Organized Living

Gardening/Tool Organization

Like cooking, home repair, cleaning or craft work, having the necessary tools at hand and in good order makes the process more efficient and enjoyable. Keeping gardening supplies organized can be like gardening itself: a blend of the creative and practical, as individualized as you’d like, and as simple or fancy as you prefer.

If you own a garage or shed, here are some ways to think about using the space:

• Hang whatever can be hung. That includes shovels, rakes, pitchforks, pruning saws and other lengthy items that can tangle themselves easily and create tripping hazards. Hardware stores have a variety of hanging frames, or you can simply hang items from heavy duty nails at staggered heights.
  
  
• Leave some floor space open for off-season storage of pots and ornamental items that are not freeze-proof.
  
  
• Create shelves for storing garden related products, then keep related items stored together in clear plastic bins or baskets on the shelves. Higher shelves are best for items like weed-killer, fertilizers, bone meal, special plant treatments and other substances that could be harmful if ingested, especially if you have pets or small children; make sure they are tightly sealed to avoid spillage. Put hand tools in another bin, such as pruners and trowels, so you don’t waste time and energy searching for them when you need them. Gardening gloves can also go in this bin. Miscellaneous supplies, such as twine, plant ties, seed starting pots and other small items can be grouped together in yet another container.
  
  
• Keep bug spray and sun screen with your tools, as well as a hat hung on a peg, so if brief excursions into the garden turn into longer work sessions, you’ll be less prone to working without protection from sun and insects.
  
  
• On busy gardening days, consider wearing a carpenter’s apron or belt in which you can tuck small tools. This can prevent numerous trips back and forth to the garage. As an alternative, wheel a small garden cart behind you, filled with the day’s necessities—including a bottle of water.
  
  
• Stakes and flexible fencing should be bound together with twine and stored in a clean garbage can in the off season. This will help you avoid maddening tangles and chaos when it comes time for planting a new garden.
  
  
• Keep a pair of boots or rubber garden clogs by your garage door. When the urge strikes to walk the garden, you can slip them on and off and save ruining your good shoes if the garden is wet or dew-covered.
  
  
• Some gardeners like to keep an extra pair of hand pruners and a trowel hidden in their landscape for impromptu trimming or weeding as the mood strikes. You might consider something as whimsical as an old milk delivery box, for example, or simply store tools in a sealed freezer bag that is tucked under a pot, planter or decorative crock.
  
  
• At the end of the season, make sure to clean tools of dirt and debris. To keep shovels and spades rust free over the winter months, wipe the blades down with linseed oil before storing.