Martha Stewart's Trick for January Equipment Organizing

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Last week, Martha Stewart took to Instagram to share how she organizes her equipment barn at the beginning of every year.

She explains: 'My Equipment Barn is 40 by 120 feet, with a substantial amount of height. It is where I keep my mowers, blowers, tractors, and other pieces of important machinery.'

As you would expect, Martha's space is immaculately clean, with the key to organized neatness being storing like items with like items, hung on simple, sturdy hooks (like these garage hooks from Amazon, of which I've just ordered five of for my own 'equipment barn', or 'shed', to be more accurate, along with a few other items, below, that caught my eye). Worth noting? I've bought these before and they've been ideal for neatly stashing everything from the ironing board to a small bike.

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Shop Martha's Equipment Edit

Wooden Handle

Martha Stewart Garden Weeding Hand Tool

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Waxed Canvas Garden Tool Bag

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4-Piece Trowel and Cultivator Planting Set

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So, how does the force of nature that is Martha Stewart tap into home organizing ideas to create the most organized equipment barn of all time? First, she starts with a designated time to work on the daunting project. Martha explains on her blog: 'Whenever it's cold outside, and my outdoor grounds crew is unable to work in the woods or gardens, I encourage them to take stock of the equipment, clean everything, and then organize all the tools and supplies.'

She also begins with good lighting and an effective set up that is conducive to using the space. Martha states: 'The Equipment Barn is well lit with these big overhead lamps. I use very utilitarian lighting where I can on the farm.'

The next step to organizing tools is to weed out anything that is past its prime. Martha says that in her process, 'the hand tools are taken off their hooks, inspected, and grouped with other like pieces. Spreading them all out is a good way to know what is in good shape and how many of each tool we have in supply.'

After whittling down her collection to the best parts, Martha cleans the entire barn and keeps like items with like items. She explains: 'Once emptied, the walls are blown and power-washed. We use industrial hooks that can hold up to 50 pounds each. Then they are all returned to their designated hooks.'

Martha continues: 'Chemicals and oils are always kept in this storage cabinet, specifically designed for flammables. All the smaller tools, such as these large combination wrenches, are also organized and hung over the workbench. Lastly, the floors are blown, power-washed, and left bare to dry for several hours.'

'At the end of a day, it’s always very refreshing to see a clean and well-organized space,' concludes Martha. By following her simple advice, it's easy to achieve a similarly spotless utility space in any home.

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Sophie is a writer and News Editor on the Celebrity Style team at Homes & Gardens. She is fascinated by the intersection of design and popular culture and is particularly passionate about researching trends and interior history. She is an avid pop culture fan and has interviewed Martha Stewart and Hillary Duff.

In her free time, Sophie freelances on design news for Westport Magazine and Livingetc. She also has a newsletter, My Friend's Art, in which she covers music, culture, and fine art through a personal lens. Her fiction has appeared in Love & Squalor and The Isis Magazine.

Before joining Future, Sophie worked in editorial at Fig Linens and Home, a boutique luxury linens brand. She has an MSc from Oxford University and a BA in Creative Writing and Sociology from Sarah Lawrence College.