Storage solutions for the shed

Determine your needs
Before you buy or build a shed, decide how much space you need according to the items you’ll be storing in it. Make a list and try to anticipate possible future needs. If you have an existing shed, make a scale drawing so you can plan specially-designated areas for each group of items. Keep in mind that the lawn mower and outdoor furniture will be stored on the ground. Be sure to leave enough space to move around easily and be able to transfer certain items from one area to another.


Storage solutions for each area
Floor, ceiling, walls: in a shed, no surface is spared when it comes to storage. Space must be organized for easy access to items stored and to free up floor space. Above all, identify your needs so you invest in appropriate solutions. The trick is to think in terms of designated areas. A few key areas would be:

• An area for outdoor tools
• A gardening area
• A sports area
• A storage area for seasonal items (particularly outdoor furniture during the winter)

If other needs arise or evolve, additional designated areas can be created and organized, space permitting. You may need a workbench for hand tools, a place for pool maintenance equipment and products, and another for car maintenance products, for example.

Outdoor tools
Rakes, shovels, pitchforks, spades and other garden tools can start to add up and pile up in the shed. Using hooks to hang them on the wall makes for easy access and clear floor space. Perforated storage boards, or pegboards, and wall tracks are available that are designed specifically for installing a large number of hooks, shelves and other storage accessories. The benefits: they can be moved and reinstalled easily if needs change over time.

Brooms, rakes, hockey sticks and other long, narrow items can be inserted into standing racks or baskets on the floor.
Hang your smallest tools on the wall or store them in trays set on shelves. Garden hoses can be coiled and stored on dedicated hose holders.




Gardening
A workbench or work table with a nearby shelf can be made into a comfortable and user-friendly gardening area, perfect for repotting. Pots, planters and various containers, as well as herbicides, fertilizers and other products are stored on shelves. Hang small gardening items on the wall, close to the workbench. Bags of soil, mulch, and fertilizer are stored on the ground.

Keep handy a practical carpenter’s apron and a bucket; they’re doubly useful as a way to consolidate your tools in the same place and to make it easier to move them around.





Sports
For the sports area, plan your storage so that you can seasonally rotate your equipment. For example, bikes should be easily accessible in summer, whereas snow boards, sleds and skis gain by being handy during the winter. Hang light and out-of-season accessories from the rafters: skis, ski poles, snow boards and other long items during the summer, and large pool accessories during the winter.

Various hooks and racks can be installed on the walls to store fishing rods, skis, poles, boards, and snow shoes. Storage nets and baskets designed to be hung on walls are useful for storing helmets, balls, baseball gloves and other items that can’t be hung on hooks.

Other storage solutions to consider: hanging storage suspended from the ceiling, such as shelves that can hold all kinds of items. Extremely solid, these storage ideas come in all sizes and free up the floor space.
Some hooks and racks are item-specific, such as wall racks for bikes.

Seasonal items
Everything that can be hung on the wall should be: ladders, folding chairs, etc. There are exceptions, however, so keep enough space on the floor for large items such as the lawn mower, barbecue and garden furniture during the winter and snow blower during the summer. Propane bottles and other potentially hazardous or poisonous products should be stored in less accessible places: high up and out of reach of children or in a locked cabinet.

Additional areas
If you have the space, you may want to create additional areas according to your needs:

• A workbench for manual tools: add a pegboard and hooks for your tools, containers for nails, screws and other small objects. Closed cabinets and shelves are also useful.
• Car and pool maintenance products: install as many cabinets or shelves as you need to safely store all poisonous product containers.

If space is at a premium in your garden shed, well-thought out, well-planned and appropriate storage solutions will get you a long way. In addition to floor space, make use of the walls and roof for extra storage. Keep in mind that storage space needs to keep pace with the changing seasons and evolving needs of family members. Out with the mess and in with a multi-functional, ultra-accessible shed!