Gardener's Guide to Garage Organization

It's gardening season! It's a time to get your hands dirty and enjoy the bounty of your work. Any successful gardener knows you want to have your tools and supplies where and when you need them. This can be especially hard for gardeners with seasonal tools and changing needs throughout the year. We're covering the challenges of garage organization for gardeners and how to spend more time in your garden and less time looking for a specific trowel or pack of seeds.

Importance of an organized garage for safe and enjoyable gardening

When it comes to organizing your tools, safety is the #1 priority. To this end, you'll want to keep items off the floor whenever possible to avoid slips, trips, and general clutter. You will also free up much more room for garage storage and avoid impossible-to-sort-through piles by moving your storage solutions to the walls, shelves, or overhead. Depending on your tools needs and garage layout, thinking through your organizational systems and prioritizing quick access to your most essential tools will help keep your garage a safe space for garden prepping and storage.

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Assessing Your Needs

Identifying the types of tools and equipment you need to store is a significant step when planning your garden equipment storage in the garage. We've got you covered with an essential garden tools list. When it comes down to it, most gardeners only have a few tools they use regularly. We've compiled a list of the top 10 tools you will likely be using daily as you tend to your home garden. These are the ones every gardener should keep on hand and be well-maintained. Check out our list and understand where to invest in more essentials.

Organizing Gardening Tools

Organizing and storing your gardening tools is essential; the main idea here is to keep your tools easily accessible and allow ample storage for seasonal needs. Garage shelving, slat walls with storage hooks, and storage cabinets are great organization tools. Which ones you choose depends on how much you garden, the number of tools and supplies, and the space allotted in your garage. 

Here are a few tips for organizing your gardening tools in a garage:

• Cluster similar items together.
• Keep your supplies off the ground.
• Use vertical wall space. Install a slat wall with storage hooks and racks for rakes, hoses, spades, pitchforks, a telescopic pruner, and other items.
• Use shelves or cabinets to hold heavy items like soil and seed on the bottom, unused garden pots on the next shelf up, shallow bins for small hand tools on the third shelf, and light items like landscape fabric, bird netting, and tarps on top.
• Keep heavy items lower to the ground.
• Keep sharp items below eye level, with the blades or tines facing down and toward the wall to avoid injury.

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Creating a Gardening Workspace

Setting up a functional and efficient workspace for potting and planting will help you all season long. Workbenches are an excellent choice for your garage design if you enjoy gardening and DIY projects. A potting workbench will give you extra room to pot plants and flowers and keep your gardening equipment. Add as much work surface to your garage system as you need for your gardening projects.  

Maximizing Storage Space

Investing in a custom storage solution for your gardening tools will help you maximize the available space and keep things tidy while allowing you the flexibility to play with the designs you prefer that fit your specific needs. There are many different, practical, and beautiful custom storage options for you to try, including:

Cabinets & Shelving

Whether you need a locker for tools, sports equipment, or seasonal items, a garage cabinet system will help you stay organized and make it easier to categorize your items and store them according to your preferences. You can also choose what shelving you need— shoe racks for storing shoes, small items for random small stuff, or bin-sized shelves.

Slat Walls

If you want to make some items more easily accessible without digging through drawers, wall shelving is a lifesaver. Slat walls— which tend to last longer than other shelving systems— are a perfect example of wall storage that helps you keep the floor clear. Consider adding tool racks to your Slatwall system to create more storage options.

Seasonal Garage Storage

Head into the height of the gardening season with a perfectly organized and tidy garage that will function the way you want. It's time to put away the snowblower and pull out the lawnmower. Evaluate what you will need this season and move those items to the forefront of your garage.

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• Lawnmower Storage: Your best bet for your lawnmower is to keep it in the garage on a clean, dry floor. When storing a lawnmower, you want to pick somewhere that does not experience significant temperature changes, which can cause condensation. Most importantly, the space must be dry, as any moisture will cause rust and damage your lawnmower. 
• Lawn Equipment & Garden Tools: Depending on your preference and the garden tools you want to store, you can customize a slat wall for this purpose or store smaller gear in a built-in workbench section. Webfoot can help you design custom solutions.
• Custom garage cabinets for everything: Garage cabinets put clutter out of sight and mind. Custom cabinets give you efficient garage storage that meets your exact needs. As a result, you can make the most out of your garage's square footage. 
• Seasonal Decor: As the weather changes, so should your indoor and outdoor decor. Take down seasonal winter decorations and store them in appropriate storage units. Using overhead storage is perfect for seasonal decor; you will only have to access it for a particular season.

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Concrete Coating as Flooring

We ask a lot of our garage floors, and concrete coatings can extend the life and durability of this vital home part. With gardening comes mud, dirt, spills, and mess, and that's part of the fun! Luckily, concrete-coated floors are extremely easy to clean. One of the primary reasons for having a floor coating is the ease of maintenance. Because our coatings are non-porous, oils and other fluids will not seep in and stain permanently. No special products are needed here; all it takes is soap and water to clean a Webfoot coating.

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Because these coatings are typically easy to clean, you will not need heavy-duty cleaning equipment or products. Instead, it is best to use soft brushes and mops to clean the surface of your floor. And if you plan to spend more time in your garage, whether alone or with loved ones, a beautiful yet easy-to-clean floor coating that makes it easier to maintain is an investment you'll be glad you made over time. 

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Maintaining an Organized Garage

Start with an organized garage, and stick with an organized garage. We have a few strategies for maintaining your gardening garage storage solutions.

Labeling

We highly recommend labeling the outside of your tote, bins, and baskets to help you determine better what items are stored in what bin. Labels are your best friend when organizing and finding ways to improve garage storage. Sticking labels on containers to tell you what's in each one will make finding the things you need when you need them so much easier. Having a place for every tool will help you stay motivated to keep your garage organized.

Rotate Seasonal Items

When you're storing your winter gear through the spring, you want everything in a place you can access when it's time to take it out again, but it won't be in the way of your other storage. The garage is your best friend here! 

Map Out Your Plan

Many people find it helpful to draw out plans based on the things that they use. For instance, one corner of your garage is the lawn equipment corner; one shelf is for your hand tools, that shelf is for potting soil, and so on. Maintaining your gardening garage storage is much easier if you know how you want to store your necessities.

Choose Webfoot for Everything Storage

Whether creating your dream gardening workbench, a slat wall for tool organization, or an easy-to-clean concrete-coated floor, we believe in the functionality and value of our storage solutions. Still, you don't have to take our word for it. We pride ourselves on our years of industry experience and top-rated customer service and communication. Experience a one-on-one design process with our professional Design Consultant to understand your usage and storage needs. Contact us to schedule today.