Order in store

Tidy tools and garden equipment are easier to find, safer and take up less storage space. Whether it's awkward-to-store, long-handled rakes or bamboo canes, small seed packets or bulky potting mix, these suggestions will help you get your storage up to scratch.

Idea # 1 Keep 'em upright

Long-handled garden tools such as rakes, hoes and shovels are best stored upright, either hung from shed walls from brackets or stood in a purpose-built rack like this one. Simply constructed from landscaping timber and offcuts of fence palings, this effective storage unit measures about a metre across and stands 70cm high. It is fixed with grooved decking nails and exterior PVA glue. The holes in the top and bottom shelves are drilled with a 50mm circular bit. It is finished off with two coats of Resene Woodsman Penetrating Oil Stain tinted to Resene Fern Frond. The rack is best suited to a garage or shed with a fairly high stud to allow easy removal of tools.

Idea # 2 Under lock and key

Safety is all important in the garden, especially when there are children, so what better way to store garden fertilisers, pesticides and other potentially harmful products than in a lockable cupboard? This simple two-tone unit is made from an old MDF bookcase and the door is a hinged, timber frame stapled with chicken-wire. It is primed with Resene Quick Dry and finished with two coats of Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Gum Leaf for the interior, shelves and outer sides and top and Resene Laurel for the front frame.

Idea # 3 Out in all weather

The beauty of weatherproof items, such as terracotta or glazed pots, is they don't need storing inside. Building an outdoor shelving unit like this allows you to conserve valuable indoor storage space. This stylish little unit is made from four colonial style picket fence palings for the legs, and 22mm treated plywood for the shelves. It measures about 900mm high and 750mm across and is fixed with 50mm jolthead galvanised nails and exterior PVA glue. It is finished with two coats of Resene Woodsman Penetrating Oil Stain, tinted to Resene Woody Bay.

Idea #4 Perfect for potting mix

Plastic rubbish bins make ideal containers for potting mix. They're completely weatherproof and can be stored outside in the shade, where there is plenty of air circulation when you use the potting mix. To create a bright red container like this, sand the plastic bin to provide a key and apply a coat of Resene Smooth Surface Sealer to the lid and bin's exterior. When dry apply two coats of Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Red Hot - if you want a shiny finish apply a final coat of Resene Concrete Clear.

Idea #5 Chalk it up

These handy seed and bulb containers started life as two large glass jars. With a little bit of work they were transformed into two versatile 'blackboard' storage jars that are easy to re-label each season. To make them, sandpaper glass jars to provide a key and apply a coat of Resene Smooth Surface Sealer to the lids and jars themselves. Paint the lids using testpots of Resene Tree Frog and Resene Crusoe and finish the jar with two coats of Resene Blackboard Paint.

Five more fabulous storage ideas

• A cluster of PVC or terracotta pipes makes another great stand for long handled garden tools. Ensure the pipes are fixed to prevent them from toppling over.
• Mini MDF drawers are available from most craft shops and make great little storage containers for seed packets.
• Simple outdoor shelving units can be created easily from lengths of treated plywood laid across two stacks of plain concrete blocks.
• A painted shadow-board for garden tools saves space in a shed - and its easy to spot which tools are missing.
• Consider building a large garden bench with concealed storage underneath to maximise space.

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