DIY

DIY Garage Storage Shelves

How to build simple DIY garage storage shelves using 2x4s and plywood. This project takes about 4 hours and is an affordable project.

Adding plywood shelves

Keeping our garage organized is a never-ending battle. Every time either one of us works on a project we just clear an area to work in. Everything else gets pushed to the side. It’s a terrible system.

Check out our DIY Farmhouse dining table and coffee table!

To solve our issue, we built DIY garage storage shelves. The shelves utilize our vertical space. This leaves more floor space for projects.

Garage storage shelves

Storage boxes, filled with holiday decorations and childhood treasures, were the biggest culprit of chaos. We decided to build the garage shelves to fit all of these storage bins.

Organizing the garage

The corner next to the garage door was the perfect size for shelves to hold those boxes. Our design included 3 shelves, plus space underneath for gas and weed killer. Never keep hazardous materials on shelves where they could fall on you!

We measured our space and decided the best dimensions would be 34″ wide and 5′ long. This size allows the garage door to open and close without issue.

Then, we measured the height of the storage boxes. These measurements determined the required height of each shelf.

We decided around 20″ was best. This meant the shelves were about 6 ft tall in total.

I need a step stool to reach, but my husband reaches the top easily.

Messy garage of 2014

DIY Garage Storage Shelves

Supplies

  • 2 4×8 plywood sheets
  • 10 8 ft. 2x4s
  • 1 box 3″ deck screws
  • 1 box 1 1/4 screws (for attaching the plywood)

Cut List

  • 4 2×4’s @ 6 ft. (shelf legs)
  • 6 2×4’s @ 57″ (shelf supports)
  • 6 2×4’s @ 31″ (shelf supports) Use leftover 2×4’s
  • 2 4×8 plywood sheets @ 57″ by 34″ (bottom 2 shelves)
  • 2 plywood sheets @ 30″ by 34″ (top shelf)
Shelf supplies

How to Build DIY Garage Storage Shelves

Assembling the Shelf Frame

First, cut the 2×4’s down to create the shelf legs and supports. Then attach a 57″ shelf support 20 inches from the bottom of the legs. This is the front of the shelves.

Constructing garage storage shelves

Attach the remaining shelf supports, with a 20-inch gap between the supports.

Next, flip this side of the shelf onto the side. One 2×4 for the leg should lay flat on the ground, with the supports and the other leg in the air. Attach the side supports to both the leg and the front support.

Then, assemble the back of the shelf. Attach the 57″ supports every 20″ along two shelf legs.

Lay the back of the shelf on top of the side supports and attach. Then flip the frame up so it stands on the legs.

Garage storage shelf braces

Attaching the Storage Shelves

After the frame is assembled it’s time to start attaching your shelves! 

Cut the plywood into 2 57″ by 34″ for the bottom shelves. Use the leftover plywood to make 2 30″ by 34″ pieces. These make the top shelf. Using leftover plywood keeps you from purchasing a third sheet!

Use the 1 1/4″ screws to attach the plywood to the tops of the supports. Attach them every 6 inches for sturdy shelves!

Garage storage shelves frame

At this point, we could have painted the shelves or stained them. But they are just going in the garage. No need to be fancy! 

I immediately loaded the shelves after we finished building. Finally, it felt so good to get all that crap off the floor! We brought some order to the garage chaos. 

Along with the storage boxes, I loaded the shelves with bags of potting soil, a bin of scrap wood, and a bin of cardboard.

Garage organization

These easy DIY garage storage shelves helped us to organize our garage. Plus, it cleared up floor space for easy mobility.

10 Comments

  1. Yay for garage organization. We badly badly need to work on this. Badly. Did I mention badly? I just bought 20 tubs at the store yesterday and it’s on the agenda. Lord, help us.

  2. Oh my gosh your garage is HUGE! I’m jealous. haha we have a tinnnny 1 car garage behind our apartment (which is kind of amazing that we have a garage at all) but it’s literally so small that I can’t fit my car into it!! Alex is using it as a workshop though 🙂

  3. The shelves look great! And so functional! Our garage is a mess too. We have stuff lining all the edges all around and it really annoys me. We bought a shelving unit a while ago, but we still haven’t put it together. It might be on our to-do list for this weekend. Our garage would feel a lot bigger and would be way more organized if we could everything on to the shelves and off the floor!

  4. I am kind of jealous of your massive garage! We only have a shed. It’s a bit disheveled, but since we just moved in, we haven’t had a chance to spread out yet!

  5. *sobs into pillow over lack of workspace*

    So jealous. I’m looking at shed plans right now in the hopes that I can build one soon. Even then I won’t have electricity in it which means I’ll have to run an extension cord anytime I want to do anything. I’m hoping to build in lots of shelves and stuff right off the bat though so it will stay organized from the get-go.

    Two questions for you. What on earth do you use that giant pitch fork for? And, I assumed that 2×4 frame in the second picture was part of this project but then it wasn’t. Is that for a table?

    • Haha. So sorry Joseph. We usually use the pitch fork for spreading mulch. And yes, the frame is for another farmhouse table! We are going to try selling a few of them!

  6. Good project, sounds like an easy enough shelving unit even I could do it. 🙂 You can never go wrong with a well organized space. Thank you for sharing.

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