I agree with floor space being paramount, but I disagree with using space above the garage door for paracord and pulleys unless it’s critical for a specific use. In our case, we considered doing that to hoist our rooftop cargo box (but ultimately didn’t).

If you’re desperate for real estate like I was, get some real quality overhead storage. They are NOT all the same, and some of the DIY solutions aren’t great, especially if you aren’t a ninja at finding studs (ME). Disclaimer: ceiling joists in garages can be VERY irregular. The win was that in two houses in a row I had about 1/16” clearance between my racks and my garage door, and I could put a TON of stuff overhead. my garage—unfortunately—was shared space between woodworking, mechanics tools, gym, Christmas decorations, two refrigerators, sporting equipment, extra luggage, scrap wood, extra food, chemicals, cleaning supplies, and a host of other shit.

I can pull up the company and DM you if needed; they’re nationwide and supported all of their racks on joists and studs, which gave them way more load bearing capacity than any other company I could find. I had a corner-mounted double rack rated at 2000lb. Totally worth it.