Banish Clutter With Our Top 5 Ideas For Outdoor Storage

12 Minute Read

If you're looking for outdoor storage ideas, this post has no shortage of creative solutions to help you maximise your space and keep your outdoor area tidy and organised.

Having outdoor space in our home is wonderful – but there is no denying that it comes with a lot of clutter that most of us didn’t anticipate! Even the smallest gardens need tools, and many of us have items like bikes that ideally need to be stored outdoors. There are some fantastic options though, from the major investment – such as a two room summer house – down to the tiny storage for the bits and bobs you need to hand.

So if you're feeling overwhelmed by planning your outdoor storage, let's take the first step towards organised outdoor space by getting inspiration and ideas from this guide!

How Can I Create a Rustic Country Bedroom?

1 - Make The Most Of Your Shed

If you’ve already got a shed but you don’t make much better use of it than piling the bikes and the garden tools in there, then there is a huge amount of potential for you to add more storage here, even if your shed is purely functional. Adding shelving and crates or baskets to your shed instantly creates extra space, and upcycling old furniture such as drawers can give you the storage you need for your gardening gear and outdoor toys. Just be sure to treat wooden furniture with the right wood finish of course – sheds are cold and can get damp, even if they are watertight.

Shelving and drawers aren’t the only ways to keep things neat and where you can get them easily. Adding hooks and racks for garden tools with long handles, and a tool wall or peg board for hand tools means that you can grab them as you need them. These are incredibly easy to get in too, since many hooks simply screw in – and assuming your shed is wooden, they can be installed in no time.

2 - Invest A Teeny-Tiny Shed

You might think a shed isn’t an option if you’ve got a really small garden, but there are some gorgeous, highly functional sheds that take up hardly any square footage, and will make a world of difference to how you can store your gardening gear. Because these tiny sheds are little more than an outdoor cupboard, they can be tucked into small corners, and even have trellis added to the sides to help them blend in with their surroundings.

No room for a shed? Consider this DIY garden tool storage project, which couldn’t be easier – a pallet, a few tools and a bit of time is all you need, and it can be mounted on a wall or fence.

3 - Two Room Summer House

For summer houses and outdoor rooms that are part functional storage, part place to sit in the summer, separating the space into two means that you can have the best of both worlds. While it might mean that there is a little bit less room to enjoy as a summer house, if you can clear garden tools, wellies, and lawnmowers into one side, you’ll be able to use both parts much better. In the functional part, follow our advice for sheds and add shelving and hooks, and on the leisure side, go to town decorating in whichever style you love, whether that’s beach hut chic, or country cottage style.

4 - Smart Bicycle Storage

Bikes are great, but storing them can be a bit of a headache. If you have a summer house or a packed shed, consider whether you can add ceiling storage to clear the floor. Pulley systems are relatively inexpensive to buy, but there are loads of tutorials online showing how to DIY this out of spare parts too – so you might be able to work with what you have available.

When storing bikes in a shed isn’t an option, you still need a place to keep your wheels – especially if they are expensive. Small, lockable storage boxes are readily available, and are a good option as they can be tucked into corners, or front gardens, and can usually store more than one bike safely and securely – with the bonus of keeping the saddle dry!

For homes with children, there are often bikes, scooters, skateboards and all the safety gear that goes with them, then building a bespoke shed can be the answer. There are numerous DIY projects to make bike storage – some more advanced than others, as you can see in this post! Creating a bespoke bike and scooter store doesn’t have to cost a huge amount of money, and some even use pallet wood, so they can cost very little. If you want your bike storage to blend in, use paint, add a living roof, or attach pots to the sides for an herb garden.

5 - Furniture With Storage

In tiny gardens, you need to make the most of absolutely all the space that you have. Look for (or build!) garden furniture with storage, so that you can tuck away toys, footballs, or gardening equipment in plain sight. Garden benches and arbours with storage built into the seats are relatively affordable and widely available too, and there are seat stools that have storage underneath them. These are all perfect for extra seating if you’re entertaining in your outdoor dining area, as well as getting those bits and bobs out of the way.

Tiny Details

It isn’t always about the big stuff – sometimes the outdoor storage solutions you need are small! These aren’t the only options, of course – and your imagination is the only limit.

Look for old fashioned card storage drawers for keeping seeds.
A garden caddy is perfect for gloves, secateurs, hand trowel, and twine, they’re easy to carry & move around the garden.
Attach a wood or metal trellis with hooks to spare sections of wall, sides of sheds, or on fences.
Use rustic wooden crates for storing hand tools and seeds.
Get a decorative hook to store your hose.

It isn’t always about the big stuff – sometimes the outdoor storage solutions you need are small! These aren’t the only options, of course – and your imagination is the only limit.

Feeling inspired with these outdoor storage ideas?

Whatever time of year it is, it’s never too early to start thinking about how you can optimise your outdoor space to turn it into a useful area for entertaining. Discover our range of outdoor wooden furniture for that extra little spruce up when you’re done organising!