What’s the best way of avoiding clutter and freeing up storage space in your garage? Shelving units, of course! These handy furnishings allow you to put away your tools, memorabilia, or anything under the sun in one compact location.
In this article, I’ve put together some of the best garage shelvings available to purchase today. Let’s get that clutter out of the way!
Best and Most Durable Garage Shelving Units of 2020
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of garage shelving units available for purchase. To help you decide, I’ve compiled some of what I believe are the best garage shelving units you should check out!
Seville Classics Wire Shelving with Wheels – Best Overall
- UltraDurable commercial-grade steel wire construction for multipurpose storage
- 5 shelves adjustable at 1" increments
- Dimensions: 36" W x 18" D x 72" H (75" H with wheels), Weight: 61 lbs.
- Capacity on leveling feet: 800 lbs. per shelf | Total system capacity on leveling feet: 4,000 lbs. | Total system capacity on wheels: 500 lbs.
- NSF Certified - NSF/ANSI Standard 2 - Food Equipment for use in dry environments
Seville Classics is one of the most well-known home organization and storage providers in the US, with 40 years of experience under their belt. To this day, they remain an international favorite. The UltraDurable Wire Shelving is among Seville Classics’s top-selling units, being the go-to of many home and restaurant owners.
This heavy-duty storage system comes in various shelving sizes, ranging from 24 to 60 inches wide and 18 to 24 inches deep. Entirely constructed of commercial-grade, chrome-plated steel wire, this unit can store up to a massive 800 lbs per shelf with leveling feet and 500 lbs on wheels.
When it comes to overall build and quality, the UltraDurable Wire Shelving is a strong competitor. Seville’s so confident of their product’s longevity that they offer a full 10 years warranty against material and manufacturing defects!
Pros
- Heavy-duty rubber wheels make positioning and movement easy
- Easy-to-clean chrome plating provides necessary corrosion resistance in dry environments
- Comes in a variety of shelving size options
- Extremely sturdy
Cons
- Slightly difficult to assemble as manufacturer instructions aren’t clear
AmazonBasics 4-Shelf Shelving Storage Unit – Best Budget Pick
- Shelving unit offers handy storage space and easy access to tools and supplies; ideal for a kitchen, office, or garage
- Includes a storage rack with 4 adjustable-height shelves, 4 leveling feet, and 4 caster wheels
- Made of heavy duty steel wire with a black finish
- Quick easy setup with no tools needed
- Shelf height is adjustable in 1-inch increments
The AmazonBasics Shelving Storage Unit is simple yet functional. It has everything you’d ever want in a standard garage shelf at an exceptionally affordable price.
These classic wire shelves can easily hold up to 350 lbs per shelf without wheels, making its max load weight with leveling feet 1,400 lbs for all four shelves. If removed, it manages to stand up to 440 lbs at rest per shelf and 353 lbs when in motion.
What I love the most about the AmazonBasics Shelving Unit is the fact that it’s conveniently adjustable. This freedom allows you to create custom-height shelves for your garage items. No tools are required; simply clip together the two-part plastic sleeves around the posts at the height you want the shelf to sit.
The heavy-duty rolling casters are a welcome bonus. Never again will you have to unload all the items atop your shelf to relocate it. When it’s placed in your desired location, two of the rolling wheels lock for secure placement.
Pros
- Adjustable shelves
- Lightweight for easier positioning
- Constructed of durable steel
- Extremely easy to assemble
Cons
- On the smaller side
Fleximounts Garage Shelving – Best Wall-Mount Unit
- Easy one-person installation with all hardware included: Installation Template helps mount holes; Bubble Level helps get perfect horizontal location
- More Sturdy and Stable: the buckle design with velcros prevents the brackets from falling or bending
- Heavy gauge steel construction provides safety loading up to 300lbs total
- High quality screws provided. All hardwares have gone through strict tests
- Can NOT be mounted to metal wall. Suitable for wood studs/joists and concrete wall
Unlike the two garage shelves I’ve reviewed above, the Fleximounts Garage Shelving must be installed directly on the wall. Although it doesn’t hold a great deal of storage space nor weight capacity, it’s a consumer favorite because it’s one of the longest shelves available to purchase at 6 ft per shelf.
This product’s heavy-gauge steel construction allows you to safely place items of up to 400 lbs total, which is quite impressive for a wall-mounted shelving unit. The reason is likely because Fleximount uses a higher gauged fastening hardware to mount their product than other units of the same type.
If you’re someone who doesn’t have much space on the floor of your garage, a wall-mounted shelving unit is your answer. This garage shelving makes use of unused vertical space so you can use your garage space more valuably.
Pros
- Easy for one person to install
- Takes up less functional space
- Made from corrosion-resistant, cold-rolled steel that protects it from water damage
Cons
- Doesn’t have the best weight capacity compared to the rest of the products on this list
Seville Classics Commercial Bin Rack Shelving – Best for Organizing
- Overall Dimensions: 14" D x 36" W x 56" H
- 7-Tiers with 16 bins and 4 casters (2 locking), shelves adjust at 1 inch increments
- Certified by the NSF to NSF/ANSI Standard 2 - Food Equipment for use in dry environments
- 16 slide-out polypropylene bins with locking feature. Includes 16 bin labels and 4 Bin Dividers
- Total weight capacity of unit on casters (evenly distributed): 500 lbs.
The Seville Classics Bin Rack Shelving unit comes with 7 to 24 individual polypropylene bins designed to store several smaller items. The patented bin rack system is designed with locking grooves on the underside and steel wires locking each bin in place. This feature prevents the bins from accidentally sliding off the shelf.
The good news is, these dividers aren’t a permanent fixture on the shelf. If you want, you can easily remove some or even all of the bins and use it as a traditional shelving unit instead. You can store up to 74 lbs per shelf evenly distributed and up to 500 lbs across the whole unit.
If you’re a collector and have a ton of little knick-knacks you’d love to store, the Seville Classics Bin Rack may just be for you.
Pros
- Wheels make positioning easy
- Platinum powder coat prevents corrosion
- Easy to install; no tools required for assembly
- Tilt-lock design prevents sliding shelves from falling accidentally
- 10-year manufacturer’s warranty
Cons
- Isn’t suitable for storing heavy items
- Polypropylene bins are not the most durable
Factors to Consider When Buying Garage Shelves
Before you buy a garage shelf, consider the following factors:
Mount Type
The three most popular and functional mounting types found in garage shelving units are freestanding, wall-mounted, and ceiling-mounted.
Freestanding Units
Seville Classics UltraDurable Commercial-Grade 5-Tier NSF-Certified Steel Wire Shelving with Wheels, 36" W x 18" D - Chrome are the most commonly bought because they’re flexible. As they aren’t attached to any surface, you can easily move them from place to place. However, it takes up valuable floor space and may get in the way of other functions.
Wall-Mounted Units
As the name suggests,FLEXIMOUNTS 2-Pack 2x6ft Garage Shelving 24-inch-by-72-inch Wall Shelf Garage Storage Rack Floating Shelves, Black are shelves that are mounted directly on the wall. They’re fixed into vertical structural beams at regular intervals using metal brackets. They’re highly functional and don’t take up valuable floor space. Regardless, they’re not as strong as freestanding units.
Ceiling-Mounted Units
FLEXIMOUNTS 3x6 Overhead Garage Storage Adjustable Ceiling Storage Rack, 72" Length x 36" Width x 40" Height, Black are fixed into ceiling studs with the use of adjustable metal brackets. The welded steel construction can provide safe and reliable storage up to 600 pounds of weight.
You can install these shelves practically anywhere in your garage. They’re ideal for storing seasonal items and equipment you use more occasionally out of the way.
Dimensions and Capacity
Everyone’s storage space is different. Therefore, it’s paramount to select a garage shelving unit that’s strong and big enough to hold all of the items you want to store.
For example, if you’re only looking to store small paint cans, hand tools, and toys your children no longer use, you don’t have to worry about purchasing shelves with more than a 200 to 500 lbs capacity.
But if you want to store heavy items, it’s best to search for shelving units that can hold up to 800 to 1,000 lbs of weight.
Conclusion
One of the most reliable and least expensive solutions to organizing a cluttered garage is to get yourself a garage shelving unit.
I recommend the Seville Classics UltraDurable Commercial-Grade 5-Tier NSF-Certified Steel Wire Shelving with Wheels, 36" W x 18" D - Chromebecause of its substantial weight and storage capacity, making it suitable to store items no matter how big or bulky. Furthermore, it comes with roller casters and adjustable shelves!
