Yesterday was a marathon day of emptying out, cleaning, and re-organizing the garden side of my back shed. I owe Red a huge thank you for dedicating the better part of his day to my very dusty project. It was the perfect weekend to tackle the project; it wasn't really hot out, and it was bulky trash weekend. Most of the items that I discarded had a very short life on the parkway before "pickers" absconded with them.
I forgot to take "before" photos -- lately I've been forgetting that often! -- but suffice it to say that when we started, you couldn't even walk into the shed it was so full and so disorganized. And on some days, I had to struggle to completely close the doors to lock them -- they were literally bulging.
Well no more! Now I can stand in the middle of the room, stretch my arms out, and spin around. I know, because I did that. And periodically through the afternoon I did little jigs of joy, and clapped and giggled at the progress we were making. The end result is ... magical. And I can find everything. I found some things that I forgot I had - (shocking, right?)
When I moved in to my house, the shed was full of cans and cans and CANS of old paint, and old chemicals. Red and I did more than one trip to the City of Dallas chemical drop off point. There were some built in wooden shelves on one side - decent - and a metal rack on the left side. Over time, the metal rack proved to have shelves that were too deep to find things, and it was rusty. Sort of gross. So, the metal shelving came out, and the wooden shelves remained. Only took me 2 years...
Red had given me a shelf/work bench kit for Christmas last year. Well he actually gave me two, and the first one we built for my workshop - FAB. (I can't find a photo of it... hmmm) This one is the type where the connectors were provided, and then you insert 2"x4"s to make the structure into whatever you want. I chose sort of a potting bench design. And, bonus, I had enough 2"x4"s in my shop to build it -- I didn't have to go buy more. Sweet.
So, here's what you see now when you open the double doors - the space looks huge to me!
Sitting majestically in the middle is my rechargeable battery lawnmower. Love. I got that during a mower exchange program the City had a few years ago. Bring in your old stinky gas mower, and get this battery one for $200. I think they retail for $400. Anyway -- highly recommend. It is so quiet! And it doesn't stink... And my new candy-apple-red tiller to the left of the mower.
Here is the left wall, with the shelving we built:
I have several hooks on the underside of the top shelf for all my garden tools. We affixed what hooks I had on hand -- more than you might expect -- Red said he didn't know I had a hook fetish... lol but I will be adding more. You really can't have too many...
I can add a middle shelf, lengthwise there above the table where you see the black connectors. I ran out of lumber, but then realized that I might like it open like that, without a shelf. And then below, 5 gallon buckets fit just perfectly. I'd like to say I planned that...
Here is the view on the right hand side, where the existing shelves are:
Yes, that's my natural gas meter, inside my shed. Yeah, I don't know. Don't ask... There are two shelves for all my bags of soils and soil amendments. A big hook for my extension cords. A shelf for all my windshield washer fluid (why do I have 6 jugs of that? We don't know.) A shelf for all the citronella for my lanterns... a shelf for all my car washing supplies... it just goes on and on in a blissful sort of way.
Red got creative on space saving and hung several things from the rafters. Behold, the drink tub that has the dog's Elizabethan Collar inside (the lampshade type...)
Behold, all my plant support stakes -- I've never found a decent way to store those where they don't get all tangled up and bent... and next to those my tomato cages and raspberry supports.
And at the end of the shelving, a corner we left for tall things. It does have some tall things in it, in the back, I promise!
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