How to Store Garden Tools

As the gardening season comes to a close, it’s a great time to think about how you’ll store your garden tools over winter – ready to use again in spring.

But unless you’ve got a mammoth shed, dedicated tool store, or a well-organised garage space, you might be forgiven for simply throwing your tools in a box and hoping for the best. 

Take the autumn and winter months to plan a new storage system for your tools. A well-organised storage space not only prolongs the life of your garden tools but will make your gardening experience more enjoyable!

Count and categorise

Choose a dry day and lay all your garden tools on the ground. Sort them into functional groups and sizes; hand digging tools, cutting tools and so on.

This process should give you an idea if you’ve got too much of one type of tool or you have any gaps in your collection. 

Now’s the time to decide if you want to donate any older or unused tools, upgrade or recycle any.

A good basic garden toolkit should consist of at least one of each of:

Hand tools:

•    Grass trimmer / edger
•    Hand shears / hedge trimmers
•    Long handled or telescopic loppers / shears
•    Secateurs – manual or powered
•    Topiary or edging shears
•    Small pruning snips
•    Hand fork
•    Hand trowel
•    Good digging spade
•    Good digging fork
•    Bulb planter
•    Dibber
•    Hoe and hand weeder
•    Leaf rake
•    Soil rake
•    Watering can
•    Hose attachments / sprinkler
•    Kneeling pad
•    General purpose knife / pocketknife
•    Tine aerator
•    Horticultural fleece
•    Weed suppression fabric
•    Plant ties

Power tools:

•    Lawn mower
•    Grass strimmer / line trimmer
•    Hedge trimmer
•    Leaf blower
•    Chainsaw / pruning saw
•    Pressure washer

Plan your space

Now you know the total size of your garden tool collection, assess how much space you need, then if you can, allocate yourself an appropriate spot in a shed, garage or porchway - including a blank wall, and choose a system that you like the look of. 

Here are our top ideas for garden tool storage:

1. Pegboard systems. Once you have the pegboard installed on your chosen wall, you will need to select a variety of accessories for hanging and storing your garden tools. Most pegboard systems come with basic hooks, adjustable hooks, bins, and shelving. Simply hang your tools from largest at the bottom to smallest at the top.
2. Magnetic Strips. For smaller metal tools like snips and hand trowels, magnetic strips can be a good space-saving option. Choose solid metal strips rather than tape, to be sure they will take the weight of your tools. Magnetic strips simply screw onto the wall and don’t require additional hooks or accessories to hang your tools – as long as they’re metal, they’ll stick!
3. Wall-mounted racks and hooks. Consider racks specifically designed for long-handled tools, keeping them upright and off the floor. Specially designed racking with hooks can be an excellent choice for long handled tools like spades and rakes.
4. Wooden slats or slatted doors. Use wooden strips or slats for a different aesthetic look, then screw in larger hooks for hanging tools. Or consider old airing cupboard slatted doors for a time-saving alternative – simply screw the doors to your wall upside down to benefit from the slat angle and add hooks.
5. Rope. Thick coir rope can look great strung from fixing points at either end of the wall. Use metal hooks over the rope to hang your tools.
6. Make use of ceiling space. If you find yourself short of wall space, pulley system laundry airers can work well hung from the ceiling. Simply use hooks to hang your tools from the airer and lift them away into the ceiling space. This would work particularly well for tools that do not require frequent access.
7. Retail grid meshing. You can buy free standing or wall-mounted grid meshing from retail point of sale equipment suppliers. These items are usually used in shop displays to hang and display products but work really well for garden tool storage – especially the free-standing systems if wall fixing is problematic for you.
8. Specialist slatwall panels. As with grid meshing, you can buy specialist slatwall panels from point-of-sale system sellers. These are MDF boards with slats along them, along which you slide specially designed hangars and prong hooks to hang your garden tools from. You can also buy slatwall shelving with brackets to store non-hanging items like PPE, pots, fabric, and ties.

Safety Considerations

When storing tools, especially sharp ones, safety is paramount. Always ensure that:

• Sharp edges are protected: Store tools with sharp edges down or in sheaths, making sure blade covers are returned to powered items such as hedge trimmers and chainsaws.
• Heavy and bulky items are stored low: This prevents injury from dropping tools when reaching for them.
• Flammable items are stored safely: If you have fuel or chemicals, ensure they’re stored in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Make sure your garden tools are clean, dry, and free from rust – especially before storing them away for the winter. You’ll be glad you did and can use your tools straight away the moment spring arrives!

Properly storing your garden tools is essential for maintaining their longevity and ensuring a more efficient gardening experience. By cleaning, sorting, and using the right storage solutions, you can transform your shed into an organised haven that makes gardening a joy. 

Happy gardening!