Say Goodbye To Garden Hose And Cord Clutter With One Simple Storage Hack

There are "laws" about garden hoses and implements. No, we aren't talking about city ordinances or HOA bylaws, but Murphy-style laws. For example, you will trip over a garden hose left on the ground for more than three seconds. You could roll it up, but since putting a hose on a hose reel requires the same mechanical work as building a pyramid, you will put it off until you forget to do it altogether. Have a seat on that bucket over yonder, and we'll tell you how to solve all your hose storage problems with one simple hack. And, not by coincidence, you're sitting on it. Get up and screw that bucket to the wall near your garden hose bibb. And, like magic, you've solved all your problems.

The idea is to wind your hose onto it and put related items (for example, the nozzle) inside it. Add a hinged lid to deter wasps and lawnmowers, and you have a pretty serviceable solution to your hose clutter and accessory storage needs. It won't have the aesthetic refinement of Veneto-Saracenic metalwork, and your HOA may not like it so much. But our Renaissance-era ancestors never had a lot of use for garden hoses anyway, and what you install in your backyard (hopefully) won't offend HOA snoops (though you might need to make your privacy fence taller). So grab your bucket and let's get started.

Making this wonder can be as simple as a DIY project gets. Again, position your hose hanger near your water source. Screw the bottom of your bucket to your home's exterior wall with at least three evenly spaced screws, two side by side at the top and one below. Screw into some sturdy part of your wall. Worth noting, if it is attached to vinyl siding, a hose hanger becomes a hose dropper within minutes. Use exterior screws that are appropriate for the surface you're drilling into, like masonry or decking screws. Then, put wide fender washers — the wider, the merrier — between the screw head and the bucket to distribute the load on the plastic.

Now, let's get fancy and put a shelf in there. Cut a board to the bucket's depth and a width equal to about 80 percent of the bucket's diameter. The shelf should allow a little extra space below, but more above. You can round over two edges so it sits snugly in the curve of the bucket, but this is completely optional. Now, buy or make a hinged lid to protect your stash from the elements and prevent pests from calling it home. The key is making sure there's enough room between the lid hinge and your shelf. For ease of getting things in and out, you'll need either a short hinge or a short shelf — and the short hinge probably makes more sense in terms of maximizing storage. Finally, attach your hose to the hose bibb and wind the hose around the bucket. You can remove the bucket's handle if you want. It won't serve much of a purpose when the bucket is screwed to a wall.

Even on the simplest project, complications will occasionally arise. In this case, one complication is that pre-made hinged lids for 5-gallon buckets are available but nearly impossible to find. Making your own will first requires cutting a lid into two pieces. You will want to use a straight edge to help create the line you'll use to cut it. Then, you'll need to hinge the two pieces together, either by bolting on actual metal hinges (like the ones mentioned earlier), riveting on a piece of flexible (and UV-resistant) plastic or rubber, or simply by drilling holes and attaching the parts to each other with cable ties.

The storage afforded by the bucket is important because, without it, the hack doesn't make a lot of economic sense. At Lowe's, you can buy a plain white 5-gallon bucket and an unhinged lid for less than $10, and by the time you've added screws, fender washers, and some kind of hinge mechanism, you're probably approaching the cost of a low-quality steel wall-mount hose "reel." Plus, you can paint it the same color as your home to mask it (just make sure that you're following the directions on how to permanently keep paint on plastic surfaces).

Another approach would be to use a 35-lb. cat litter pail. They have hinged lids, are refillable, and are decently durable. You actually have a nearly endless array of options to choose from to make your customized bucket hose reel, from add-on screw-tops to elaborate live-bait buckets for fishing to insanely expensive spring-loaded, latching metal lids. Add a simple wooden storage rack for organizing yard tools in your garage nearby, and you've eliminated practically every non-toy you're likely to mow over twice a month.