4 Reasons for Organizing Your Outside Storage Areas.
Fall with its cooler days and change of season is a perfect time to organize our outside storage areas. It’s time to put away our summer equipment and reorganize our space.
Outside storage areas easily become cluttered. Because they are not part of your daily living area it is so easy to just open the door and shove something into that space with the idea of taking care of it later.
Let’s look at four reasons to keep our outside storage areas organized.
1. Accessibility to most used items
Items that are frequently used are best stored near the entrance. Seldom used items or items that you will not use until spring should go back to the storage area.
2. Reduce clutter and increase safety
As you sort through the items in the storage area note what is broken or has not been used this year. Decide if you really want to fix broken items (and if so when). For the items that you have not used in the past year decide on if you really think you will use it in the future. If it is an item that you might use but hardly ever, consider the possibility of borrowing it from a friend when you might want to use it.
As you clear out the clutter make sure all walkways are easily assessable with nothing that can trip you.
3. Maximize use of space
Divide your storage into zones.
Be clear on how you want to use this space. Do you plan to:
· Store bikes or other sports equipment/outdoor games/camping gear
· Store recycling or trash cans
· Store tools
· Store gardening tools and accessories
· Pot or repot plants
· Work on projects
· Store extra products you have stocked up on
· House off season items
Arrange the zones that you can easily access them. Use your wall space by incorporating pegboard or shelves. Use containers to keep like items together and label the containers.
4. Maintaining the structure
At least once a year and for very active use, each season, schedule a time to revisit your zones. Knock down cobwebs, sweep the floor, and look for any structural problems. Neglecting maintenance can lead to leaks, rot, pest infestations, and structural damage. Check for moisture control. See if items are beginning to show signs of mold. Most sheds are not climate controlled. I use DampRid to control moisture.
About a month ago a large limb fell on the room of my shed house. I could not get it down by myself but a neighbor managed to drag it down for me. This month as I went into the shed to reorganize and do my scheduled maintenance I noticed a hole in the roof. Fortunately, although some rainwater had fallen on some items, nothing was damaged. I was able to call my handyman to repair the room and continue with the cleaning up.
If you want help or just some accountability in organizing a space in your home or working any other organizational plan either outside or inside your home, join Diane Quintana and me on our Clear Space For You clutter support group.
Jonda S. Beattie, Professional Organizer owner of Time Space Organization, and co-owner of Release, Repurpose, Reorganize. She is based in the Metro-Atlanta area. As presenter, award-winning author, as well as a retired special education teacher she uses her listening skills, problem solving skills, knowledge of different learning techniques, ADHD specialty, and paper management skills to help clients tackle the toughest organizational issues. Jonda does hands on organizing and virtual organizing. For more of Jonda’s tips connect with her on Facebook.
There's always something when it comes to home maintenance. We would love to have outside storage to keep things, but unfortunately, we don't. However, we did identify a place it could go. We've lived this long without it, and I wonder how essential it would be. We use our garage to store some of those things that might live in a shed.
I like your suggestions for organizing that kind of space. You can't go wrong when you think in terms of zones. Reading your description reminds me that those spaces require maintenance, too. Maybe that's why we shouldn't add outside storage. It will be one more thing we have to take care of. And at this point, I'm trying…
I have to confess that our outside storage space can get a little cluttered sometimes. 😘 But I do create zones: I guess, without even realizing it! My cleanup and reorganization usually happens when I go out to put something in the shed, but a seasonal rotation certainly makes a lot of sense.Thanks for the tips.
Well, since we have had nothing but rain for 4 days, I'm now wondering whether we have mold in our shed LOL. I mean, better than the branch hit your shed than your house, but since we don't go into our sheds every day, we are more likely to miss a leak.
We have one attached to the back of our house. We've used vertical storage by adding hooks and pegboard. Unfortunately, my husband keeps shoving stuff in there, making it hard to access a lot. A common problem, I know! It's a process!
I love that with your Zone Plan everything gets tackled - thoroughly cleaned and organized once a year. It's important to visit and completely examine areas we don't access often so things like a hole in the roof can be fixed!