An outdoor storage shed is a great way of extending the storage space to store away all your house junk. Homeowners keep anything in outdoor sheds, from lawn equipment, toys, tools, bicycles, boxes, and seasonal materials. While outdoor sheds help declutter our inner space and make it more spacious, we tend to leave our outdoor sheds cluttered at times. Well, it’s not easy to tidy up a shed that you’ve not organized for years, but you can still do it.
To make your shed decluttering journey easier, we’ve compiled 7 easy tips to help you effortlessly give your outdoor shed an organized and beautiful look. Check them out below!
1. Take Everything Out
Decluttering your outdoor shed starts by having every single item pulled out of the shed. We recommend doing your shed cleaning during a warm sunny day. This ensures rain will not fall, and you won’t be left working under a scorching sun. The reason why you’ve to take everything out is that almost every member of the family must have been keeping things inside the shed. This will help you easily know what’s accumulated inside the shed and to whom it belongs.
2.Decide What to Keep and What to Dispose
Now that everything’s out in your garden, the next thing is deciding what to keep and ditch. We recommend making an inventory list for this. Categorize your gear into 4 – what’s going back into the shed, what you’re giving out, what you’re selling and what’s going into the disposal. If you have a large family, you can call on all the members to choose what they want to keep or not, then deliberate on it and settle on needs. Those items you’ve not used for years should go as you’re likely not going to use them again. These include kids’ wear, toys, old kitchen wares, and faulty appliances which you will not use again for safety purposes.
3.Sort Stuffs and Clean
When you’ve created your inventories and settled on what to keep, the next step is more sorting and cleaning up. Categorize similar items like chemicals and garden supplies and put them in the same place. Put gardening and yard tools together. Here you might need to do a little cleaning. You’ll find that gardening tools still have dirt and weed stuck on them from the last work you’ve done. Consider cleaning them with a solution of warm water and soap using a microfiber cloth or a brush. Air dry and grease them to prevent rusting. It would be best if you packed in the tools you’re giving out in a separate box. Items to be discarded should be kept separately and disposed of properly, especially those that can be poisonous or flammable. This way, you’ll be able to know the stand of every item without much hassle.
4.Clean Your Shed Thoroughly
We didn’t just say clean your shed; rather, we said clean it thoroughly. Before taking your possessions back into your shed, ensure you’ve wholly cleaned the inside of the shed. Sweep every nook and cranny. You may need goggles and make if your shed is dusty. Wash the windows and the doors, and remove all cobwebs. If there are rodent holes, leaking roofs, or loose floorboards, make sure you repair them before returning your gear.
5.Maximize Your Storage Space
One of the best ways to keep your outdoor shed decluttered is by maximizing your space cleverly. Think about the things you’re storing in your shed and the best storage units for them. If you’ve already placed old drawers on the walls, you can use them to store some items. If you don’t have them, consider investing in open shelves and closets. You will use open shelves to store items you frequently use so you can access them easily. While you will use Closets to store items kept away from airborne dirt or out of reach for kids and pets. You can also make DIY racks for hanging items like spare tires and ropes. Magnetic bars can store tools and equipment, while small containers can be used for tiny tools like nuts, nails, and bolts. As much as you can, avoid filling your floor space with gears.
5.Eliminate Pests
Pests are one of the headaches most shed owners have. These little creatures slowly destroy items stored in our outdoor shed. Matters will be worse if you have a wooden shed as termites might invade it if you’re not doing proper maintenance. If you already have roaches and termites in your shed, consider spreading an insecticide before returning your items inside. There’s also a need to incorporate preventative measures like getting rid of old papers, rags, and cartoons that insects can use as shelter or food. Also, ensure you dry all wet corners that can be ideal for insect breeding. To prevent rodents like mice, rats, and squirrels from taking shelter in your shed, install a wire around it and ensure you’ve closed all boxes and packages they can hide inside.
6.Put Your Items Back
Your outdoor shed is ready to house your junk again. Maximize the wall space as much as possible to leave an adequate floor space where you can stand and carry out some projects. Put hooks and racks or use large plastic containers to hold items. Pegboards can also be used for hanging items – they keep your gear secured and don’t consume much space. Ensure your wall is strong enough to withstand the weight you’re placing on it. Also, keep harmful substances away from the reach of children and pets. You can designate an area for each member for large families, such as a craft area for mom and the girls, a gardening tools shelf for dad and the boys, and a toys section for the kids and pets. This way, you’ll be able to find anything without cluttering your space.
Conclusion
Maintaining a well-organized shed is easier than a cluttered one. Now that your shed is looking tidy keep it decluttered year-round by inspecting it every 6 months to ensure everything is still in order.
