Isn’t it time you reorganised your shed and garage?

Now we’ve had a few weeks of sun are you starting to dream of BBQs in the garden? Or maybe starting summer sports or even a DIY project? All you need to do now is find what you need for this in your shed or garage – asy right? Garage or shed chaos makes it hard to find what you want and wastes precious storage space. This is the perfect time of year to get it sorted before summer is in full swing.

How to get your shed organised:

1. Plan your removal first: Buy rubble sacks, bin bags, book a skip if necessary or slot at the recycling centre before starting. Make sure you have room in your car so you can load it up as you go, saving time and avoiding unwanted items taking up space for weeks after you have finished sorting.
2. Get it all out: lay out tarpaulins on any open space you have, like grass or a driveway, empty the shed or garage and pile the same things in groups together in a way which make sense to you, like gardening products, tools, sport equipment and kids toys etc.
3. Get ruthless: Start by editing out anything broken or out of date like old paint tins or garden chemicals. Next remove unwanted duplicates of items from your piled categories – ask yourself how many plant pots do you really need? Review everything else and decide if you need to keep it.
4. Consider what you really need now: think about your life as it is today, if you are holding on to old items you don’t need, it will be harder to organise the items you actually want. Let go of unused sports equipment, hobby stuff or furniture that doesn’t fit in your home, decide what matches your current life and who you are now.
5. Sweep and clean: Once the space is empty sweep it out, this might be your only chance to do this for a while. Clean garden tools and patio chairs. Oil equipment with WD-40, so they are ready to go when you need them. You can get secateurs and garden shears sharpened at the monthly Tunbridge Wells Repair Café in the Trinity Theatre.
6. Visible storage: Once you’ve decluttered and put the same items together, decide what you need access to most often. Store frequently used items at eye height and where they can most easily be seen. Hanging tools with their outline drawn on the wall makes them easy to find, shows everyone where they live and when something is missing.
7. Vertical space: Use all walls and even the ceilings if possible, this will maximise the space you have. Use hooks or add shelves where you can. Hang bikes, washing lines, strimmers, jet washers or any bulky items on the wall. If required screw on a backboard first for added strength before attaching hooks. Try not to store equipment on the floor, as it’s too tempting to pile items on top of anything kept permanently there.
8. The best storage: Racking, peg boards or slatwalls panels with hooks are worth the investment if you can. My favourite are slatwalls (available at online DIY sites) because you can move, adjust and add hooks or shelves, when what you store changes over time. Hanging old kitchen cabinets are a good low-cost storage solution too.
9. Divide and label: the key to staying organised is keeping the same items together in containers. Even on shelves, divide up what you are storing. Use clear boxes where you can and label them, it will make it easy to see what you have. A simple sharpie pen works well to write categories on the side of any boxes e.g. Car Cleaning.
10. Nuts and bolts: Just because something came in a pack of 100 doesn’t mean you need to keep all of them, especially if you’ve only used 5 of them in the last 10 years. Review what you have and decide what you need to keep. Invest in a carry case with transparent compartments, so you know what you have, when you need it. Sort out any random pots of nails or screws into your storage case, otherwise these rarely get used.

And finally… Allow yourself enough time: There is real value to tackling your shed or garage in one go, as they are often so full of our belongings. This will make it easier to carefully plan how to organise it, so you maximize your available storage space. Ask for help from friends or family for larger projects.

See my online Donation Directory for a full list of where to re-home garage and shed items you no longer want.

Imogen Murphy is a Professional Home Organiser based in Tunbridge Wells. With her Declutter and Organising Service she creates calm, organised and inviting homes for her clients. Visit her website at: thelittleorganisingcompany.com