I don't even want to know what's in your garage. I am suspecting there are bikes and skis—and helmets for both—and rakes and a forgotten fondue pot and a deflated basketball and mud-caked boots and a pallet of paper towels from a big box store. And that's it's sort of... a mess. But let's not dwell on the tangle of orange extension cords. Let's skip to the solution:
The people at Real Simple magazine are very good at organizing and storing mess. They make a career of it. Your garage is not even a challenge to them. In the magazine's recent 3 Great Garage Makeovers, the messy, out-of-control "before" photos are terrifying—seriously, don't look if you are the kind of person who had to turn away during the shower scenes in Psycho—but the "after" photos are a thing of beauty. Flip through the slide show and feel as satisfied as if you'd actually cleaned up your own garage.
Above: The editors at Real Simple created a Mini Mudroom for a garage with hooks to hang jackets and hats. It's easy to recreate the look:
Above: A five-hook adjustable hanging rack, the Zinc Zig-Zag Hook expands to a width of 25.6 inches; it's $38 from Terrain.
N.B.: For more ideas from Real Simple we'd like to use in our own homes, see 5 Favorites: House Plants to Simplify Your Life.