7 Garden Shed Interior Storage Ideas

Are you looking for Interior Storage Ideas for Storage Sheds?

Maybe you recently walked into your small storage shed in the backyard only to discover there is no space to walk! Over time you needed space to store garden tools, household items, holiday decor, and more. Before you knew it, things piled up inside your garden shed and now there is just no more interior storage space.

You have a choice, either throw stuff out in the garbage, buy a larger garden shed or find ways to increase the interior space in your backyard shed.

But, you might be asking, how can I add more space to my existing garden shed?

That is what you are about to find out. We are going to give you 7 garden shed interior storage ideas that you can do yourself to create more space to keep your backyard garden organized and optimized!

The Shed Roofline and Interior Storage Space

First things first. Not every storage shed has the same capacity for creating more interior storage space. If you have an A-frame roofed shed with a steeper pitch like the one in the photo above, then you should have a decent amount of space to expand your interior space. But some a-frame sheds like this Garden Shed have a much flatter roofline which means they will give you a smaller amount of interior storage space.

The best-case scenario in terms of interior cubic footage is the Lofted Barn which gives you a huge amount of overhead storage options. With the Lofted Barn, you can add lofts overhead to greatly increase your interior storage space even if you have a small backyard garden shed.

Before we talk more about adding lofts for more interior storage space in your garden shed, let’s talk about adding a workbench for both storage and workspace.

1. Add a Workbench to Your Garden Shed

Photo credit: Sheds Unlimited

We begin our storage shed interior ideas with a workbench.

A workbench is not really intended for storing more stuff inside your garden shed but think about it. If you don’t have a workbench, where will your tools be placed inside your shed? Where do you keep the pipe fittings, boxes of screws, and all the small items you need to have handy if you don’t have a bench to keep them on?

A Workbench can serve a two-fold purpose by giving you storage space as well as a place to work when you need it. It affords you the ability to take a break from the excessive bending over to work in the garden shed. Imagine starting your seedlings more comfortably on the workbench inside your garden shed. You could spend time re-poting the house plants you’ve been meaning to for the last several years all without having to bend over for hours while doing the job.

A workbench is also a great space to repair a small engine, fix a broken toy for the kids, and much more. Adding a workbench to your garden storage shed will give you a bit more space to organize the interior space of your garden shed as well as provide space to fix and create. 

2. Hang Garden Tools on the Walls of your Shed

Every gardener has a host of garden tools that take up a lot of space in a small storage shed. The garden tools can lie around the shed and be an annoyance when trying to get around the tight interior of a small shed. Here is an interior storage solution for garden tools inside your shed that can help greatly with decluttering.

It is the Walls!

Hanging the tools on the wall of your garden storage shed uses interior space which in most cases is wasted space. The framing of a typical wood-framed shed takes up around 7 inches of the building. This area of the shed interior is a great place for storing garden tools. The image above shows how you can use the wall stud space to increase the usability of the interior of the outdoor shed. In this case, the owner simply added 2x4s vertically between the framing and added hooks. Hooks can be as simple as a few screws to hold your tools or you can purchase hooks made for the job just like this.

With this shed interior storage idea, you can store your garden tools without taking extra space from the shed. Plus, imagine being able to clearly see all of your hand tools and not tripping over the long-handled shovel that always seems to get knocked over. It is a brilliant strategy for increasing the interior storage space of your small storage shed with very little work or expense on your part.

3. Use Some Peg Board above Your Workbench (or otherwise)

After you have the issue of garden tools settled, now it’s time to use more vertical wall space to increase your interior storage options in the garden shed. To make using the walls as easy as possible, you can add some pegboards to the walls. Pegboard comes with a series of pre-drilled holes that are designed to insert hooks from which to hang almost any product.

This product is easy to find a Lowes or Home Depot or almost any other home improvement store and will add a lot of extra space for storing things inside your existing garden storage shed. Looking for the ultimate pegboard hookset? Amazon is a great place to look for something like that.

Just like the previous shed interior storage ideas, pegboard gives you vertical space to store and organize things in your garden shed. But there is more to come!

4. Add a Loft to Your Garden Shed (or two)

Photo credit: Sheds Unlimited

Our next shed interior storage ideas are in the overhead area of your shed. In fact, now we get to the most fun part where we can make the biggest difference in creating more space. A small garden shed that is properly outfitted and organized can become a powerhouse for organizing life and it is the overhead space that can be one of the greatest game-changers.

We start with a Loft.

What is a loft? You may be asking.

It is shown in the photo above and is a frame in the roof of your storage shed that will use wasted interior space to create more room to store things overhead. If you didn’t order your garden shed with a loft, it is quite easy to add it yourself. Simply go to a home improvement store and buy the following items:

1. 2×4 studs the width of your garden shed (they should be spaced every 16 inches and should have a frame to hold them up – see photo above)
2. 3-inch screws to fasten the loft to the walls
3. 1/2″ plywood or OSB to go on top of the 2×4’s
4. 1.5-inch Screws to fasten the plywood or OSB it in place.

You will need a power screw gun to put it all together and a small power saw to cut the lumber. Then you can simply install the loft as shown in the photo above.

An overhead loft is one of the most functional options for quickly adding more interior space to your small or large storage shed. If you really want to add more space, consider adding two lofts in your garden shed. One at either end will give you easy access to the things you store up there and help with clearing out the floor space of your shed.

5. Hang things from the Ceiling in Your Shed

Photo credit: Sheds Unlimited

Now that you are using the walls and have installed lofts in your garden storage shed, it’s time to keep looking up.

The ceiling can be a place to install some quick hangers to hang tools in the shed. Make sure you store things overhead in this manner that you will not need to use every day as they may be more difficult to access. Note in the photo above how the customer is using the ceiling of the shed to hang a spreader and the mower bag.

Using the ceiling/roof of your shed for more interior storage space can clean up your floor area to make it easy to access the things you need when you need them.

That is five shed interior storage ideas and two more to go!  

6. Add Shelves to your Storage Shed Interior

Our next storage idea brings us back to the walls by adding shelves. A few well-situated shelves can make a huge difference in your storage shed. You have four walls and even after using some of the wall space in your garden shed for hanging tools, you should still have a good amount of wall space.

Shelves can be custom-built with lumber you can pick up at a home improvement store. Be sure to carefully plan your shelves for the things you hope to store on them. Spacing them far enough apart vertically will give you the space you need for the things you want to store. It is recommended that you give 12 to 16 inches between each shelf for adequate space for storage. But again, be sure to measure the things you plan to store on the shelves so you get the maximum use out of them.

Or you can go the route in this photo where the customer installed nice-looking cabinets for storage.

7. Buy Tote Boxes for Interior Shed Storage

Our next idea for garden shed interior storage ideas is a mix of a small construction project and a few tote boxes.

This solution is about as easy as it gets. You buy the tote boxes you need to store all that stuff you want to keep stored away and then build a frame as in the photo above so they are all accessible. All you will need is a few 2x4s and some 3-inch screws to get the job done. Learn how to build the shelf system for tote storage space in your small shed and create a more organized garden shed.

If you want an even simpler approach that will make it a bit more challenging to get to the totes you need, when you need them, simply stack the tote boxes on top of each other with no framed needed. An added benefit, tote boxes should keep your items safe from rodents that might get into your shed.

The tote box idea will give your garden shed a clean look and allow you to go up and up with your interior storage.

Start with One or Two Shed Interior Storage Ideas

We gave you seven ideas for organizing a garden storage shed. But before you try to implement all of the storage ideas, how about you pick one or two garden shed interior storage shed ideas to take the first step. Pick the ones that seem the easiest to you and do those. When those are completed, take the next step.

Before you know it, you will have all 7 shed interior storage ideas implemented and your small garden shed will have doubled in size!

Or, at least, that is how it will feel!

One Extra Shed Interior Storage Idea (Sell or Throw it Out)

There are times when you do need to throw stuff out or host a garage sale to help with creating more interior space in your backyard shed. Maybe it is listing some things on Ebay or dropping items off at a local Goodwill or Salvation Army. Whatever the case, decluttering is a lifelong process but starting by implementing a few garden shed interior storage ideas might even help you know where the stuff is that you want to include in your garage sale or drop off for upcycling!

Or, if worst comes to worst… Just buy a larger storage shed 🙂