If you’re lucky enough to get one perfect fall day, do you think you’ll want ideas on how to organize a shed? We recently organized a great little shed, and I hope to inspire you to organize your own shed, garage, basement, or patio. These planning ideas apply to almost all storage areas.
The couple who live here are the new owners of the family home. I think we will see an increase in this, as buying a home is more expensive. Boomers tend to move into smaller homes, but they don’t necessarily want to make every effort to sell on the open market. Transferring the family home to the elderly is easy for everyone.
This house flippity-flop left the couple wondering what exactly was in the shed, and did they really need it all???
Sort and Succeed in your Sheet
This is a complete Sort and Win project. With a little fuss, a shed can take a few hours to set up. Click here for an update on the SORT and Success steps to organize any space inside – or outside – your home.
We had already written down our goal, to organize the shed in about 3 hours. That’s Step 1 to Filter and Succeed.
How long do you estimate it will take to organize this shed?
What’s in That Shed, Anyway?
Step 2 to Sort and Be Successful is to organize things into groups. Use the entry method to organize groups of items. Our categories include sporting goods, long-handled tools, party supplies, plant pots, power tools, car care, small tools, and a few more.
By grouping similar items together, you can easily see if you have duplicates, unmatched singles when you should have pairs, and you can clearly see broken or damaged items.
We reached this level without the owner of the house. He then went through the piles of items along the way and decided what needed to be sent back to the parents in their new home and what could be thrown away and recycled.
A shiver ran through my soul when we received a box of photo albums!!! Do you see that grass in the corner? That side of the shed will be fine after a little maintenance, but for now it’s open to weather, mice, and weed infestation! Don’t worry, we asked him to find a space inside the home (or at mom’s house) for those family photo albums. Photo albums are not in the shed, garage, basement, or basement.
A New Tour Around the Ol’ Shed
Step 3 of SORT and Succeed enabled us to return items to the shed at twice the speed.
By moving the refrigerator a few inches to the right, we have spaces for a long ladder on the left and a short step on the right. I’m a big fan of having functional stairs.
By turning one of the shelf units ninety degrees, we create a secure place to slide a party table on one side, and golf clubs on the other. It fits perfectly.
Large nails and screws and some scrap wood already in the shed provide easy tool storage for durable tools. Taking tools out of the corner makes them organized quickly. Hanging everything is a habit that should be formed in the shed or garage space. Use all your vertical space!
How to Plan a Shed for a Project Space
Every shed and garage can use project space. This planned shed now has three!
The white cabinet on the left is now built for plants and pots.
The counter at the back is for cutting the flooring they renovate the house with. A shelf above holds power tools out of the way.
The counter on the right is for rechargeable batteries and small projects.
What Not to Buy Shed Planning
My favorite part of this project was the improved wire storage. These cables were pushed from the milk crate down when we started. Why are cables taking up shelf space when they can look so good on a wall?
Did you know that you don’t need to buy a gadget to save wires? Wrap in large circles (elbow to thumb about the right distance), tie the ends in the middle 4-6 times, and the plug ends together in the middle. They make a neat little package all by themselves. We added three similar garage hooks here (affiliate link) for about $15.
Labeling can make the difference between getting organized and staying organized season after season. We added large labels using 1″ label tape, and it makes it easy to see what’s in the bins without searching. These are the important tweaks (Step 4). If you don’t have my fancy label maker, you can add temporary labels with masking tape and Sharpies. It may not look as polished as our labels, but the performance beats seem to be shed almost all the time.
How Long Does It Take to Organize a Shed?
Two planners spent a little over three hours on the shed, and the homeowner spent about an hour making decisions on the driveway. Having a plan and a plan is what ensures that a half-day planning event doesn’t turn into an unfinished mess.
The shed is all storage space, but you still have to put that lawn mower in and out. This one now has an actual parking lot right in the center, just below the project’s long bench.
Can we make this shed even better? Absolutely! We can upgrade some of the dishes and make everything shiny and magazine-worthy…but it’s a shed, and now it’s a tidy shed. That’s fine for most families.
If you’re thinking of getting your car back in the garage before winter arrives, there’s still time. Here’s some inspiration for your organized garage.
Your Car Wants to Be in the Garage
Beautifully Arranged Garage