Gardening is one of people’s favourite hobbies.
For some, it is a way to relax or reduce stress, while others practice it to improve well-being. But all this lawn and garden equipment takes up lots of space, and when people don’t have enough room, they simply rent a storage unit.
It’s the best way to put away your things for extended periods.
By storing your equipment properly in a suitable storage unit, you’ll extend the life of your stuff and prevent any damage. Organising your equipment correctly gives you a better idea of where everything is when you need it.
You’ll find great storage ideas for lawn and garden equipment in this useful guide.
Prepare your gardening equipment for storage
Any avid gardener wants to protect their tools during the off-season.
The first important step is to prepare the gardening equipment for storage properly. Before anything gets put away, giving your gardening tools, shovels, etc., good scrubbing is recommended.
With the help of a stiff brush and a little soapy water, you’ll easily clean your tools. Before you put anything into storage, you must ensure all of your equipment is completely dry after the cleaning.
Also, make sure you drain all the liquids and change the oil. You can either clean or replace filters and spark plugs. Consider sharpening all blades and then wrapping them in bubble wrap for protection.
How to properly store them
Learning how to protect your lawn and garden equipment is very important if you want them to find them in the condition you left them.
Finding a good self-storage unit is essential for properly storing any equipment. This means you should look for storage facilities that offer climate control, good security, and other important factors.
Before you start organising your tools, it’s recommended to give them a coating in light oil. This applies to any tool that has a metal surface.
By doing so, you’ll prevent rust from appearing on them. When you’ve finally finished cleaning, maintaining, and oiling your garden equipment, you can now start thinking about the proper storage methods.
Hanging your tools is the best way to prevent them from falling and breaking. For this purpose, you’ll need secure hangers or a pegboard. Hanging will protect them from damage and make them much more organised, visible, and easily found.
How to protect different tools in the storage
Keeping your tools and equipment neat and easily accessible is very important if you want them to last longer. There are some straightforward and cool hacks you can use to store your tools and keep them tidy while not in use.
- Small tools – Figuring out how to store smaller gardening tools is probably more complicated than bigger ones. Once you’ve cleaned and oiled any hand shovels and spades, try finding some medium-sized containers to store them. With this storage method, you’ll also be able to label the container and securely put it away without worrying about losing your small tools. Or, if you want your tools to be visible, you can get yourself a pegboard where you can easily organise smaller tools. Keeping everything in one place will give you easy access at all times.
- Long-handled tools – You have a couple of options for storing long-handled tools. Depending on your storage area, you can use a small standing rack or one that fits in corners. If you can, hang them on the walls for more space.
- Engined tools – When storing engined tools such as lawnmowers, leaf blowers, etc., you should put some extra thought. After all, you don’t want to damage them, do you? First of all, you need to ensure that no gasoline is left in their tanks; otherwise, it will harm their engines. You can drain the oil or run the engine until it’s empty. Don’t forget to remove the spark plugs so the machine doesn’t start accidentally. When you’re finally ready to put the engined tools into storage, make sure they are stored in a flat position and not on their side.
How to choose the best storage facility
The benefits of hiring a safe storage unit are numerous. Starting from the fact that having a place big enough for storing a riding lawn mower is usually impossible. If you don’t have a climate-controlled garage, it’s best not to risk your investments and put them in a safe storage facility.
Your tools have different storage needs. If you want to use them for an extended period, you must ensure they’re stored properly. The things you should be looking for in a storage facility aren’t only related to it being climate-controlled but also to good security, close location, and easy access.
How to put them safely and securely in the storage unit
You can take a few pre-cautious steps to ensure the security and safety of your gardening equipment in the storage unit. Make sure you leave enough space between the tools to prevent collisions. You can use their original packaging or make storage racks.
Make sure the hooks and hangers you’re using are super secure because you surely don’t want your tools to fall one on the other and cause damage. By storing your tools correctly, you’ll maximise the space in your storage facility and improve their accessibility.
Conclusion
Your seasonal gardening equipment will be safe in a suitable storage unit, and you’ll feel calm knowing you’ll find your things in the condition you left them.
And while organising your lawn and garden tools might seem impossible, following the ideas above, you’ll have an organised storage space and find your tools easily when you finally need them.
With these organisation techniques, you’ll ensure your tools and equipment will work properly next season.