Stop Stuffing Your Garage: A Smarter Way To Store Garden Tools Without Clutter
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
If your garage is a disaster, you're not alone. According to one Craftsman survey, over half of all Americans say their garage is the most cluttered spot in the house. Getting rid of old paint cans and leftover wood scraps can help to make your garage and workshop a tidier space. However, it can be harder to figure out exactly what to do with the must-have garden tools you use every weekend. While you could invest in a wall-mounted organizer, TikToker @practical_diy figured out a smarter way to store garden tools with no clutter. To make it, they repurposed a rusty old filing cabinet by removing both of the drawers, painting the exterior, attaching cedar strips to one side, and adding small hooks for hanging hand tools.
If you don't already have one collecting dust in a corner of your house, it's easy to find a metal filing cabinet at a thrift shop or liquidation store, an often overlooked place to find prized items for a bargain. Don't worry if the drawers no longer pull out smoothly, since you'll discard them for this garage DIY. Painting it is an optional step, but if you want to spruce up the exterior of your filing cabinet, plan on using a heavy-duty acrylic product that can stand up to fluctuating temperatures. You'll also need enough thin cedar strips to cover at least one side of your cabinet, along with mountable metal hooks, like the Better Homes & Gardens 18 in. Wall Mounted Metal Hook Rack from Walmart, to complete this smart DIY.
Customize your DIY tool station with a handle, hook rails, or caster wheels
Making this garden tool organizer is way easier than building the perfect storage shed for your yard, and excluding any drying time if you decide to paint your filing cabinet before getting started, you can make it in under an hour. While @practical_diy used a two-drawer filing cabinet, you could opt for a larger one if space allows.
Whichever size you choose, start by turning the painted cabinet so that the drawer openings face up. This will allow you to stick your tool handles right inside, easily containing them. After using a roller brush to apply one or more even coats of paint on the entire exterior of the filing cabinet, you'll need to cut several thin cedar wood strips (or another material of your choice) to completely cover the long front side. Use ample hot glue or Liquid Nails to attach them. Once they've cured, carefully mount several metal hook rails to the wood using small screws. This will allow you to not only stuff long handled rakes and shovels inside the cabinet drawer openings, but also to hook small hand tools to the front of your new garden storage solution so they're easy to access.
@practical_diy The final result is a beauty! Turn your rusty filing cabinet into a genius garden storage piece. Less than a few hours of time and an easy way to upgrade your garage! #upcycling #diyproject #gardenstorage #toolorganization #homehacks
Thousands of TikTokers were wowed by this simple transformation, but a couple of commenters offered suggestions for added functionality. One person recommended adding a handle to one side along with caster wheels to each corner to make the container easier to move around, even when fully loaded. Another suggested using it to disguise a small trashcan hidden inside.