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How to organise a shed
Garden sheds can be a great way to free up space in your house and garage. But once your shed starts getting a little full, it’s time to get organized. It’s a tricky space to declutter and sort out though – it’s dark, it’s small, and it’s full of tools.
“So how do I organize a shed?!” we hear you cry. Have no fear – we’ve got you covered with some handy tips and tricks. Read on to find out how to organize a shed.
Organise a shed by adding open shelving
When you’re short on floor space, it’s time to work your way up the walls. By adding shelving to your walls, you’ll free up valuable real estate on the floor. This way, you’ll be able to make the most of every inch of space. Adding shelves can also help you to organise and display in a way that makes everything easy to find – even in your dark little garden shed!
You can either buy floor to ceiling shelves that fit your shed, or you can make some floating shelves of your own. Shelves are easy and cheap to build, and there are plenty of tutorials online.
Get yourself some storage boxes
Many people keep chemicals like weed killer, pesticides, paints, and even petrol or diesel inside their storage sheds. In tight, cramped garden sheds, these things can easily leak or get knocked over. By placing all these potentially dangerous chemicals in storage boxes, you can make sure they’re all stored safely. You can separate chemicals that shouldn’t be stored together (like very flammable or volatile chemicals) and stop these chemicals from contaminating the ground or the water supply.
If you’re organising chemicals in your shed, here are some rules to live by:
- Keep chemicals in their original containers, or in secure and clearly labelled new ones if safe to do so.
- Chemicals should be kept out of direct sunlight. They should also be kept out of reach of your little one’s curious fingers and your pet’s sniffing noses!
- If storing chemicals that could react together in a close space, pay extra attention and care to these. The area should be well ventilated, and all bottles, jars and cans should be properly sealed.
But storing chemicals isn’t the only use for your storage boxes. You can group together types of tools or electronics, or certain equipment by usage. For example, you could put all bike helmets, gloves, and other cycling gear into one box, so you know where it all is.
Heavy-duty plastic bins that are easy to slide off and onto shelves are great options for shed storage.
Build an organiser for large tools
If you want to organise your shed, you’ll need to organise your large tools. These are things like rakes, shovels, hoes, and pitchforks that usually prop up in a big messy pile in the corner. Tools like this are tough to organise. That’s why it’s so easy to let them form a pile on the floor or up against a wall.
To keep them organised and out of your way, use your wall space by making a large tool organiser. Start by cutting a length of wood long enough for all your tools to lean on, with a little space between each one. Then, carve divots into this piece of wood wide enough for the tools to slot in. They don’t need to hang in these divots though. The divots just need to be deep enough to keep the tools standing.
Screw this piece of wood right into the wall, and then lean each tool into the divots. This organiser will stop your tools from falling into one big tangled mess.
Organise a shed by hanging it all out
Another great way to get everything off the floor and organised in an accessible way is to hang everything out on the walls. There are lots of ways you could do this, like:
- A pegboard
Pegboards are another great way to utilise wall space. They allow commonly used tools to stay visible and always be accessible. They can also be used to store cables in a way that stops them from tangling. Pegboards are also cheap and easy to install.
- A magnetic strip
Magnetic strops can be stuck to the edges of shelves to keep tools or other metal items in order. Got a screwdriver or spanner set you can never seem to find all the parts for? Hang them on the magnetic strip and you’ll never lose them again. Just make sure you choose a magnetic bar strong enough to hold everything you want to put it on.
- Hanging jars
If you’ve got a busy shed full of stuff, chances are you’ve also got tubs of assorted nails, tacks, nuts, bolts and screws. These are items every tool shed needs, but they’re also the things that get lost or mixed up the most. These tiny, vital pieces of hardware can easily get misplaced, mismatched, or left on floors to be stepped on.
To keep them in place, in order, and out of the way, consider installing a hanging jar system. To create this, find jars with screw top lids. Attach the lids to the bottom of a shelf. Fill each jar with the right nuts, bolts, or other small pieces of hardware, and then screw them into the lids! To access them, all you have to do is unscrew the jars and lower them carefully.
Consider self storage
If you’ve really run out of space at home, no amount of handy space saving tips and tricks will help you as much as more space will. If getting rid of excess stuff isn’t an option and you’re not in a position to move into a bigger property, it’s time to consider self storage.
Here at Magenta, we’ve got storage solutions to suit everyone. Whether you need a large storage space short term, or a small storage space long term, we’ve got your back! We offer flexible storage to help you make your space nicer and your life easier. Give us a call on 0800 802 1360 orget a quote today.