Clean Up Your Garden Shed

~ By Aletha ~

For some of us fall is approaching and we will be ending a lot of outside work but also for some of us spring is just arriving and the warm weather is seen on the horizon. As we open up and go into the shed to put things back or take them out we might have forgotten this is a room in our garden and it needs to be clean and tidy also. So lets do that, lets take a day and clean our garden shed.

What You Will Need

Pegboard
Spray paint
Various hooks for pegboard
Acoustic ceiling tiles (this is neat to do)
Roll of Burlap
Scissors
White vinegar
Rubbing alcohol spray bottle
Stiff wire brush
Large bucket or wheelbarrow
Household bleach
1/4; 1/2 and 1 inch wooden dowels
1 inch wood screws
Toolbox or 5-gallon paint bucket
Bag of play sand
Bottle of motor oil
Sandpaper
Metal File
Rag
Linseed oil

Now some of these you may not have not to worry about but we will still clean our garden shed room and then we can stand back and say oh wow that is nice.

Organize garden supplies on a pegboard. Just as your kitchen and office are happier places to be when they're organized, your garden workspace, too, needs to be clutter-free and at the ready. Take two sheets of pegboard, or more if you need them and then cover them with graphite-colored spray paint, and added hooks. Now with your acoustic tiles you can even make a bulletin board and cover them with burlap to hang up you will need. (Neat idea)

Disinfect and store clay pots. First, combine equal parts of white vinegar, rubbing alcohol and water in a spray bottle. Apply the mixture to pots, and scrub with a wire brush to remove salt deposits (white rings).

Next, stack pots in a bucket or wheelbarrow, adding 1 cup bleach per gallon of water; soak overnight. Use the wire brush to scrub off remaining dirt. Let pots dry completely. Line the inside of each pot with burlap, and stack. Snip holes in the burlap and store your wooden dowels and extras screws that you might need for next spring or fall if you have extras for the pegboard.

Keep hand tools at hand. Other than your trusty pruners, no garden goods get more of a summer workout that your hand tools. First, give them a thorough cleaning, removing all the build-up crud over the past few months. Dry well. (Yes, you should go through these steps after every use, but don't beat yourself up over it –– we're all guilty.)

In a covered container (a toolbox or a 5 gallon paint bucket), mix a bag of play sand with one bottle of any motor oil, and then plunge in cleaned tools. Stored out of the elements in this gritty, lubricated mix, your tools should stay rust free until spring.

Treat wooden handles by dabbing a rag with rich, penetrating linseed oil, which helps keep wood from drying out and breaking. Rub until all wood is covered.

Clean and sharpen garden tools. Your shovels, spades, forks, and hoes take a beating and need extra care to get them ready for use next spring. A stiff wire brush should remove the worst of the dirt, but keep a piece of sandpaper handy for the really tough stuff. Next, draw a file down the end of the tool until a clean shiny edge is exposed–do not saw up and down.

Now if you can not sharpen your tools take them to the hardware store in town and I am sure they will sharpen them there at least ours does. But our hardware store is old and has the old wooden floors and if you need something you go in and ask Elsie and she will say she has it or not, you do not see hardware stores like this anymore.

         

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