13 Jun 7 super shed storage ideas to make the most of your space

Getting a shed changes your life, especially if you’re a bit handy with the tools. It’s such a joy to have a place to work in, with all your tools and materials in easy reach.

One thing that will dampen your enthusiasm, though, is not being able to find what you want when you want it. Spending half the day searching for that one thing you need right now isn’t all that productive and can be very frustrating.

With that in mind, here are seven great ideas we’ve found for tool and materials storage in your shed.

1. The magic of magnetic tool holders

Wherever you work, you can keep your smaller tools – screwdrivers, pliers, drill bits, and the like – within easy reach by adding a magnetic tool holder to almost any surface.

As an added benefit, over time your tools will become magnetized making it easier to hang onto small screws.

2. Get creative with pegboard

The good old pegboard is a staple of tool organising, but we’ve found a couple of ways to step it up a notch or two.

The first one is the multi-swivel pegboard, using the principle of poster-display racks. Not only does it use less wall space, but it lets you store your tools in groups.

The second one uses the space between wall studs to create a vertical tool cabinet. Pegboard and hooks hold all kinds of hand tools, paint brushes, and other supplies.

3. PVC pipe is a versatile storage solution

The humble PVC pipe can be repurposed in a number of ways, for example smaller pieces screwed directly to the wall (or a couple of bits of wood) are ideal for storing long-handled tools.

Other ideas for a little bit of pipe are for hanging extension cords and screwed to a piece of board at an angle to hold smaller items.

4. From the house to the shed

Sometimes you can take thing that’s meant to do one thing and use it to do something else, as in the case of this tie rack wrench organiser, this wooden towel rack reimagined as a perfect place for pliers, and even these pie pans (cut in half) to store circular saw blades safely.

5. Use the ceiling to keep things out of the way

Depending on what you’re storing and how often you need to get to it, it’s worth considering hanging some shelves, tubes, or brackets from the ceiling.

It’s an ideal solution for keeping some of the longer things up out of the way (although best if they’re also fairly light, so you don’t strain anything lifting them up or getting them down).

6. Everything old is new again

Before you discard anything, look at it again for its storage potential.

Cardboard toilet roll or paper towel tubes can be great for storing cables neatly, an old metal bucket makes for a great place to store a hose, and an old-school hanging shoe organiser is ideal for hanging on the back of the door for storing gloves and whatnot!

7. An old favourite that’s still hard to beat

Finally, here’s an idea that’s older than sheds: good old glass jars.

Simply screw the lids to the bottom of a shelf or cabinet and you’ve got any number of separate containers for storing different nails, screws, nuts and bolts, and many other small items.

The beauty of this solution – which is part of the reason it’s been a staple of shed storage for 100 years – is that you can see what’s in each jar. You can also take them with you when working in the shed or anywhere else.

Those ideas should sort you out, as well as all your tools and other bits and pieces.

Let us know (and send us pictures) if you’ve implemented any creative storage solutions in your shed.