Storage Solutions for a Garden Shed

Now that the summer is nearly over, I am compiling a list of chores to do around the house when the kids go back to school. I am hoping to arrange my work schedule so I will have a few hours here and there during the day to get much needed projects done around the house.

A major project I would like to get done is to stain or paint the pressure-treated wooden floor of the brand-new shed that my husband and I had installed in our yard last summer. (We waited a few months before staining or painting the floor on the advice of our handyman, but then our busy schedules got in the way of getting the job done.)

The shed, which is quite roomy, has been in our yard for a year now, and has never been used. I would like to prep the shed and make sure that the floor and wooden ramp that lead to it are protected before I load up the shed with our mower and gardening tools. And if get that job done, I might actually be able to park my car in the garage this coming winter.

I’ve been doing some research on the web, and surprisingly, I’ve found little information on how to best protect a shed’s wooden floor from moisture and dirt, etc. I’ve read that deck stain might be the way to go, so I am thinking of perhaps prepping it with some Behr deck stain.

I am also looking for storage solutions, so our shed won’t look what our garage looks like now, with tools and bags of seed strewn all over the floor. For ideas, I consulted the Better Homes and Garden website, which has a wonderful slideshow of ideas on how to get the best storage out of a shed. The slideshow includes beautiful photos of a variety of hooks, shelving and bins that can be installed in a shed.

Finally, if I manage to get all that work done, I’d love to add a planting bed (perhaps I’ll do this last part in the spring) around the shed, in which I hope to plant some perennials, as the shed is directly off our backyard patio.

CALL FOR COMMENTS: Have tips on how to get the best use out of a garden shed?