Large or small, a garden just doesn’t look right without an accompanying shed. They’re places where we can while away whole weekends, and a must-have for any tool owner, lover of DIY, or green-thumbed gardener.
There were 21 million shed owners in the UK in 2016, according to Cuprinol’s Shedenomics survey, but it’s amazing just how much clutter can turn a useful shed into a spiderwebbed dumping ground.
We think these beloved back garden mainstays are worth plenty of TLC, so whether you want a place to neatly store your garden tools or you’re one of the thousands of ‘shed entrepreneurs’ that contribute a whopping £17 billion to the UK economy every year, it makes sense to get yours in order. Here are five ways to get yours organised.
Go magnetic
For metal tools like saws and hammers, consider screwing a strong magnetic strip to the wall of your shed. It’s a great idea if you use a lot of tools for DIY, gardening, or woodworking, as the tools will be much more safely accessible than if they’d been stowed away in a draw or stacked on a shelf.
Install shelving
The main thing to bear in mind when installing shelves is whether your shed can take the extra weight. Look for strong vertical pillar supports and screw your brackets to these as opposed to the slatted walls, and you’ll be able to rely on your increased storage.
This job can be a little tricky, especially in a smaller shed, so make sure you wear sturdy footwear, thick work gloves, and safety glasses so you don’t hurt yourself.
Alternatively, choose free-standing shelves – just bear in mind that you could lose out on valuable floorspace for larger objects like your mower.
Store large tools outside
If your shed has gables or a porch, install racking along the shed wall as a place to store large garden tools such as shovels, rakes, and pitchforks. These bigger tools can be an annoying source of clutter inside a shed, but there’s no need to worry about rust taking a hold outside – they’ll be just as protected, thanks to the roofing.
Incorporate a workbench
Love pottering around on fun garden and DIY projects? By installing a workbench into your shed, you can enjoy your hobbies all day long, rain or shine. We’d also recommend putting in some drawers or shelves below the bench too, to maximise on the available floorspace.
Put up a pegboard
A pegboard attaches to the wall of your shed and features hundreds of machined holes of various sizes, within which pegs and hooks can be inserted. Completely modifiable, you can then use these to store all your smaller tools. Any item with a loop works, although you could tie twine to any tools that don’t comfortably fit on a peg. The joy of a pegboard is that they take up very little floorspace yet can be used to hold tens of tools, and they work great as a workbench backing.
Your shed is too valuable a space to be left as a tip. With a little organisation, you can start using it to its full extent!
