Sheds are sometimes known for their diminutive size. However, less floor space may be overcome by building up top. To this end, you may want to add a loft to your shed. Attached correctly to the ceiling and wall rafters, most lofts will be able to support a substantial amount of weight. They are especially handy for storing items you may not use very often, such as boxes of dishes, luggage, or Christmas decorations.

Most lofts in sheds will be built into one end of the shed and can be the same width as the building. The depth will depend on whether or not you are willing to sift through items at the edge of your loft to get to those in the areas farther back. If you’re not willing to do this, your loft can be fairly narrow. Of course, you’ll still need a ladder to access your stored items, but on the other hand, things are not readily available to small children or others you may not want using your tools.

The easiest way to add a loft is by measuring the space you would like up top and cut a piece of three quarter inch plywood and slip it on top of the rafters.  Attach the plywood with one inch wood screws along the edges and you are done!  The entire process is easy, efficient, effective and inexpensive. 

Why not turn your garage into more than just a storage space for vehicles or tools? Just add a work bench in a corner or along one wall and you’ve created an area where you can repair items or build any number of projects. First determine the size your work bench needs to be by thinking about what types of projects you’ll be working on.

With a length of five feet and a depth of two feet, you should have ample work space for smaller projects. However, if your plans include bigger projects using lots of parts and tools, you may want a larger work area.  Taking an entire corner or even half a double garage might work better for someone who really wants to get their hands dirty.

Of course, every work bench needs tools readily available. A good way to keep small tools handy is to hang a sheet of peg board on the wall behind your bench and suspend smaller tools using hooks made especially for use in peg board. A shelf attached to the underside of your work bench can hold larger tools and a drawer in the work bench is great for handling small items.

Your very first project just may be building out your work space.  If you don’t have a garage, you can always build out space in a shed or barn.

Whether you choose to call it a shed, a storage unit or a barn, its main purpose is to house stuff that can withstand some temperature changes and stuff that doesn’t belong or fit in your house. If your shed doubles as a garage, you’ll want to make sure you maintain enough room for your cars.  However, with a bit of organization you will have room for many other things as well.

By adding a few simple shelves, which can be both hand-made and attached to the walls, or purchased and assembled as free-standing units, you’ll increase the storage capacity immensely and almost immediately. A trip to your local home improvement store is sure to give you many ideas as to what’s available for such things as hanging rakes, shovels or other tools with long handles.

There are even hooks which make it possible to hang bicycles from the rafters and don’t forget the pegboard.  With a few changes and additions you will have much more than a storage shed, you will have an organizers work of art.

For many people, the most difficult part of building a storage shed is not the actual construction but the organization of the shed itself. Many people are at a loss when it comes to figuring out the best way to put their tools and equipment in the space. Thankfully, you can organize your storage space inexpensively instead of having to buy expensive storage items.

For those looking to organize your tools, building a tool storage area instead of buying a tool chest can save you tons of money. This can be accomplished through the creation of a hand-built workbench with storage or a custom built rack and drawer system. Constructing these items with supplies from a local warehouse store can be cheap and makes a perfect weekend project.

For the other major organizational issue with a shed – random storage clutter that overflows from the house – one of the best ways to clean up this storage space is through the building of wall mounted shelving. Cheap and effective, thee shelves can be placed out of the way of your storage space for other items and can utilize the overhead and higher space that is typically wasted within a shed.

Several years ago my wife and I decided we lived in a house that was just too big for two people.  It was a 2400 square ft home with a half basement where I stored all my tools and lawn equipment.  We decided to sell the home and rent a house and see if we could live smaller.

So we found a house that was 1800 square ft and rented it for 1 year.  What we found out was it too was just to large for us.  We never went into one of the bedrooms, the dining room or another small living area.  However, this house did have 1 car garage where I stored my lawn equipment and tools.

At the end of that year we decided to go ahead and look for a smaller home and buy again, which we did.  What we realized after we bought our present house is it is a great size for us.  We utilize all the space but we had one major problem.  Since there was neither a garage nor a basement, there was no place to store the lawn equipment or tools.  The answer was a storage unit and we have never looked back.

One of the hardest things to do sometimes is to like, not love, where you live.  Though there are some things you can’t control, i.e. your neighbors, there are other things that can help you like and even love your space.

The first is the clutter.  If you are living in clutter, you need to break out from under those piles and free yourself from the ties that clutter brings.  You don’t realize it but that mess is a reflection of your life, your world and where you are going.  Get up and get rid of it as soon as possible.

Sort though your things.  Here is another tell tale into your soul.  If you can’t sort through your stuff you will never be able to sort through your life.  You may be laughing at these words but you know it’s true!  Until you can determine what to keep and what to throw away in your living space, you will never do it in your life.  If you can’t do it in your life, you won’t get very far.

Look at the colors around you.  They reflect your mood.  I recently went from a dark green (I hated my job when I painted it) in my home office to a bright jalapeno orange and light yellow.  It totally changes the way I feel when I walk into the room. Oh yeah, I am really liking what I do these days.

Your surroundings tell others a whole lot about you.  Look around and ask yourself if you like what others are seeing?

Many shed owners build their storage space and then forget about the outward appearance of their pride and joy. Many times, this is directly a result of the owner not caring about the appearance or spending too much time inside of the shed. However, one of the best ways to ensure your shed will withstand severe weathering and stay upright for a long period of time, aside from solid construction, is proper weather treating.

To this end, one of the best ways to weather treat your wooden shed is to use an external wood treatment that can be purchased from your local hardware store along with a finish that is also formulated to be weatherproof. Using these two products in concert can help reinforce the natural wood grain, allowing your wood to be able to stand up to rains and winds without compromising the integrity of your shed. As an added bonus, the treatment process takes only an afternoon in most cases, and can provide structural support and keep your shed in great exterior shape for up to a year without any other external wood treatments.

If you listen really closely you can hear these words being said all across North America.  Wives and girlfriends and partners, mothers and mothers-in-law and an occasional father say these words and walk away slowly shaking their collective heads.

This reaction is in response to the many ideas that are dreamed up and planned only to be shot down by those that have no vision.  Bless the guy or gal who forges on, who continues on with the quest of something bigger or better.  It is those lonely individuals that I salute.

If not for the dreamers, the lookers would have nothing to view.  The magazines would be void of anything new and would only have blank pages of the same old stuff to print.  It’s the guy who turns his garage into an Irish pub, the girl who envisions her storage shed as a first class studio and delivers or the couple who see the possibilities of 5 star entertainment out their back door and onto their patio space.

So you want to do what? Cool!

Many people who need outdoor storage on a budget but hate the idea of buying a shed kit and raising one themselves or building one from scratch have a great option available for their outdoor storage needs: The hard plastic storage shed. These sheds, built by a number of well known manufacturers, replace the pressure treated wood of many sheds with a hard coated plastic that can withstand natural weathering for a longer period than some wood sheds.

Choosing a plastic or vinyl shed can be a bit confusing, given some of the dimensions and options available. Many plastic sheds have storage and organizers built in, which can help simplify arranging your items in the shed. Many also have electrical inputs so you can wire them up and use your powered equipment inside. A few even have dual paned windows and wooden doors to give some sense of the shed being natural.

Plastic sheds come in a variety of colors, some natural, some not as much. The designs of these sheds work to optimize the space contained within while preserving the basic storage needs of the buyer. Pricewise, plastic sheds are less expensive than comparable wooden sheds, and can be a great option for the new shed buyer. Shop around, and you might find a plastic shed to be the storage option that fits your needs.