Now my wife can put up those French cleats/tool hangers she's promised to make me... all my stuff is either on the floor or plastic pallet racks!
When are you going to paint
some nice bright white on those walls would brighten up the place
Unfortunately, it’s easy to let the garage get out of hand.
I was going to suggest both the cleats and the white walls, dang it. Too late to the party, as usual. Don't forget the ceiling either. And, before you get too much more stuff crammed in there, you might want to consider an epoxy floor coating. Usually, I'm not one to toot my own horn (at least, not in public ) but here's a few pics from my place. Sorry for the messiness; too many things "in progress" at once. As noted above, it's easy to let things get out of hand, especially for us ADD folks...
Light colors on the walls, floor, and ceiling, make all the difference!
Despite the mess, if needed, I could have both vehicles parked in the garage in less than 15 minutes. The top of the cluttered table, in front of the Harley (under the blue cover), folds down and the whole thing rolls up under the heavy bench along the back wall. (source: The Family Handyman magazine)
The contractor table saw folds up and hangs on the wall (French cleats!) under the bandsaw and router table. The hanging rack (for the saw and my big x-cut sled) pivots the whole thing off the floor and against the wall, leaving the floor clear. (my own design)
My crazy dust collector. Harbor Freight single stage collector pre-filtered via Thien cyclone that I built. (source: www.jpthien.com/cy.htm)
Hanging cabinet keeps spare tables and chairs relatively dust free. Helmets... not so much. Also a great place to prominently display my slingshotinfo.com calendar!
Maximize use of wall space by hanging crap from French cleats or hanging from other crap that is hanging from French cleats!
All my sheet goods (long stuff standing upright since I have the clearance) on a rolling rack. Base is about 24x36 and fits neatly in this corner.
Unless you need it always at the ready, mount table top stuff (grinder/buffer, router, bandsaw, vises, etc.) to a base that can be quickly clamped wherever and whenever you need it, then squirrel it away on a shelf when you don't.
And don't let the ceiling go to waste, especially above the garage door.
The roof carrier, the extension ladder, and the bundle of PVC pipe (7'x7'x7' knock-down paint booth) are each hoisted up on pulleys. The roof carrier (with trailer packed inside) weighs close to 150 lbs, so it's attached to a winch in the opposite corner. In case you were counting, yes, I have 5 ladders (4ft., 6ft. 8ft., 17ft. multi, & 28ft. ext. At 5' 6", I need then all. Hey! I'm not short, I'm fun-size!
Anyway, just thought I'd share some tips to help you make the most of the space you have. And, if you don't mind some shameless self-promotion, my own site (Made4Madilyn) will be official as soon as I've linked it to my domain (made4madilyn.com).
BTW, noticeably absent from my shop is computerization (no CNC or 3D printer...yet), so all my forms and jigs are made the old-fashioned way. It's good enough for now but I'm getting frustrated with the process. Until I have the time and money to tinker with that stuff, I might have to partner with someone that has the high tech tools to speed up the tooling and prototype process. So, if you happen to know anyone like that...
You two are off to a great start (in fact, I'm a bit jealous) and I have no doubt you're going to wow us all with some really awesome stuff!