This surprising gardener's trick for storing backyard tools is a foolproof way to avoid rusting – it's genius!

Be honest, what sort of state are your gardening tools in right now? Rusted forks, trowels, and pruning shears are a reality for many of us, and they can be more detrimental to your gardening than you might think. The good news is, it's almost always preventable, and this nifty gardener's trick might be the solution you need. 

In the majority of cases, we only have ourselves to blame for our rusted tools. True, corrosion will inevitably happen over time, but nearly all of us are guilty of leaving our gardening gadgets out overnight where they're exposed to the elements, accelerating the process. 

To keep your tools looking their best and lasting as long as possible, you'll want to consider incorporating this storage hack into your modern garden. The 5-minute trick promises to keep blades fresh, and it only requires three simple components you probably have lurking in your shed. Intrigued? Here's how it's done. 

(Image credit: Getty)

There really is nothing worse than trying to trim your backyard hedge with a blunt pair of pruning shears. The same goes for harvesting your root vegetables with a rusted trowel. No matter how determined you are, your job is going to be far more difficult than it needs to be if you're not working with clean, sharp tools. 

Ask any gardener and they'll tell you, the simple trick is to store your tools properly, particularly over long durations like the winter months. Hanging them up in your shed or garage might seem like the obvious choice, and while this certainly isn't a bad idea, these still tend to be humid spaces so your tools will still be at a higher risk of premature rusting. 

So, how should you store your tools in a way that keeps them clean, dry, and as sharp as the day you bought them? Well, according to this viral TikTok hack, a bucket of sand and some multi-purpose oil is all you need. 

@epicgardening

♬ original sound - Epic Gardening

In the video, Kevin of Epic Gardening swears by the decades-old trick. He claims that burying the metal end of tools in a bucket of sand helps preserve them, the coarse grit working to remove dirt and surface rust and keeping water away from your equipment. All that's needed is some standard builder's sand, a bucket, and some multipurpose oil. 

'Dump the sand into the bucket adding oil every few inches and then mix it all up,' Kevin instructs on his Instagram post. 'Then, every time you're done using your tools, add them to your oily sand bucket.' He uses 3-IN-ONE®'s Multi-Purpose Oil for the job.

It's worth pointing out, though, that this trick isn't going to magically turn back the clock after years of neglect. If your tools are already looking worse for wear, you'll want to take matters further.

Luckily, Kevin also has a method for restoring rusted tools. He suggests rubbing them with the same multipurpose oil you used in the sand mixture, then giving them a scrub with a rust eraser block like this one from Amazon. He follows this with a couple of strokes with a sharpener before applying the same oil again to wipe away any residue. This helps to protect the metal from corrosion and will work to lubricate mechanisms in tools such as shears. 

So they stay in tip-top condition and to keep future rust at bay, all you need to do is store those fresh tools in the oiled bucket of sand. Keep all your tools clean, contained, and free from corrosion with these three cheap components and they'll pay you back with plenty more years of use. 

What you'll need...