We spent over 50 hours researching these garage organization products. Learn how to store kayaks, bikes, lawn mowers, fishing poles, and wheelbarrows.
When it comes to stopping your de-cluttering momentum in its tracks, awkward item storage is right up there with sentimental items. They both make bring you to a screeching halt, and that’s something we have to fix to clean our garages!
How do you store awkward garage items? Here are some clever products to store awkward garage items such as bikes, skis, snowboards, lumber, ladders, kayaks, canoes, brooms, shovels, rakes, fishing poles, wheelbarrows, and tractors.
Four Outstanding Ways to Store Awkward Bicycle Configurations
1. Fat Tire and Wide Handlebar Bike Storage
It’s actually not that easy to find good quality fat-tire wall mount racks. I think it’s because the typical wall mount relies on clamping; when you get a wide enough clamp for a fat tire, it’s too wide for regular sized tires.
But this Ibera rack can handle both fat tires and wide handlebars. It adjust outward to make room for the handlebars. And it adjusts each arm holding the bike frame so you can make sure the bike is level. The arm are rubber coated to protect the bike’s finish.
The Ibera wall mount rack holds one bike up to 39 lb. It fits any size bike, including those with fat tires, disc brakes and fenders. I think you can actually see in this picture that it’s made of a high-quality aluminum. This is a sturdy bike holder that adjusts for all kinds of awkward bike configurations. Check out the Ibera bike rack on Amazon.
- Bike Hook Holder Storage Rack for Indoor Storage
2. Disc Brake and Fender Bicycle Storage
Reboot My Garage is all about finding ways to save garage floor space. Take the stuff off the floor and put it on the wall, the ceiling, under a tarp or in a shed.
Garage floor bicycles take up a ton of space. Bikes are 5 to 6 feet long. Even at an angle, they’re sticking out into the room, taking up valuable garage floor space. But bikes are only about 3.5 ft. tall. When you store both tires against the wall — with the seat sticking out into the room — you reduce the inconvenience to only about 3.5 ft. of garage floor space.
So it’s an easy decision to move the bikes from the floor to the wall. But if your bikes have fenders or disc breaks, your options get limited.
I found a bike wall mount that lets you store any bike on the garage wall, even if that bike has disc brakes or fenders. (Though it’s not a solution for fat tires greater than 2.4 inches wide.) The Dizra wall-mount bike rack holds one bike per rack, even if that bike has disc brakes and fenders.
This bike wall mount is both a rack and a hook. The front tire sits against the no-slip slots, and the hook grabs the bike rim. The deep rubber coating on the hook prevents the hook from harming the bike.
Actually, there are three features hold the bike up.
First, there’s the rack’s non-slip stripes, which stop the tire from slipping downward. Second, there’s the rubber padded hook that holds onto the rim. And third, there’s the bottom wheel resting on the wall, which disperses the bike’s weight even more.
The hook holds the bike in place. It doesn’t wobble even when you brush by it. The hook is well-shaped for the job. It holds the bike in place, but twist the bike a tiny bit and the hook is out of your way.
The only downside to the Dizra bike wall mount is that the screws have a bad reputation for being too soft. If your screws strip, you’ll have to use your own substitutes. But for the money that this mount costs, you’re still coming out way ahead. Always screw the mount into the wall studs, not just the wall board.
The Dizra is a no-brainer bike wall mount for the money. It’s holds the bike in three ways, protects it with a nice rubber surface, and it makes the bike easy to mount and dismount. Take a look at the Dirza bike rack for any bike tire size up to 2.4 inches wide on Amazon.
3. A Ceiling (or GearTrack) Bike Clamp that’s Easy to Lock and Unlock
(This next product can be used with or without the GearTrack garage wall storage system. Learn more Gladiator GearTrack here.)
The Gladiator Advanced Bike Claw firmly wraps itself around the bike rim. You can use to hang the bike from the ceiling or from the wall. You can use the Gladiator storage system or install the Claw into the ceiling joist or the wall stud. Hanging the bike by the ceiling can be awkward. You’re going to lift the bike over your head, and aim one of its tires for a specific hook hung from the ceiling. We had ceiling hooks in my garage when I was a kid. Think about a hook shape. It’s an open letter “C,” right? There’s a hook on one side, and open air on the other. It doesn’t matter if you can perfectly land that rim onto the hook every time; a hook is just inherently less secure than using a device that clamps completely around the tire.
That’s why Gladiator invented The Claw. The Advanced Bike Claw locks completely around all bike tires up to 2.4 inches wide. Disc brakes and fenders are not a problem for this bike hanger.
Take a look at the pictures of the Claw. Do you see the disc at the top of the Claw enclosure? When you push at that with your bike tire, it makes the hooks close onto the rim, or open up to let the tire go. When the Claw clamps around the tire, the two hooks completely overlap each other, creating a solid perimeter around the rim, with no place for the bike to fall out. Push the bike tire into the toggle lever again to open the grip and retrieve the bike.
The Advanced Bike Claw holds bikes up to 50 lb. and is easy to open and close. It works with disc brakes and fenders, but not fat tires. Check out this safer version of the garage bike hook on Amazon.
- Great for hanging child- or adult-size bicycles from the ceiling
- High strength plastic construction
- Structural reinforcing ribs supports up to 50 lbs
- Closed loop design provides security, while the Push-Lock mechanism makes it easy to open and close
- 6 in. wide x 9.75 in. high x 3.75 in. deep
4. The Bike Wall Mount for Extra Wide Handlebars, Fat Tires, Disc Brakes and Fenders
If you are hanging the bike flat against the wall, the Ibera rack adjusts for extra wide handlebars. How can you give some bikes extra room when storing these bikes on the wall? Some mounts should allow for wide handlebars, fat tires and disc brakes. But if they all give your bikes extra room, it will waste space.
The Store Your Board Omni wall mount bike rack has adjustable bike hooks to give some bikes more room and other bikes less. Pins hold hooks in place, so giving a bike more room is as easy as moving its pin. The pins are spaced 1 inch apart, so across a 46 inch bar, you have a lot of options for moving hooks around.
The Omni bike rack holds a total of 200 lb. It holds up to 5 bicycles, even if they have wide handlebars, fat tires, disc brakes and/or fenders. I trust Store Your Board, because their products have come in first in our product comparisons for storing kayaks and ladders.
- HEAVY-DUTY BIKE RACK: Solid metal holds 5 bicycles, up to 200 lbs! Ultra-durable powder coating, built to last a lifetime!
- ADJUSTABLE HANGING HOOKS: Universal cycling rack fits road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrid bikes, commuter bikes, kids bikes, and beach cruisers!
- VERTICAL INDOOR STAND: Clear up floor space in your garage, home, apartment, or bike shop. Easy to access for repairs or bike rides!
- EASY INSTALLATION: Mounting hardware included. Independent wall brackets fit any stud spacing.
- EXCLUSIVE PATENT PENDING DESIGN: Built to hold all your bikes and built to last! Designed in the USA!
5. Eliminate Floor Rack Bicycle Tilting
Four-legged tables wobble. Two-legged structures require a wide stance to stay upright. The three-legged stool is more stable than anything with two legs or four legs. Three legs are just what you need for stability.
If you’ve ever seen a bike stand holding a bike at a slight tilt, you know the bike is not as stable as it could be. I will bet you a nickel that the floor stand is holding the bike by only two points of contact. It’s the three points of contact that creates the best grip, and the most stability.
Bike floor stands need three points of contact to keep the bikes stable. This allows the bikes to stand straight without wobbling.
The Bikehand Bike Rack is a high-quality floor bike stand that grips the bike rim at three spots for stability. The Bikehand is designed for either lightweight or heavy bikes, and handles tire widths to 2.4 inches wide. It handles disc brakes and fenders without a problem. On top of its superior holding stability, the Bikehand is also foldable and portable.
The Bikehand is has superior hold to other floor stands. Bikes stored in this rack don’t move or tilt. Check out the well-designed Bikehand floor stand on Amazon.
- Patented SIMPLE PUSH IN DESIGN - Quick & Easy effortless push in system. Unlike other bike stands, which you need to lift the bike and put into. Our stand's front holder will tilt when you push the bike into the rack. This patented great design will be PERFECT for heavy bikes such as downhill, mountain and beach bikes.
- MOST STABLE BIKE STAND – There are three points holding on the tires, much better than other stands which have only one or two points holding on the frame, rim, disc rotor and derailleur. The bike's front or rear wheel sitting in the holder is much deeper than others, so it stays firmly in the holdder. Plus a stylish dynamic stand base makes the bike impossible to be tilted if you do not push extremely hard onto the bike.
- FOLDABLE & PORTABLE - A simple one-pull-knob will allow to fold the stand into a flat shape within a second, saving storage when not in use or to carry it into the car when going riding. Your bikes will never be lying on the ground or leaning against buildings or trees anymore.
- SUPERB DURABLE QUALITY & STUNNING FINISH TO MATCH YOUR BIKE - Heat treated high quality steel with a fantastic powder coated finish. This stand will last forever if used appropriately. FITS NEARLY ALL BIKES: The bike stand will fit almost all bikes range from Kids Bikes, 26" to 29" Mountain Bikes, 650c -700c Road Bikes, EXCEPT those bikes with the tires more than 2.5" in width.
- ORDER NOW, WORRY FREE! We're so confident about our product quality that we can provide a LIFETIME WARRANTY!
Three Excellent Ways to Store Snowboards, Skis, Lumber
6. Honor Your Snowboard Art
Why’d you choose your favorite snowboard? Were you looking for the right rocker, the best price, or the perfect shape? Would you even consider buying a blank board with no graphics? Would you even consider buying a snowboard without taking its design into account?
The board art is just as much a part of the choice as the width and rocker. Just as you’re not going to store a piece of art on an old metal frame, are you going to store your beautiful board on an old metal rack? Have you seen this Pro Board Baltic Birch snowboard rack? It doesn’t just hold the snowboard. It shows it off.
Pro Board uses “Baltic Birch” for this rack, which is how they got such a strong snowboard rack to be both beautiful and lightweight.
Birch is just a nice wood to feel and look at, so instead of just carrying your board, this rack complements it. It’s like getting the best frame for your art. But in this case, the beautiful rack goes for the same price as a decent metal one.
The Pro Board snowboard rack gives plenty of room to each board it carries. The rack is 46 inches tall and has 9 inch arms. You don’t need to hang your board by the bindings. This rack will easily hold 6 full size snowboards. The Pro Board snowboard rack holds 120 lb., and easily mounts to the wall to display your art. Check out the Pro Board Birch Snowboard Rack on Amazon.
- Precision cut, beautiful baltic birch construction. 46″ top to bottom, 9″ arms
- Easy and adjustable mounting arms
- Holds snowboards with or without bindings, skis, skateboards, and longboards
- Baltic birch plywood, cross-banded layering, void-free core. Can hold up to 120 lbs
- Convenient accessories hooks for helmets, gloves, etc
7. An Easy Way to Store Bulky, Extra Long Skis
Sometimes you need more space for one pair of skis than for another. You don’t need too much room for the kids’ skis, but the adults’ pairs with bindings are knocking into one another. Most ski racks give you the same room for each pair of skis, even though ski storage is different for each pair.
The Store Your Board Omni Ski Rack lets you give each pair of skis its own storage width. Pin holes line the top of the bar, each 1 inch apart. You can move your ski hooks anywhere along the bar by just moving the pins. So you can give more space to adult skis with bindings, and less space to the smaller pairs without.
Just possibly, though, you might not want to store this ski rack in your garage. Not for the rack’s sack, but some skis will deform in extreme temperatures. If your garage is temperature-controlled, store your skis in the garage. But if not, check with your dealer or manufacturer if your skis will be OK in your garage’s temperature extremes. If not? Mount the ski rack inside, where there should be fewer temperature extremes.
The Omni rack holds 5 pairs of skis, and 40 lb. per hook. The entire rack holds 200 lb. You can put gloves and goggles on the hook ends. If you want to hang snowboards, you can, but only by the bindings. If you have boards too, you really should check out the Pro Board Baltic Birch Snowboard Rack.
To store different size skis without wasting space, check out the Omni Rack on Amazon.
- OUTDOOR GEAR STORAGE: Ski, snowboard, bike, & camping wall storage rack/display mount for garage & home
- FREE UP SPACE: organize all your gear on one rack to free up floor space and provide easy access
- CUSTOMIZE SKI STORAGE: insert attachments along wall track in custom setup to fit the types and sizes of skis you have (XC, race, powder and more)
- TWO VARIATIONS: store up to 10 pairs of skis with the Omni Ski Rack or 2 pairs of skis with your bike and other outdoor gear with the Omni Adventure!
- EXCLUSIVE PATENT PENDING DESIGN: Built to hold your gear and built to last!
8. Easily Access Workshop Wood Piles
Skis and snowboards are long and awkward, but woodworking lumber piles are heavy, different widths and different thicknesses.
The Titan lumber shelf can handle this extra burden because it’s adjustable from 4 ft. to 6 ft. wide. You mount it into the wall studs for stability. This gives you vertical but also stable and adjustable workshop lumber storage.
Because the lumber is separated into piles, the wood’s a lot easier to sort. You can get to the bottom of each pile when the rest of the wood is on five other racks of the holder.
For even more stability, put some 2 x 4’s on each rack to make proper shelves. The Titan Shelf is strong. Each rack carries 100 lb., and the unit holds 600 lb. This is the safest and most convenient way to store your woodworking lumber pile.
Check out the Titan 600 lb. capacity wood rack on Amazon.
- Usage: Make shelves to store lumber, pipes, gutters, and other objects off of the floor; Individual pegs can be used to hang guitars, skis, or bags.
- Convenience: Easy to install and fully customizable to fit your storage needs
- Versatility: Pegs can be removed to add to shelf height; Add wooden boards to make solid shelves
- Durability: 100 lb shelf capacity, Total capacity 600 lb. Powder-coated orange finish that lasts even with heavy use.
- Dimensions: Shelf height - 6” apart; 12 1/4”x1 1/4” shelf tube, wall mounts – 39”x1.25”x1.25”
Two Ceiling Devices to Store Ladders, Kayaks and Canoes
9. Simple and Elegant Kayak Ceiling Storage (for Ladders, too)
Lots of people find out the hard way that there are many wrong ways to store a kayak. Storing a kayak by its loops or right side up can deform it over time. If the kayak is stored outside, the sun, rain and whatever else falls from the sky can damage the exterior.
So it’s best to store the kayak indoors, and upside down. But the garage floor is not the best place, since kayaks take up a lot of room. So what we need is a heavy-duty rack that hangs from the garage ceiling that you can install with lag bolts.
That describes the Store Your Board Hi-Port ceiling rack. The Hi-Port installs as a single pole, so it doesn’t matter which way the ceiling joists are facing. The cross bars are adjustable up and down from 10 inches to 18 inches. This allows you to push shorter items closer to the ceiling. The Hi-Port kayak rack is made of heavy-duty steel. It holds 150 lb., or 75 lb. per side. Foam padding protects your gear. It’s also a great ladder rack, so long as you have a step ladder to help you get it down. Check out the Store Your Board Hi-Port kayak rack on Amazon.
- DOUBLE YOUR CEILING STORAGE: 2 sided rack gives you twice the storage capacity
- HEAVY DUTY STEEL: built to hold up to 150lbs (75 lbs per side) total for multiple ladders
- ADJUSTABLE HEIGHT: adjust the center column from 10" to 18" tall to provide you exactly the storage thickness that fits your space and storage needs; remove the arms with the push of a button
- WHAT LADDERS WILL IT FIT? up to 18" thick storage and 25" wide arms will fit a variety of ladders, however stacked
- EXCLUSIVE PATENTED DESIGN: Built to hold your ladders and built to last!
10. Kayak and Ladder Ceiling Storage You Can Reach Without a Step Ladder
I’ve rejected almost every manual pulley lift for garage storage that I’ve examined. Some have weak ropes, some have poor hardware, and some have crashed on customers who swear they did a correct install.
One of the big problems with pulleys comes up especially with bicycle ceiling storage pulleys. These usually use hooks to grab the seat and bars. The hooks are the weak point because they bend or are not deep enough to hang on.
So it’s nice to find a pulley that is both strong and well-designed. The Store Your Board Hi-Lift Pro uses a heavy-weight nylon strap and ratchet to hold the cargo in place. You wrap the strap around the kayak or ladder you’re storing, rather than using hooks to hang on to two points of the cargo. I like the straps much better than hooks.
Store Your Board makes the nicest garage pulley we’ve seen, and we’ve looked at many. Use this pulley to store kayaks, canoes or ladders on the garage ceiling. Check it out here.
Get a Secure Grip on Brooms and Rakes
11. The Most Popular Broom Holder/Garden Tool Organizer
The Berry Broom Holder is designed to tightly grip onto mops, brooms, rakes, shovels and baseball bats. It has five slots for long handles, and 6 hooks. The hooks are retractable. You can flip them up to get them out of the way. Strong springs power the slots, to really grab onto the handles they’re holding. This organizer gets the brooms, rakes and shovels off the garage floor, and into a device that won’t let them fall down. Check out the Berry Ave. Broom Holder on Amazon.
- FROM MESS TO HOME DECOR - If you have cleaning supplies taking over your bathroom, kitchen, or garage shelving, declutter with this storage organization system you will want to show off to your guests!
- INDOORS OR OUTDOORS - Tidy up your broom, mop, rakes, tools and more! Perfect for the kitchen, closet, garage, office, great for commercial use, and thanks to the weatherproof design, this holder even works outdoors or on the shed for your garden tools!
- NO-SLIDE - Commercial grade hanger with 35 pound holding capacity! Thanks to the spring loaded, double rubber gripped slots, whether wet mops, dirty rakes or baseball bats, we nothing slips, or your money back.
- RIDICULOUSLY EASY INSTALL - Included with broom holder are all the screws and anchors needed to mount securely, along with clear step-by-step instructions and video that allow even the clumsiest of us can install easily in just minutes!
- 100% THRILLED CUSTOMER - We stand behind our products and service. Introducing our 100% THRILLED , no questions, no limits, no hassle. Just click "Add to Cart" now!
Three Well-Designed Fishing Pole Storage Racks
12. Find and Use Your Garage’s Secret Storage Area
Warning! Store lightweight rods only on the Cobra rack! You should not add too much weight to a garage door. It could alter the door’s balance.
The Cobra uses the garage door for storage, so here’s a great big warning: only store light fishing rods on the Cobra rack! Still, it’s a great idea to put lightweight fishing rods on the garage door. This is a clever use of unused space. The racks clamp onto the door. You pass the rods through the parallel holes for storage. For lightweight rods only, check out the Cobra Fishing Rod Storage Rack on Amazon.
- 21 inches to fit most 4 Panel Garage Doors
- Each package includes 1 set of Cobra Racks with clamping hardware on standard garage door panels. Insulated panels require self tapping screws (not included).
- Made in the USA with durable, high strength ABS material
- All Hardware Included for Easy Installation No tools required for Standard Installation. Insulated Doors will need to be hard mounted with self tapping screws (not included, but can be shipped at no cost)
- Can be installed on walls or ceilings
13. Portable Fishing Reel Storage
If you’ve ever wished you could carry all of your rods and reels onto your pickup, then the One Bass Fishing Pole Rack might be what you’e looking for.
This rack holds 12 rods with reels, or 24 rods by themselves. It’s strong but lightweight. You can carry the whole set from your garage to your truck; and from your truck to your boat.
I’m not sure I would use this rack in my garage, only because I want to maximize my floor space. It’s handsome enough for inside storage, and is a great solution if you move your poles to where you fish. You can view and buy the One Bass on Amazon.
How to Automatically Store Any Awkward Item on the Garage Ceiling
14. Not Wench… Winch!
If you’ve looked at bike or ladder hoists, you might have noticed that a lot of them aren’t a high enough quality to buy. (Manual Bike Pulleys Do Not Buy List; Electric Winch Do Not Buy (See “Cons” Column)).
Ceiling storage presents bigger safety concerns than wall storage. I like to see my ceiling storage devices over-engineered.
Partsam winches are tough but safe little workhorses. Models lift from 220 at top speed to 1,760 lb. at half speed. For instance, the 440 lb. winch lifts your cargo up to 19 ft. high at a rate of 16 ft. per minute. Or, it will lift 220 lb. to 38 ft. high at the rate of 32 ft. per minute. Each winch includes a 3 ft. and a 5.5 ft. strap and a 5 ft. remote control cord. Use the Partsam winch to lift any awkward item, including bicycles, kayaks, ladders, stones, lumber and Jeep tops. Check out all of the winch models on Amazon.
Read more about the Partsam winch in our article: The Best Ceiling Hoist Winch
- Tips : How To USE: As image 4 shows, it firstly needs a mental bar or solid wooden bar that affords enough weights to hang the hoist up ceiling indoor or hanging outdoor.
- Lifting Weight: 220lb.(Single-line), 440lb.(Double-line) ; Lifting Height: 38ft(Single-line), 19ft(Double-line) ; Lifting Speed: 33ft/min(Single-line), 16ft/min(Double-line);
- Handle remote cord is 4.9FT ; Electric chord of remote 5.2 FT ; Diameter of wire rope: 0.12inch ; Tensile strength of wire rope ≧ 1870N/mm2
- Rated Volt: 110/120V ~ 60Hz ; Rated Current: 4.1A ; Input Power: 460W ; Horsepower: 0.616 hp
- VERSATILE USE: Partsam electric hoist winch can be used to lift regular or irregular shape things as stones, trees, mower, engine, truck top cover ect. vertically or horizontally in garage, ceilings, loft, barn, attic anywhere and anytime you can imagine, and is a "must" in Christmas for lifting all kinds of heavy things. Lift Slings are included to make your job easier.【PARTSam Electric Hoist Runs with Emergency Stop Switch, the Red Button Works for that】
15. Get a Pop-Up Tent/Shed
This is the Shelter-Logic pop-up shed we have in our woods, except ours is 10×20 and this is the 10×10.
Our shed has handled eight winters of heavy snow and ice without a tear. It did get a hole in the roof, but that was because someone wasn’t being careful with sharp objects. That wasn’t the shed’s fault, and it was pretty easy to patch.
The Shelter-Logic line runs from 6 ft. to 12 ft. long. The round roofs are better for snowy areas. If you get snow, get the rounded top shed. I can attest that these are waterproof sheds. But you will want to put down tarps or a concrete floor because they install right onto the ground.
We fit a 1974 Dodge Pickup Truck, a 1950 motorboat and a 38 inch lawn tractor in ours. All of that stuff was in the garage, so it’s serving its purpose well. Check out the Shelter-Logic pop up sheds on Amazon.
- Durable Frame: Made from an all-steel metal 10 x 10 x 8-foot frame that is 1-3/8 inches thick
- Made to Last: Bonded with a premium powder-coated finish that prevents chipping, peeling, rust, and corrosion
- Waterproof Coverage: Grey cover is durable and made from an advanced triple-layer rip stop that is waterproof and UV-treated to resist fading
- Ratchet-Tate: Cover tensioning system ensures a drum tight cover that keeps it tight and neat looking
- Easy Slide Cross Rail System: Locks down and squares up frames for initial and continuous frame to fabric fit
- Assembled Dimensions: 10' x 10' x 8'
- Assembled Interior Dimensions: 9'7" x 9'9" x 8'
- Storage Space: 98 square feet of storage for garden tools, mowers, snow blowers, snowmobiles, ATVs, pool items, and more
- Warranty: Includes a 1 year limited manufacturer warranty
- ShelterLock: Patented ShelterLock stabilizers ensure rock solid stability that delivers a stable, more durable shelter
Still not sure? Check out Four of Our Best Tractor, Push Mower and Riding Lawn Mower Storage Ideas.
People Also Ask
How Much is a Backyard Shed? A bike cover costs between $10 and $150. A deck box costs between $25 and $200. . A popup bike shed costs between $100 and $200. A small resin garden shed costs between $100 and $200 A large resin shed costs between $1,000 and $4,600.
