You have a lot of gardening tools, and you seem to have an equal number of storage spaces for them. Some are sitting on your front porch, while others are sitting on your back deck. Some are in your house, taking up space in the attic, the hall closets or the basement. Some are stuck in the garden like you got up from digging and weeding and forgot them there.
None of these are good storage spots for your gardening tools. Read ahead to find out why that is and where you should store them instead.
Safety
If you have kids or grandkids running around, you shouldn’t store your gardening tools and lawncare equipment out in the open, where they can be grabbed or played with like a toy. This can put the health and safety of kids at risk. For instance, the American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that 9,400 to 17,000 pediatric lawnmower injuries happen every year. Many of these injuries can be prevented with proper storage.
Lawnmowers aren’t the only dangerous equipment you might have. Pole saws, hedge trimmers, weed whackers and powered cultivators can be incredibly risky for children to be around when they’re not supervised. So, you’ll want to keep your tools in a secure space that can only be accessed by responsible adults in the household.
Dampness
You don’t want to leave gardening tools sitting outside, or in an open space like a porch or a deck, where they can get damp. Dampness can make your metal equipment rust, which will become less effective. Think of a simple tool like pruning shears. Once they rust over, you will have trouble getting them to cut through branches cleanly. You might not be able to open or close them at all.
If you’ve already made this mistake, don’t panic just yet. You can remove rust from gardening tools with some patience and effort. But you certainly don’t want to spend every year furiously scrubbing rust off your tools.
Organization
When you’re in the mood to get into your garden, you don’t want to spend an hour rummaging around your home, looking for your tools. If you don’t have a single dedicated storage spot for them, you could waste a lot of time and energy finding what you need. By the time you gather everything, you might be too tired and frustrated to exercise your green thumb.
Where Should You Put Your Gardening Tools Instead?
It depends! If you have only a handful of gardening and lawncare tools to put away, you should get a small garden shed for your backyard. This should keep your tools secure, organized and out of the rain.
It’s possible that a garden shed won’t offer you enough storage room. You have a large supply of gardening tools and lawncare power equipment to put away, and you can’t squeeze it all in that space. So, what can you do?
One of your best options is to get yourself a shipping container and convert it into a storage space for all of your gardening needs. They are weather resistant, so the spring rain should not disturb any of your tools. They are easily secured, so you don’t have to worry about kids getting access to dangerous items. And they provide plenty of space to store and organize your equipment!
How much space do you get? Shipping containers can be between 20ft and 40ft long. You’ll have plenty of room to store your gardening tools from wheelbarrows to riding mowers in there, all while having plenty of square footage to spare. In the colder months, you can move large outdoor items like patio furniture and barbecue grills into it for safekeeping.
If this sounds like a good fit for you, you should jump on the opportunity to outfit your backyard with a shipping container storage unit. Find out how to buy a shipping container and have it delivered to your yard. This information will help you get this process started.
Stop leaving your gardening tools scattered around your property. Give them a better storage space!