Garage Locker Power Tool Organizer - Fits Between Garage Doors!

Lately our garage has been kind of a mess - my husband has been rebuilding our rotting deck and the power tools he has have multiplied with no good place to store them. I was getting tired of tripping over sanders and planers so I thought I’d come up with a way to get all the small power tools easily accessible and organized for his project. In my search I came across the perfect locker solution! | This post contains affiliate links |

I realized the space between our garage doors was vastly underutilized. It’s a skinny spot but tall - with a lot of potential for easily-accessible storage. I thought about building shelves there but then it would be open and kind of messy. I tried finding a cabinet that would fit but they were all too wide. Then I realized a locker would fit!

I searched for single-width lockers and found many options and considered doing a single tall locker or a double locker. But then I came across this amazing single-width locker with six doors/tiers! It was perfect for my needs - it fit right in between the garage doors and each tool could have it’s own cubby. This locker fit perfectly in our garage but make sure to measure your space first as you may have a narrower (or wider) space to work with. There was assembly required for the locker but it went together easily and then it was ready to use!

One important thing to consider before you put a locker in your garage is how you will contend with wet floors. We live in New England and in the winters especially our garage floors get quite wet when the snow melts off our cars… in order to protect the bottom of your locker from rusting you probably want to raise it up off the floor. For us we used a thick paving stone that fit well under the locker - though we did have to level it some with composite shims (similar ones linked) because our garage floors are slightly uneven. (Just slide the shim under the paver and break off when it's the right height - so easy!) You may also want to consider attaching your locker to the wall in some way if you’re concerned about it tipping.

| 6 Door Metal Locker |

Once we had our locker level and secured I labeled each cubby with what it contained (“Drills & Bits”, “Orbital Sander”, etc). To make the labels I just typed them up on my computer, printed them out on a sheet of cardstock, and cut them out.

This was an awesome and very easy project to do in our garage. We love how organized and accessible the tools are while still keeping them out of sight.

DIY Potting Bench - Based on Plans by Ana White

I’ve been wanting a potting bench for a while now - something by the back door to display some decor, use as an outdoor work station, and double as a place for UPS to leave packages. After looking around online and at local stores, I couldn’t find anything that I liked that fit the narrow space - so I did what any #woodworkingmom would do, I decided to build it myself. | This post is not sponsored but does contain affiliate links |

{ Note: The plans I worked from were from Ana White and can be found HERE }

I came across these Ana White plans for a Simple Potting Bench on Pinterest and thought it was perfect! It was exactly the simple, rugged style I was looking for and easy to tailor to our space too. Most of the wood needed were 2x4’s, which are sturdy and cheap - and thankfully between our garage and my father-in-law’s garage we had all the wood scraps I needed to piece together this project. Since I used leftover wood we already had, this project cost me nothing which was pretty amazing!

Since I only used what wood we had on hand, I had to make do - some of the wood was pressure-treated, some was not, some had knot holes or gashes, and not all of it was “true” (straight). But that was fine by me as this was to be a rustic piece for outside.

Before I started building, I followed Ana White’s “cut list,” cutting and making piles of all the wood in the dimensions I would need to build the project. I carefully chose the lumber for each section to minimize how the knot holes, gashes, or crooked pieces would be seen in the final piece. For our potting bench I made it 4 inches narrower so it would fit against the small wall next to our back door and because of this I had to adjust my cut list and refigure some of the overall dimensions.

The next step was constructing the shelves individually - attaching the outer planks first, checking for square, then spacing out the middle planks and attaching them. To build this whole project I used an Impact Driver, which made the entire project go much quicker and easier.

To attach the legs, I laid the project on it’s side and carefully measured the distances between the legs as well as up the legs before attaching the shelves to makes sure everything would be as level and as square as possible.

Finally to make the project look more “finished” I added some wood scraps to the sides of the project to conceal the butt ends of the shelves and make it look a little more polished.

I also decided to add some 1x3”s to the front of the shelves to make it look a little more polished from the front as well. (I did not counter-sink these screws, but I should have as they were more noticeable than I was expecting in the finished piece.)

Then came time for painting - I chose to paint the whole potting bench in several coats of my favorite Valspar Stainblocking Bonding Primer/Sealer. This stuff has great coverage and really covers and seals well. My one regret was not giving all the wood pieces a single coat of paint before assembling - as once everything was assembled it was a huge pain to get in all the nooks and crannies.

Finally I finished the project by adding a few little hooks underneath the shelf (very similar hooks linked here), from which I can hang tools or decor. I’m really happy with how this came out and how quickly it came together. I can’t wait to decorate it with some plants come next spring!

PS - I’m thinking this potting bench would also be great for parties and BBQ’s! It would be perfect on a patio or deck as a makeshift buffet table.

UPDATE: Spring, 2020

Just wanted to give a quick update after I made the potting bench last Fall: Over winter we decided to store it in our shed, just so we wouldn’t have to snow blow and shovel around it all winter, but as soon as the threat of snow passed in early Spring we brought it right back out. It’s been wonderful to have for planting and working on outside this spring, and due to the current Pandemic situation we’re getting more packages than ever so it’s great to have a designated spot for deliveries (and right in view of our security camera too).

For decor right now I'm keeping it very simple, especially since the potting bench is utilized daily for mail - there's just a garden rock, a metal barn star (hung from a special hook that doesn't damage vinyl siding), and a small potted lavender plant with an American flag - all items we already had around our house.

Summer, 2020 - sharing another little decor update for the potting bench:

I found this weathered piece of wood in our scrap bin and thought it would make a cute sign for the potting bench. I used my Cricut Machine to design and cut a stencil that said "Fresh Cut Flowers 5¢" and used it to paint the sign. I think it looks cute and it's a great finishing touch!

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