I Organized the Garage Before I Decorated the Living Room
Most home sites start with a mood board. Mine started with a garage I could not park in. When we moved in, every box we owned ended up out there, and I spent a full autumn building shelves, hanging tools and labeling bins before I let myself think about what color the living room should be. That order, function first and pretty second, is the whole idea behind RoomHint.
My name is Laura W. Barber, I write every post here, and the site is organized around a simple belief: a room has to work before it can look good. Here is how that plays out, room by room.
First, make it work: storage and the spaces that hide it
Storage is the backbone of this site, and it runs through almost every category. Storage & Organization is the heart of it, covering small-home storage, hidden storage walls, shed and RV organization, and closet systems. Right next to it, my largest categories lean the same way: Outdoor is as much about garage and workshop storage, overhead shelves and tool walls as it is about gardens and pergolas, and a good share of Kitchen is pantries, pull-outs and tool organization before it is cabinet colors. If your home feels cluttered before it feels unfinished, start in these.
Then, make it livable: the everyday rooms
Once a space works, I decorate it, and that is where the room categories come in. Living Room leans heavily into dining rooms, from remodels and large-table layouts to boho, beige and small-apartment ideas, plus the maintenance nobody pins, like cleaning a sofa or a room fast. Bedroom covers wardrobes, closets and calm color palettes, and it is also where I keep my home-office and work-from-home posts, because for a lot of us the office is a corner of the bedroom. Bathroom mixes vanity, tile and sink ideas with the practical fixes: soap scum, chrome fixtures, a bathtub overflow that will not behave.
And the how-tos that hold it all together
Running through every category is a layer of step-by-step guides, because knowing how to clean, fix or maintain something is what keeps a styled room from falling apart. Covering raised beds, keeping outdoor furniture from blowing away, upgrading a vanity, managing cables: these are the unglamorous posts I am proudest of.
What I am, and what I am not
I am not an interior designer, a contractor, an electrician or a professional organizer. I am someone who had to make a real house work on a real budget, learned most of it by doing it wrong first, and writes down the steps so your version goes smoother. When a job involves wiring, gas, plumbing or anything structural, I say so and point you to a licensed professional instead of pretending it is a weekend win.
If a fact, a step or a cost in one of my posts is wrong, please write to me. I will check it and fix the post.
A few things off the pegboard
My own garage pegboard is labeled down to the last screwdriver, and yes, I know how that sounds. I keep a note of every bin I have bought and what fit inside it, because buying the wrong-size bin twice cured me of guessing.
Before you build, drill or dig
Everything on this site is general information from my own experience. It is not professional advice, and I am not a builder, electrician, plumber or structural engineer. Please treat these points as the minimum.
- Shelves, racks and overhead storage: garage and shed shelving, overhead racks and wall-mounted tool storage hold real weight over people, cars and heads. Mount into studs or rafters, use hardware rated for the full load, and follow weight limits exactly. Overhead storage especially must be installed to the manufacturer’s specs.
- Walls and anchors: before drilling for shelves, closet systems or hidden-storage built-ins, check for studs, wiring and pipes, and anchor tall units to the wall.
- Electrical work: office cable runs, new outlets, lighting and any hardwired fixture should follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and anything hardwired should be done by a licensed electrician. Never overload an outlet or run cords under rugs or through walls where they can overheat.
- Plumbing: vanity swaps, faucets and bathtub drain and overflow work involve water lines and seals. For anything beyond a simple fix, hire a licensed plumber, and address a recurring leak or overflow rather than just the symptom.
- Cleaning products: test cleaners on a hidden spot first, follow the label, never mix products (especially bleach with ammonia or acids), ventilate, and wear gloves.
- Older homes: in a home built before 1978, assume paint may contain lead until a test says otherwise, and old tile and adhesives may contain asbestos. Have them tested before you sand, cut or remove them.
- Outdoors and gardens: fences, pergolas and larger builds can need permits and follow setback and homeowner association rules, so check first and call 811 before you dig. Growing conditions vary by region, so check your local extension service, and keep wildlife deterrents humane and legal.
- Vehicles and fuel: store fuel, batteries and power equipment in a garage safely, away from heat and ignition sources, and in approved containers.
Affiliate disclosure. RoomHint is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy through one of my links I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change what I write or what I tell you to skip.
About Laura W. Barber:
- Full name: Laura W. Barber
- Role: Founder and writer, RoomHint
- Email: [email protected]
- Based in: Columbus, Ohio
- Pinterest: pinterest.com/roomhint
- Contact page: roomhint.com/contact
- Background: A homeowner who made a real house work function-first, starting with the garage. No formal design or trade credentials.
- Focus: Storage and organization, kitchens, outdoor and garage spaces, living rooms, bedrooms, home offices and bathrooms
- Writing since: 2025
The garage is organized, the living room is finished, and I can finally park the car. In that order, which was always the point.
