Go through everything in your shed and categorise in one of four ways – keep, toss, give away or recycle.

Ask yourself “will I ever use it again?” For broken tools, ask “is it able to be and worth repairing?”, and “do I really need three trowels, 17 spare click-on hose fittings or bean seeds that expired in 1999?”

Of the items you are going to keep, determine how and in which part of your storage space each one will live.

Hang your tools up wherever possible. Invest in a tool rack to hang them from or drive nails or hooks into the studs and/or noggings, depending on the construction of your shed.

Another way to store shovels, spades and forks is to fill a bucket with builders’ sand, add some oil and push the tools into the oily sand. This will help remove any rust, polish the tool at the same time and serve as a stand for those tools.

A high shelf or lockable cupboard is best to keep fertilisers, poisons and chemicals out of reach of children and pets.

And those plastic pots – some other uses include; containers for hose parts, hand tools etc; a shaker for spreading fertiliser; frost protectors for new plants and as containers for harvesting vegies – simply wash the soil off the vegies straight back onto the garden. Recycle plant pots in the council recycling bins or take them to the council recycling depot.