items organised and in specific locations helps everyone find them before the game or training. It also ensures we aren’t running around looking for them for half the morning.