Even though the garage is meant to be for your car, most of us use it as a graveyard for unfinished projects, holiday decorations, and, worst of all, the lawnmower.
It’s awful to trip over the lawnmower every time you need a screwdriver if you only have a small garage or a garage with one car. It happened to me, too. I squished past the handle and got grease on my jeans. It’s a pain.
But here’s the thing: you don’t need a barn-sized shed to keep things in order. You need to be better about how you use the space you have.
1. The Golden Rule: Prep Before You Park
We need to talk about how to keep it safe and in good shape. You wouldn’t put dirty dishes back in the cabinet, would you? Do not cram a dirty, leaky mower into a small space.
Rust, oil leaks, and a machine that won’t start next spring are all possible if you store it incorrectly.
Get the Deck Clean
- Cut the grass down; the clippings will hold water. Rust is caused by water. Scrub the bottom of the deck with a putty knife.
- Get rid of it: a quick hose down (not the engine) will get rid of the acidic grass juices.
- Put it out in the sun to dry. Mold will grow if you store a wet mower in a small, closed shed.
Watch over the fluids.
- Gasoline: Either drain the gas or add a stabilizer before putting it away for the winter. The engine gets clogged up with varnish made from old gas.
- Oil: Look for leaks. In a small garage, an oil leak is not only a mess, but also a risk of falling.
Tip: Check your owner’s manual if you want to store your mower upright (we’ll talk about that later). If the engine is turned upside down, oil may leak into the air filter or cylinder. The carburetor should be looking up most of the time.
2. Go Vertical: The Wall Mount Solution
For me, this is the best. If you don’t have enough floor room, you have to go up. Vertical storage is the best way to organize a small shed.
Wall Hangers and Brackets
You can buy pegs made just for lawnmowers, but strong utility hooks often work just as well for push mowers.
- Important: Do not drill into drywall. I repeat: do not. It can be anywhere from 50 to 90 pounds. You need to hit the stud.
- Heavy-duty hooks: Look for U-hooks or “tornado hooks” that can hold 50 pounds or more.
- Connect it: Hang it up and use a bungee cord across the handle to keep it flat against the wall.
The “Lean” Method
You’re in luck if you have a newer power mower. A lot of brands, like EGO and Toro, now make their mowers so that they can stand upright on their back wheels.
- Check the latch: Make sure the handle locks firmly in place when it’s standing up.
- Footprint: This takes up about 70% less floor space. It reduces the danger of a big trip to a thin suitcase-sized thing against the wall.
3. The Overhead Hoist (For the Brave)
If your garage is really small, look at the roof. This may sound wild. That’s why we use hoists for boats and bikes.
- Weight Limit: Most bike hoists can hold 50 to 75 pounds. A big gas mower might break this. You might need a heavy-duty pulley system made for stairs or the tops of trucks.
- First, safety: don’t lift it right on top of where you park your car. You don’t want a hole in your hood if a strap snaps.
- Check the Fluids: This should only be done on gas or electric mowers that have no fluids left in them. It’s not good to have gas on your head.
4. Under-Shelf Parking
Hanging a heavy machine might not be your thing. Let’s look at “dead space.” Most of the time, you don’t use the room under your workbench or heavy-duty shelving units.
- Check the space. When the handle is folded down, most push mowers stand 12 to 18 inches tall.
- Shelving that can be moved: Use industrial shelving, like the metal racks you can get at hardware shops. Just make sure the bottom shelf is tall enough to clear the mower deck.
- If your shelves have a lip at the bottom, make a small ramp out of scrap plywood. This way, you can roll the mower right over the lip without having to lift it.
This keeps the mower on the floor, which is the safest choice, but it hides under the storage you were already using.
5. The Corner Tuck with a DIY Stand
People often say that garage corners are hard to use. It’s not square, and mowers leave weird gaps behind them.
A friend of mine recently used this solution: they made their own corner stand.
- Square Shelf: In the corner, build a simple square shelf that is about 2 feet off the ground.
- Park Below: The lawnmower rolls into the corner of the floor.
- Above: The gas can, oil, extra blades, and trimmer line are stored on the shelf above it.
- This works because it puts all of your yard care tools in one vertical slice of the room. You no longer have to look for the 2-cycle oil.
6. Folding Handles: The Overlooked Feature
You may not even be aware that you have a mower that takes up less room.
The bottom handle bar of most walk-behind mowers has knobs on it.
- Take them off by unscrewing the wing nuts halfway.
- To fold forward, push the handle all the way over the engine and forward.
- The mower is now half as long as it was before.
Check to see if your handle has “quick-release” buttons, if it won’t fold. If you always need a wrench, you might want to switch the nuts for knobs that you can tighten by hand. For a few dollars, you can get these at any hardware shop. Putting things away is 100% faster with it.
7. Floating Shelves for Riding Mowers?
You are on hard mode if you keep a riding mower in a small closet. There’s no way to hang a truck.
You can get back the room above it, though.
- Drive-in Rack: Make a shelf or table that stands alone and is tall enough for the tractor to drive under.
- Size: It needs to be tall enough for the driving wheel and wide enough to clear the deck.
- When you push the mower into its “cave,” you get a 4×6-foot table or storage area right on top of it.
- Value: You haven’t lost any floor room; the floor has just been raised.
Essential Safety Checks
We talked about this, but let’s be clear. It makes no sense to store a machine with fuel that can catch fire in a small, enclosed area.
- Ventilation: Can air flow through your garage? Fumes can gather.
- Pilot Lights: Don’t store a gas mower close to a water heater or boiler that has a pilot light. The floor is full of fumes. One spark, and… well, you get the idea.
- If the mower is bent or hanging, is it safe for kids and pets? If a child bumps into a 60-pound vertical mower, bad things will happen. To keep it in place, use safety straps or bungee cords.
Seasonal Rotation
Storage changes over time. You need to be able to get to that mower every week in the summer. You don’t want to see it for four months in the winter.
- Keep it close to the door for summer mode. To get to something quickly, use the “Fold Down” or “Under Shelf” method.
- In winter mode, put it in the farthest corner, hang it up high, or lift it. Its prime space should be used for the snow blower or the bins for holiday decorations.
Don’t let a summer tool take up valuable garage space in December. Turn your gear.
Summary
You don’t have to trip over your lawnmower every day just because you store it in a small shed. It just means you shouldn’t use the floor as your only place to store things.
These small changes make a huge difference, whether you choose a heavy-duty wall mount (check reviews on reputable hardware sites) or remember to fold the handle down every time.
The “Golden Ball” of garage planning isn’t having the biggest garage. It’s having the best setup. Take back your floor space right now. You’ll be glad you did it the next time you pull in without a “crunch.”
