Back to the shed

Want to free up your garage for the car? Consider adding this timeless space for storage.

Listen outside. That drone you hear in the distance is not the 17-year cicada. Instead, it just might be a herd of Harley-Davidson owners thundering toward Milwaukee to celebrate the centennial of the machine's invention later this month.

I can't think of any product in the world that instills so much passion. I mean, have you ever seen a guy with the Pepsi logo tattooed across his chest? Amazingly, all this history started in a shed back in 1903, where 21-year-old William S. Harley and 20-year-old Arthur Davidson tinkered to produce the first Hog. We all know what happened to the motorcycle in those intervening years, but what about the evolution of the shed?

When I was growing up, my father built a shed in the back yard. It looked like a miniature version of our house: It had the same siding, a beautiful entry door in the center, and two little windows on the side, complete with flower boxes. The shed wasn't much bigger than 8-by-8 feet, but it ended up being packed with a lot of fond memories of the time I spent there with him. On the side, he built a dog run, with a doggie door. Inside, he added a workbench and storage area for lawn supplies. He even had a cage with rabbits.

Unfortunately, the backyard shed has become something of an artifact. These days, we -- myself included -- tend to jam everything into the garage. If you look around inside mine, you'll find my lawnmower, four kids' bicycles, two wagons, two strollers, garden tools and enough basketballs to host a pre-game shoot-around for the Chicago Bulls. What you won't find are my two cars. They simply don't fit!

In an age when we are consuming more than ever, the shed can be an attractive solution to the mounds of clutter we collect. You can build a noble one yourself or have someone do it for you. At a trade show, I discovered sheds, built by Amish carpenters, that mimic the look of old red barns with their tongue-and-groove construction and classic rooflines. They also have wooden floors, which I prefer to the empty-bottom sheds that can create problems when it rains. You can achieve the same results with kits available at backyardamerica.com and spiritelements.com.

A "shed" doesn't have to be freestanding. It can be a shed-like area, which functions better than a basement. In my own house, I built a screened-in porch and made use of the poured-concrete crawl space underneath, where I built an access door, to store my snowblower, the backup generator and a collection of lumber I might actually use someday. Even my sister-in-law's bike has found a home down there (hey, don't you think it's time to come pick that up?).

This may not be the complete solution for me, but it's nice to know that if my kids ever get into the inventing mood, like Harley and Davidson, they'll be able to find a little extra room -- if not in the shed, at least in the garage.

Lou Manfredini is the author of "Mr. Fix-It Introduces You to Your Home" and a contributor to NBC's "Today" show.