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Palmerston: Ginny and Ken will rethink the space when they have grandchildren.

Making Your Shed as Orderly as Your Garden

Boat-owners joke about the 2-foot rule. That is, if their boat were just two feet longer, well then it would be the perfect size!

A lot of garden shed owners feel the same way.

There are 2 solutions for 2-foot shed rule: buy a larger shed or find a way to work with the one you have. For those of us who can't get the funds or permission (or both) to upgrade, here are 3 sensible strategies for organizing your shed: 1) purge 2) systematize 3) rethink your space.

Glen Echo: Use flowers to create a more inviting space and to add a splash of color.

It's called a 'shed' for a reason.

Shed also means 'to get rid of something that is unwanted or unnecessary.' When you do your spring clean, give yourself half a day and 'shed'. If you missed spring, do it this weekend.

Take out everything and organize it in 3 piles: keepers, goners and maybes. Throw away the goners. Put the keepers back and you'll already discover lots of space.

Next, take the maybes from your shed and hold a yard sale. (If you think something's not worth selling, maybe it's no maybe.) Whatever doesn't get sold can either go back in the shed or stay out on the curb until the next trash collection with the goners.

Telluride: Remember how much unused storage space is lingering overhead.

Organize by task, season, alphabet – whatever works best.

Organize things according to a system that reflects how you use your shed. If it's mainly used in summer, keep the garden tools together, the bikes right in front, and the skis and poles stored well out of the way. Then in autumn, drain fuel from the lawn mower and tools and put them out of the way too.

'Our garden cottage is divided into two rooms for storage. One is dedicated to heavy machinery. The other's for storing garden supplies' says Ginny S of Rolling Hills Estates, CA.

'Of course, that'll all change as soon as we have grandchildren.' Anyway, the key is to decide on a system, impose it, and stick to it as long as it works for you. Don't let the clutter evolve on its own.

Sarawak: Use multiple doors for quick and easy access to your items.

Embrace the space. It's already there.

The Zen shed owner knows there's no true happiness in an extra two feet. The solution's already there; you just need to find it. For instance, it's impressive how a few simple shelves can create floor space. 'With shelves suddenly there's all that unused airspace,' says Ginny.

Sometimes shelves aren't enough. Consider installing drawers on the shelves to give them depth and, therefore, more room. Hanging hooks and rafters allow you to fill more unused airspace.

'Our garden is small, so we needed to be extra careful with the space,' says Vivy D of Brampton, ON. Applying these space-saving rules, Vivy found she was even able to set up the patio table and chairs in her shed during the winter. 'We could have a little dinner party in there!'

Less expensive and more rewarding, these solutions are usually simple:

• loft space up in the rafter (a favorite of Vivy's)
  
• shelving between studs in the walls
• default 'shelves' on the rafters and, if you have an overhanging roof, in the space between the roof and tops of the walls
• hooks in the walls or screwed into the rafters are ideal for things you'll remove regularly, be they tools or bikes; better still, mount a peg board to the wall and enjoy the flexibility of shifting the hooks to accommodate different sized objects.

With these simple tips, you shed never want for space in your shed again. Now, a boat on the other hand …

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