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Family Handyman reports that its team redesigned editorial head Kirsten Schrader’s garage to organize family gear, grilling supplies and outdoor equipment. The project shows how decluttering and planning around traffic flow, utilities and daily routines can guide a garage storage makeover.
Family Handyman has reported on a garage makeover for editorial head Kirsten Schrader and her family in the Milwaukee area, adding drawers, cabinets, shelving and slatwall to organize everyday gear and create work and preparation space. The project matters to homeowners facing crowded garages because its design began with the family’s habits and the room’s existing constraints, rather than storage products alone.
Schrader’s family had lived in their home for five years, and toys, outdoor equipment, sports gear and grilling supplies were being stored wherever they fit. Their two-and-a-half-car garage had enough room, but only a small run of upper cabinets. The result was a collection of piles, Schrader told the magazine. The source does not say the family was unable to park a car.
Deputy Editor Ethan O’Donnell and the Family Handyman build team designed a system around the existing refrigerator. It combines drawer stacks, wall cabinets, open shelving and a large slatwall panel. A countertop provides space for grilling preparation and small repairs; a television mounted on slatwall adds another use for the garage. Lower drawers were among Schrader’s preferred features because items can be viewed without reaching into deep cabinets.
The report says the family first sorted its belongings, including finding new homes for toys their son had outgrown. The planning also accounted for frequently used items: Schrader said her husband grills several times a week year-round, so grilling tools needed a dedicated location, along with a way to store charcoal. The article presents the finished system as a response to those specific routines, not as a one-size-fits-all layout.
Storage That Fits Daily Routines
The project illustrates how the same garage may need to serve as a storage area, work surface and place for family activities. Planning around what gets used often can make frequently needed items easier to reach, while drawers and wall storage can keep smaller gear from disappearing into piles. A countertop also gives the room a practical function beyond holding belongings.
Those choices carry wider relevance for homeowners, but the source does not provide cost figures, measurements for the new system or evidence that the makeover increased home value. A Craftsman-commissioned 2022 survey cited by Family Handyman found that 36% of homeowners said their garage was too cluttered to park a car. That figure describes the survey result; the report does not provide further methodology or establish how it compares with other years.
How the Schrader Garage Was Planned
Before choosing cabinets and shelves, the report recommends reducing the amount of gear that needs a home. Donate items no longer used, discard broken or expired supplies and consider storing seasonal belongings elsewhere. For the Schraders, that step included sorting outgrown toys and identifying the grilling equipment they reach for regularly.
O’Donnell said the design team considered plumbing and electrical features, along with the garage’s doors, windows, ceiling height and floor slope. Storage should leave room to walk around parked vehicles, open drawers and reach entry doors. In this project, a slatwall panel near the exterior door kept commonly used items accessible without blocking foot traffic. Because the floor slopes toward the garage door to direct water outside, cabinets may need shimming so their tops remain level.
The report also connects storage choices to intended use. A workshop may need task lighting, outlets and a larger work surface; a garage used for family gatherings may call for seating or speakers. Overhead areas can hold seasonal or rarely used items, while lighting improvements can help with projects and routine tasks. These are planning suggestions from the article, not details confirming that every feature was installed in the Schrader garage.
““No one ever told me how much time you spend in your driveway once you have kids!””
— Kirsten Schrader, Family Handyman head of editorial
Project Costs and Results Unreported
The supplied report excerpt does not state the project’s total cost, installation time or dimensions, and it does not quantify how much storage capacity the system added. It also does not include a follow-up assessing whether the layout changed how often the family uses the garage or how well it holds up over time.
The 36% clutter figure is attributed to a 2022 Craftsman-commissioned survey, but the excerpt does not give the sample size, survey method or details about the respondents. The statistic should not be treated as a current estimate without newer data. The source excerpt ends while discussing temperature control, so it does not establish whether insulation or heating was part of this makeover.
Planning a Garage Around Use
For homeowners applying the approach, the article’s next steps are to sort belongings, list the items used most often and map storage around the room’s utilities, doors, vehicles and traffic paths. The layout can then assign accessible locations to daily gear and higher or less convenient locations to seasonal items. Any new electrical outlets or powered features should be planned with the existing wiring and appliances in mind.
Family Handyman’s account describes a completed makeover, but the source material does not announce a later project milestone or additional results. The practical next step for readers is to adapt the planning process to their own garage and its intended uses.
Key Questions
What did Family Handyman change in the Schrader family’s garage?
The team installed a system combining drawer stacks, wall cabinets, open shelving and slatwall, arranged around the existing refrigerator. A countertop added space for grilling preparation and small projects.
Why did the design start with decluttering?
Sorting first showed which belongings still needed storage and helped identify items the family used often. Schrader said toys her son had outgrown were given new homes, while grilling supplies needed a dedicated spot.
What should homeowners check before installing garage storage?
Family Handyman recommends accounting for outlets, switches, plumbing, appliances, doors, windows, ceiling height and floor slope. The layout also needs to leave room to walk around vehicles and open cabinets and drawers.
Did the report give the makeover’s cost or prove it increased home value?
No. The supplied source material gives no project budget, return-on-investment estimate or evidence of a change in home value.
Source: rss
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