Storing your garden tools

Proper garden tool storage will likely reduce your sharpener’s workload a little.  However, I’m more concerned with helping you.

Good habits

It is usually challenging for us humans to start new habits.  I highly recommend reading James Clear’s Atomic Habits, if you haven’t already.  It is no different when it comes to storing garden tools.  You’ll be doing yourself a big favor, by starting to regularly store your garden tools inside your garage, shed, or mud room.  The payoff can be big!

I guess I was lucky.  I was tasked with the gardening chores when I was a kid.  This included always putting all the tools away in the garage, after cleaning them of course.  Coincidentally, this is also when I started to learn to sharpen.  It’s funny how things work out sometimes.

Nature at work

Rain left on metal produces rust.  And, in some cases, enough rust to keep a tool from working at all.  It is remarkable that so many of the garden tools we sharpen also require significant de-rusting.  This is especially true in spring time every year, without fail.  Good garden tool storage nearly eliminates this problem.

Pain Management

Pain Management is an often overlooked benefit of maintaining your garden tools.  A pruner in good condition is so much easier to use.  It can make trimming roses a pleasure.   If you love gardening and suffer from arthritis, having a sharp and good functioning set of pruners can make it possible to trim what you need to trim with greatly reduced pain.

I know tool storage seems trivial.  But, one way to keep your tools working good is having a habit of storing your garden tools in a dry and protected storage location.  It’s free.  It lengthens the life of your garden tools.  It’s safer by reducing the chance injury.  And you’ll thank me later.