I have a decent sized shed that stuff has been tossed into haphazardly for almost two years and it's got to the point where it's difficult to move around. I've also obtained some new furnishings and the old sofa is currently sitting under the carport. I need some motivation to do a massive clean-up and redo the shed so my teenage son can have a decent space to go to for he and his friends. Any ideas on 1) how to get motivated, 2) how to dispose of things, 3) reorganising shed space to double up as an entertainment area for teenagers.

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Originally Posted by frangipanis

I have a decent sized shed that stuff has been tossed into haphazardly for almost two years and it's got to the point where it's difficult to move around. I've also obtained some new furnishings and the old sofa is currently sitting under the carport. I need some motivation to do a massive clean-up and redo the shed so my teenage son can have a decent space to go to for he and his friends. Any ideas on 1) how to get motivated, 2) how to dispose of things, 3) reorganising shed space to double up as an entertainment area for teenagers.

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Sho thang man. First of all get your lazy unmotivated butt up and remember you are doing this for your teenage son!! Second, you should buy crates at the store or boxes (like those big, clear, crates that close that you can buy at walmart) so you can organize your belongings. Do this before you start to clean. And third get a big azz trash can to throw the rest of the crap away / or have a garage sale. You should start by going into your shed and ask yourself when the last time you used those items were. If you haven't used them for over a year. Chances are you don't need them. You should pull everything out and make sure everything works. Keep what you truly need and for the rest of the items you should throw away or have a garage sale. Then... whatever you decided to keep organize them into the boxes or crates that you bought. And label them so that you know what it is! And clean everything out maybe slab some paint on the walls and im sure that your teen will love what you did for him in the end.

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Originally Posted by sasachel

FIRST OF ALL GET YOUR LAZY UNMOTIVATED BUTT UP AND REMEMBER YOU ARE DOING THIS FOR YOUR TEENAGE SON!!! IM SURE THAT YOUR TEEN WILL LOVE WHAT YOU DID FOR HIM IN THE END.

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LOL!! Thanks for that

One thing that I like to do with organizing things if I need to do so quickly, is to simply gather things up and to put them into organized piles that I can go through and really organize later. Doing so makes a place look a lot neater sooner and at least I have things organized in a way where I can sort it then at my own leisure.

I too, have trouble with disposing of things, so I wouldn't be much help in that regard.

Considering motivation - I like to think of it this way - is it in control of me? Or, am I in control of it..

Thinking of things in such a way can work also with other areas of a person's life other than organizing things.

How large is your shed, please?

Good on you, Clough, it's great to hear from you on this. My son is (trying to) dismantling some of his furniture at the moment that needs to go in the shed, along with an old armchair. We're bursting at the seams and it's reached the point where I have to sort it out. It will be fun getting organised, and taking a whole lot of stuff to the tip :)

The shed is still needed for tools and the lawnmower, etc, which I guess will need to be organised at one end, and furniture somehow arranged on the other side. There are lots of little things from my children's childhood(s) that I would find difficult to see disappear altogether, but then again, I never go there to look at them anyway. Maybe when I'm 80 I'll want to see them again.

I like the zen saying: is the chair sitting on you, or are you sitting on the chair

Just got to get started on it lol

Um, I have a double carport and the shed is wider than that. It's quite spacious inside -- it's a good sized shed.

One thing that I have found in my home, is that I have a lack of storage space because I don't have very many shelves in my home. Perhaps shelves placed on the walls might be a way to provide more floor space in your shed? Just guessing here...

There's a workbench along one side of the wall. It's only about two metres in length by a metre wide, and there are hooks along the wall next to it to hang tools on, like the shovel. Cupboards or shelves is a helpful idea.

I'll need to decide whether to keep the sofa, coffee table, armchair, single bed, bookshelf, and TV, or sell some of these off... they could be useful for my son in the future.

When my shed is a mess - it's 10X12 - I take every last blooming thing OUT of the shed and put it on the lawn. Then I carefully look over each and everything on the lawn and decide if I really truly need it. I have just about everything possible hanging on the walls - such as shovels, rakes, and ladders, pole saws. I neatly piled all the lumber I want to keep on an old metal desk and then still had plenty of room left for everything else.

Call one of those Habitat places and see if they can come and pick up your unwanted, unloved things such as old doors, old appliances, old rugs, old building supplies like paint that you never got around to use. You will be doing the community a service by donating these items so that Habitat can resell them. If you have old plumbing fixtures or old sinks... virtually anything that you can use to build a home with they will take. They will come and get your stuff... but you must call them! Don't throw away perfectly good items that someone else can use. Don't forget tools either that you don't want or need.

When you get done with your shed, want to help me do mine? LOL!

Sho thang..! LOL!
Exsept that would hafta be afta you finish doin' my shed, and yu'ken paee faw tha' aefair, because I ain't got'it... ;)

I think my southern accent ain't right somehow... but thanks :) I appreciate the advice. A small business was running out of our local tip with things that had been thrown away being rescued for resale on the tip grounds. It was considered chic to go to at an up market boutique first up, then straight on to the tip for some shopping...

No kitchen sink to throw away - though possibly other things can be recycled as you've suggested.