FastTrack Garage Organization System by Rubbermaid

In a previous Rubbermaid Shed Review post I told you that I was in the process of also doing a Rubbermaid Garage Makeover, a little organizing thanks to the Rubbermaid FastTrack Garage Organization System. After many long months of my garage being in utter and total chaos {no exaggeration there}, it is finally complete and ready for the big unveiling. I will explain in a bit why it took so long to complete this organizational project, but first here’s a bit of information regarding the Rubbermaid FastTrack Garage Organization System.

The Rubbermaid® FastTrack Rails and Accessories system is the easy solution for the do-it-yourselfer, to create storage space on the wall for bikes, power tools, ladders, hoses, wheelbarrows and more. The heart of the FastTrack system is the patent-pending FastTrack rail that blends strength and style with endless flexibility. Select one or more rails and choose from a wide array of accessories to outfit your garage and provide storage and organization for your belongings. Yet keep in mind, the FastTrack system can be used to organize your basement, laundry room or pantry too!

Here is a ‘before’ photo of our garage, all messy and just plain Blah! With all items having no where to call home, things were strewn about in every direction. Anything with a handle leaned here, there’s a spot on the floor to toss this..it’s no wonder we couldn’t find anything and were constantly tripping all over things! This is a shot of the one wall which was our ‘problem area’. There was, in fact, many items leaned against the other walls.

Then, after the folks at Rubbermaid got a sense of our organizing needs and issues, they came to our rescue with the Large Rubbermaid Shed and all the FastTrack Garage Organization System for the garage. I thought we were all set and ready to install everything, but then a freak snowstorm followed by continual rainstorms, followed by vacation, followed by…what else life offered – really prolonged this entire project. I would strongly suggest making a plan to start and complete this project {with help}, over the course of a day or a weekend. Really, it doesn’t take that long to set up at all. Yet,since this was a review and I had to wait for shipping for extra parts and all that jazz – it had to be done in small increments. As well, I have mentioned before that my Husband works out of province, returning home for only a few days per month. This complicated things as well, and I tried to get as much of this project done alone, or a little bit done here and there when a friend came by and offered a hand for an hour.

Versus me going into detail regarding how to install the Rubbermaid FastTrack Organization System, I found this video that explains the process just perfectly. So take a look!

One other suggestion I have regarding this product, is that the rails come with 1/2″ drywall anchors. Well, I’m not sure if it’s a  Canadian thing or just our home builders’ preference – but our garage drywall is 3/4″ thick. So, I had to purchase extra anchors to attach the rails to the wall. No biggie, right? Well, that was also a complication for this project as I stuck to the same brand as the 1/2″ anchors that was supplied with the System, thinking they were ideal to hold the FastTrack System onto the wall. The problem was that only one store in my city sold this particular brand of wall anchors, and the 3/4″ was the only size that they Didn’t carry in an econo-pack. PLUS, they only stocked 3-4 packages of them at a time…*sigh*. So, much of the time was waiting for a shipment of anchors and multiple trips to this store in hopes that they have some. In retrospect, I probably could have used a different brand of anchor – but at the time I didn’t know that there would be such an issue with purchasing wall anchors. Long story short, know the thickness of your drywall as the anchors included may not be applicable.

The actual instillation of the rail is really straightforward, and the Rubbermaid FastTrack Garage Organization System has so many hooks and accessories that are made to fit certain tools and objects onto the rail. There are specific hooks intended for fishing rods, huge power tools, handled brooms etc, bikes and so much more. Yet the best thing I found with the hooks is that they are really very versatile. For instance, I wanted to hang the kids’ wagon. So, I moved the ladder from the Ladder Hook onto a Hose Hook and used the Ladder Hook for the wagon. As well, there is still one bike in the yard that is still in use. So for now, I used a free hook for bike helmets. As well, I can put folding camping chairs onto a couple of the hooks as well. So you see, the Rubbermaid FastTrack Hooks are very versatile.

The easiest part for me, surprisingly, was the assembling the two Top Cabinets with Cubbies. I was able, alone, to have them both put together and hung within an hour. The instructions could have been more clear, all the holes lined up and in no time it was secured to the wall and ready to be stocked. And, I think these cabinets are one of the best things we did for this garage, as it gets all the chemicals and cleaner way up and out of reach. All stored nicely in a very great looking cabinet {I just love the black and silver combo}, it’s also nice to make space higher up on the wall, versus just having so many shelves at eye level.

All in all, I think the garage looks spectacular. Not only does the black rail look appealing, and suits a garage perfectly, but the entire look is so much cleaner and neat. Everything is organized and has a home. I have no problem finding items, and there is less for me and the whole family to trip on. Rather than tossing items anywhere, it’s just as easy to hang the items where they belong. Best of all, extra FastTrack accessories can be purchased in sets and individually if you need more. I am already thinking about more hooks that we could use for our rail system, we also need a mesh baskets to hold the kids’ small toys and balls.
The Rubbermaid FastTrack Garage Organization System can be accommodated to suit your growing needs when it comes to organization. Since I have set up this system, I have moved items and Hooks a few times. Changing things up and re-hanging garage items is a breeze!

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Disclosure: I was provided with product to facilitate this post, opinions are my own.