The Hillbilly Gardener, like any frugal gardener from time to time faces a common problem for many of us – to much stuff to store and not enough room. So what is the frugal gardener to do? Far to many of us just find ways to keep stacking stuff higher and higher. Eventually, this practice leads to either A) stuff gets stacked so high that stuff starts falling on us, or B) stuff gets stacked so high and so deep that we can't find what we were looking for in the first place. What happens then? A) in a moment of frustration we go through and throw away everything we haven't used in the last month or two (then you need it next week), or B) we go out and buy the very thing we were looking for, even though we know we have it somewhere, C) we go out and buy the very thing we are looking for because we forgot we have it - "out of sight, out of mind".

Now sometimes "trash is trash" and needs to be thrown away. How many times have you found something and wondered "why in the world was I saving this in the first place?" "Hoarding" isn't frugal, but then neither are explosions of periodic cleaning frenzy or unnecessary spending due to a lack of organization. Take a look around your mess. How much of what you are storing inside can be just as easily be stored outside with just a little help? Bucket containers and watering cans are some of those items that can just as easily be stored outside with only a few considerations. But, the frugal gardener wants to have a bucket container always handy and they do not want them blowing around, filling up with rain and being a general eye-sore either. Let's face it, utility garden containers are indispensable around the garden, but pail storage can be a problem and they do take up room to store them inside when they can just as easily be stored outdoors.

Backyard solutions for pail storage as well as keeping your watering cans handy have traditionally never been given much thought. At least not until we have to chase down a bucket container or watering can that has blown away in a storm or had to dump the rain out and dry a bucket that we needed to be dry inside. It normally isn't until these things occur that we give buckets storage any thought. The Hillbilly Gardener knows this to be true because he's faced many of these same issues over the years.

On this page, the Hillbilly Gardener presents a few backyard solutions for storing bucket containers and general pail storage solutions that he has found to be helpful here in the Garden of Weedin. Many of these backyard solutions work equally well for watering cans where you want them always handy at a central point or where they are used most often. The Hillbilly Gardener loves hearing tips and tricks for backyard solutions to bucket storage or any handy backyard solutions to pesky little outdoor problems that our readers have. These are valuable to the frugal gardener for making life just a little easier for all of us. To your growing success. May all of your gardening endeavors be fruitful and abundant.

the "Hillbilly Gardener"

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Storing Bucket Containers And Watering Cans

Here we used discarded mop handles to hold watering cans near the raised beds where they were often used.

Choose a location near water spigots, utility areas, compost bin, etc. that are handy, but out of the way.  Cut lengths of 3/4 inch PVC pipe four (4) feet long and cap one end of the pipe (optional). Pre-punch holes in the ground using a large rod, old wooden handle, etc (I save all of my broken handles for many handy projects like this). Insert the lengths of 3/4" plastic pipe approximately about 1 foot into the ground and invert your buckets and watering cans on the posts to keep them handy, keep the rain out, keep them from using up room in your garage or shed and prevent them blowing away in a storm.   Tip: Paint your bucket container posts with paint designed for plastics to make them more attractive or even as an accent item if desired.

Keep Bucket Containers From Sticking Together

How often have you went to grab a bucket container and had it firmly stuck inside of the bucket below it? Here's a handy pail storage solution if you are stacking only a few bucket containers.

Using metal coat hangers (recycled) or heavy wire, cut lengths that are approximately 24 inches long. Fold the wire in half tightly, Now bend a one (1) inch hook at 90 degrees on one end and a little more than 90 degrees on the other end (I put the 90 degree bend on the folded end). Make sure the distance from bend to bend is the same for all hangers. Now place three of these hangers inside of one bucket container, each one approximately one third of the way around the bucket top. Now set your next bucket container inside of the first. The hooks will keep the buckets apart enough to stop them from sticking together. These hooks work best for bucket containers that are 5 gallon size and all approximately the same size.

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the "Hillbilly Gardener"