Someone in the family—or maybe the whole family—has decided to take up gardening. Following in the tradition of “go big or go home,” you’re now searching for a way to store a substantial collection of gardening tools.
Just one rake? Nonsense! There are four of them…because each one has a specific purpose (who knew?). Potting soil was to be expected. But, who knew it would bring along more bags of specific soil amendments than you’ve got fingers? The big question is: Where’s all this stuff going to go?
Not Everybody’s Got the Space to Put Up a Garden Shed
No argument there. It’s the most practical solution. If you’ve got the space, a metal building kit creates all the room you’ll need to store this hoard of gardening supplies—plus create room for even more types of storage.
However, you may have to compromise if space is at a premium. All those new gardening tools and supplies might just have to find a way to peacefully coexist with everything else you’ve got in your garage. Here are a few ways to help everybody get along.
On the Wall
Shovels, rakes, and other long-handled gardening tools should be safely stored, and one of the best places for them is on the wall. While most people make do with just propping them up in a corner, sooner or later they have to extract one of these tools—which can send the whole collection falling over.
A better solution is to store them horizontally on the wall. If your garage has unfinished walls, you’ll want to find 3 consecutive vertical framing studs. Attach either large hooks about 6 inches apart running vertically down the two external framing studs.
You’ll have created horizontal storage with the span of exactly 4 feet. That’s ample space to store rakes, hoes, shovels—basically anything with a long handle. The 6-inch space between each pair of hooks allows you room to angle each tool so it doesn’t stick out away from the wall.
There’s no reason why you can’t do this if you’ve already got finished garage walls. You’ll just have to take the extra step of locating and marking the hidden framing studs.
Teaching an Old Filing Cabinet New Tricks
You’ve done it at the office, and you’ve probably duplicated it at home. It’s the age of going paperless. And, that means you’ve likely got a few of those metal file cabinets hulking in the corner, thinking about what lies in store for them now that they’re not being asked to hold all your paper files.
Guess what makes a perfect place to store small spades, trimming sheers, and other gardening implements. Starting a seed collection? Now you’ve got a place to keep the packets sorted and dry. These metal cabinets are ideal used in their intended vertical position because you’ve got deep drawers that extend outward.
There’s no reason why you can’t remove the drawers and tip the entire cabinet on its side. Voila, you’ve just created the perfect storage trough. Attach a sheet of pegboard at either end to hold smaller items you want to quickly locate.
These two quick-and-easy DIY tips will take you a long way toward storing all the new tools that’ll need a storage home if the gardening bug catches on at your place. The best solution is always going to be an outdoor storage shed. It’ll provide you with all the room you need to keep that idea to start gardening blooming for years to come.
