Organizing our shed

Garage clutter piled outside.

I hated our shed. We could hardly get around in it and we struggled to access what we needed. Walking in the shed was dangerous because so many objects had fallen onto the floor. Our wheelbarrow and big tiller sat outside because we couldn’t wedge them into the shed. The mower sat right in front of the door, an obstacle and tripping hazard.

But I didn’t know what to do. I felt so overwhelmed every time I looked inside. The thought of cleaning it was unbelievably discouraging. Organization is not my strong suit and it isn’t Hubby’s either. We were guilty of every clutter-producing practice. I had tried to organize the place before, but was only partially successful. I resigned myself to a clutter-choked shed. Sigh.

Enter Marilyn. Organization is her strong suit.

She asked, “Why don’t we organize your shed?”

“Have you ever looked in there? You’ll have heart failure!”

She said that we’d take everything outside and sort through it. “Everything” included a lot of “stuff”. We moved around existing furniture into a more rational arrangement, then I started pitching. By project’s end, Dumpster was full. While I was throwing away the junk, she was organizing the good stuff.

Shed when finished. I wish I would have taken its picture before we pulled everything out of it. So much of its current contents had to sit outside before.

When we were finished, we had a place to walk without falling over the mower. At last, we could put away our wheelbarrow and tiller instead of covering them and hoping the elements didn’t penetrate. Our yard looks much less cluttered now.

I had salvaged a large piece of particle board and was using it to cover the shed’s dirt floor. Our ramp from door to interior floor was in bad shape. Marilyn suggested that I remove the old ramp and replace it with the particle board. I placed two 2x4s from my recycle bin underneath the plywood for reinforcement. Amazingly, all three boards were the right size. I used outdoor-grade deck screws, which I already had, to screw the boards together and attach them to the threshold. Voila! A new ramp for no cost.

Hubby was amazed how much better the shed looked and how much more functional it had become.

She says we’ll be tackling our kitchen sometime soon. We are looking forward to it.