There, it’s over. All the happy activity and social whirl of family and friends, the hunt for AAAs and calls of ‘have you kept the receipt?’ have gone. Christmas is a distant memory and New Year’s Eve well, came and went.
And now it’s 2018 (just in case you’re recovering from the celebrations and hadn’t realised) and time to…tidy your shed. Of course, it is. It may be the Chinese year of the dog but that's no excuse to have a dog-eared or down trodden shed.
"A tidy shed is a tidy mind - and that starts today."
Sheds are always at risk of becoming dumping grounds for anything that won't fit in those bins - currently overflowing with turkey carcasses and sparkly wrapping paper - and gardening tools are always thrown in haphazardly on a freezing cold dark afternoon or rain soaked evening. The rubbish and tools then become a climbing frame. Open the door and the lot spill out.
So, get a grip. ‘Shed clean in 2018’ Make that catch on or go viral or whatever (I believe it’s #shedcleanin2018 or something?!)
Here's how to sort your shed out:
- Throw away the rubbish. Get one of those big blue tarps for the car boot and load up, drive to the recycle centre, queue up, stay calm and off load. You will feel fantastic. You will never need those paint cans. You really won’t.
- Once that lot has gone get everything out of your shed. Everything. Have a hearty breakfast and start the tidy early. And finish late. Sweep the floor. Maybe put a dust mask on, but get it clean.
- Hang up tools: put hooks up on the walls and get spades, forks, rakes and what-nots off the floor. You will quickly be able to get into your shed and use the full space.
- Put as many shelves up that your shed can handle. Don’t waste the wall space.
- Contain all those ripped bags of screws and nails. Start by washing out all the cranberry sauce and mincemeat jars and use for all your bits-and-bobs. Put them on a shelf. Neatly. You can even fix the lids of the jars to the undersides of the shelf and screw the jars into the lids. You won’t lose them.
- Utilise the back of the door. I’ve put a coat hook rail I found when tidying the garage on the inside of mine and the tools I need every day (trowel, secateurs, radio) hang there in wait. Easy access, simple to put away and keeping the whole place tidy.
- That headspace under the roof is important. It’s great for bamboo canes, longer wooden stakes and even longer handled rakes. A couple of swags of rope or twine gets things into the air.
Some great product ideas to help you get your shed organised:
And if you start at 9.00am and finish that lot as the evening draws in (about 4.30pm at this time of year), you will have a sparkly, efficient and practical shed for the rest of the year.
‘Now that’s what I call a great start to a new year shed (volume 1)’
Have you kept the receipt for that?