This time of year, I find myself spending a lot of time digging through the garden shed taking stock of what I have. All the garden supplies have been in deep hibernation for the last six months and it’s nice to dig out and dust off what’s inside. It’s kind of like Christmas morning. I love reacquainting myself with some of my favorite garden tools and setting up my work area so as the warm weather sets in, I can hit the ground running.
Organizing the garden shed early in the season really pay off in later months. You will have more time to relax and less time trying to find things you may need (especially during a yard project.) Having an organized garden shed can motivate you to tackle projects or maybe inspire you to start something new.
For some, organizing the garden shed might be a simple afternoon project, while others may need to break up the task into different days. Start today and enjoy long afternoons watching the grass grow!
Here are some helpful hints to consider when organizing the garden shed:
Save up. Through the winter months I find myself holding on to things like egg cartons, Parmesan cheese shaker (top with holes,) coffee canisters, and plastic or foam quart containers to use in the garden shed. It’s nice to have everything on hand when you want to start seedlings and/or want to reorganize your space.
Reuse. The garden shed is a great place to reuse various storage containers. A few common household items that can be used in the shed are:
- Egg Cartons – seedling starts. What’s nice is that you can actually tear apart the carton and plant the seedling as is right into the ground.
- Cheese Shakers – slug bait, grass seed or fertilizer. It’s a contained shaker that seals shut. You can then dispose of all the packaging.
- Coffee Container – makes great open (or closed) storage for tools, gloves or seed packets.
- Apple Crates – stack well and make great storage for unused pots, dirt and seed.
Inventory. Take inventory before you buy anything new. Often tools and materials are misplaced at the end of the season, it’s helpful to gather all your supplies and take stock of what you have before you buy.
Machinery. It’s important to maintain all those heavy pieces of equipment. Things like lawn mowers and trimmers need to be maintained just like our car.
Replace. If you have to buy a new tool, check garage or yard sales first. Often you can get perfectly good tools for a third of the price.
Megan Spears is an organizing consultant and owner of Disorder2Order. Disorder2Order provides household management solutions for busy families and multi-tasking parents. We specialize in home or office organizing solutions; as well as time and paper management systems. Helping our clients create order from all the disorder of life is what we do!
Comments