Alright, let's talk about wrestling with the garden hose. Mine was always a mess, just lying there in a heap near the tap, looking ugly and tripping me up. Every time I needed it, I had to untangle the darn thing. Got tired of it, really.

So, I figured, instead of buying one of those plastic holders that probably break after a season, I'd just make something myself. Seemed simple enough, and I had some scrap wood lying around in the garage anyway.

Getting Started

First thing, I went hunting for materials. Found a decent piece of thicker plywood, maybe leftover from another project, I don't remember. Also grabbed some longer wood screws I had in a jar.

Tools I used were pretty basic:

• A saw (just a hand saw, nothing fancy)
• Measuring tape
• Pencil
• Drill
• Screwdriver bit for the drill
• Some sandpaper

Putting it Together

I decided on a simple design. Just a back piece to mount on the wall, and a sort of curved or angled front piece for the hose to wrap around. No complex plans, just sketching it out roughly on the wood.

I measured out the back piece, maybe about a foot wide and a bit taller. Marked it with the pencil and sawed it off. Took a couple of tries to get the cut straight-ish. Then I cut the front piece. I made this one wider at the top and angled it down, kind of like a shelf but pointing upwards a bit, you know? So the hose wouldn't just slide off. Getting that angle right with the hand saw was a bit fiddly, not gonna lie.

Sanded the edges down a little bit. Didn't want sharp corners snagging the hose or my hands. Didn't go crazy with it, just enough to smooth it out.

Then came assembly. I positioned the angled front piece onto the flat back piece. Drilled some pilot holes first – learned that lesson the hard way before, splitting wood is no fun. Then I drove in three or four screws from the back, going into the edge of the front piece. Made sure it felt solid.

Mounting the Thing

Found a good spot on the garage wall, near the faucet but out of the way. Used the drill again, this time with a masonry bit because it's a brick wall. Drilled a couple of holes for wall plugs. Pushed the plugs in, then held up my new wooden holder and screwed it right into the plugs using some long screws. Gave it a good wiggle – felt sturdy enough.

The Result

And that was pretty much it. Wrapped the hose around it. Worked like a charm! No more tangled mess on the ground. Looks okay, too, in a rustic, homemade sort of way. Much better than tripping over the hose all the time. Took maybe an hour, tops? Simple job, gets it done. Happy with how it turned out.