Is this the first time you are going to be woodworking and building an actual shed? From my experience (limited though it might be) I found that a good set of small shed plans make such a difference to the running of the project. Planning is easier, your costs go right down and the shed will be up sooner than you thought.

After we built our house, we found we were running out of space for all the extra's that some how stack up over time. I needed a place for my tools, my wife needed place for her pots and garden equipment, and our youngest daughter of course had plenty of outdoor toys that were just rotting away on the back porch. Whatever your reason is, building a backyard storage shed is going to make a big difference to the organisation of your "stuff".

But when it comes to building a small shed, here is the secret and where a lot of people try to save money only to find that it costs them more in the long run. They get any old blueprints, invariably free, and get started on the project. These free plans don't have accurate materials lists, foundation plans, or step by step instructions and leave the person more clueless than when they started.

If you want to save yourself time, which I am sure you do, and finish this storage shed in a couple of weekends, then make sure that you have a good set of plans.

This is what I look for when I buying blueprints, designs and plan:

• Detailed materials list
• 3D drawing of the completed structure
• Tips or variations and options to the plan
• Step by step guide
• Detailed plans