It looks like a cyclone has hit it. We've been so focused on getting all of the house jobs done that by the time we wearily put down our tools at the end of a long day they usually just end up in a pile on the floor, which makes it pretty hard to find them again when we need them next! This pattern has been repeated and repeated and repeated, to the point where we can't even reach the back of the shed without risking our lives.
This weekend, it was time for an intervention!
And incidentally, it was the time that my husband admitted that he could use some of my superior organisational skills (flattery is the easiest way to get me to agree to getting my hands dirty) to save us from the frustration of:
- Not knowing where to find the tool we need; and
- Not being able to actually get to it if we do know, because of all of the junk in the way.
We started the fun process of clearing everything out.
We laid out tools and bits and pieces in little groupings, like-with-like, on the tray of the ute.
Painting-related bits and pieces together...
Hammers and chisels and spanners and saws all in a row...
We filled up the rubbish bin in virtually no time.
Soon, one side of the shed was looking great!
The back needed a bit more work.
And then after many many more hours of moving and sorting and rubbishing, things started looking like this.
I'm afraid the enormity of our accomplishment doesn't really come across from that view, although there's at least a clear path from the front to the back of the shed now. Night had fallen by this stage, we'd been working all day, our backs were killing us, and we just couldn't handle the idea of tidying up the pile of rags on the right there, and figuring out better spots for the things sitting in the middle of the room.
That big cabinet with a blanket over it on the left is actually obscuring the view to some beautiful organising work. It's sitting there waiting to be sold. As much as it pains me to sell yet another of the first pieces of furniture we ever bought together, we don't have room for it in the house, we don't have room for it in the shed, it's got to go. Call it our new No-Hoarding Approach!
So, here's where the title of this post comes in. This is a closer look at what happens when you let a woman into your man cave... ahem shed.
Yes, those drawers are all labeled. Tape, paint brushes, rollers, hammers, pincers, pliers, sandpaper, caulking guns, putty, they're all grouped together in sensible groupings and labeled!
Car maintenance bits and pieces (like jumper leads and the battery charger) have their own basket, and now all the gloves are matched with their pairs and have their own basket too.
We put together some old Ikea shelves,and they are now housing all of the tools very conveniently.
Behind the cabinet that will be sold are a couple of timber racks. The boys very carefully removed all of the nails from the pieces of trim and architrave that we've removed from the house so far (and kept for future use), put up a couple of brackets to hold them, and now they're all stored very neatly along that wall.
Daniel put up some nails along the beam near the ceiling to the left of the timber rack, and now our favourite shovels have their own place to live.
Allie wasted no time as soon as she was allowed in to give everything the once-over.
And she couldn't escape posing for a shot with Daniel wearing some fabulous glasses we unearthed in the sorting process.
So there you have it. Our new and improved (although still with a bit of room for more improvement) organised shed. I almost can't wait for our next building task, just to test out how easy it is to find all the tools we need! Almost.
And now, because I can, and because I'm pretty darn proud, here's another shot of my lovely labeled drawers! A definite improvement, if you ask me!
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