It’s hard to finish your honey-to-do list if you can’t find the right tools for the job because of a garbled mess of cords, bits, nuts, and screws.
The workbench, garage, and basement seem to always be the last place we get around to organizing and the first place we dump stuff when straightening up every place else. Tools get piled under stuff and are never easy to find because they don’t actually have a proper place.
If you’re tired of spending all your time searching for the tools when you need them, check out these tool organization tips.
Think Outside the Box with Tool Organization
Many people make the mistake of thinking the only place for tools is a toolbox. While it’s always good to have a portable toolbox for jobs on the go, it can be pretty hard to find things if it’s all just thrown into a container that you end up having to take everything out of to find what you need anyway.
Giving yourself a designated space and work area is essential to motivation and execution of DIY projects. A proper workbench is always helpful in doing projects and organizing tools. See more information here on a functional workbench for any project.
Space the Final Frontier
Organizing everything is much easier if you have space to do it. Creating a workshop area can help you make an accessible spot for everything and give you space to actually use them.
Rather than having to dig through buckets of assorted nails, screws, nuts and other hardware, you can easily find and use the exact thing you need. This is also handy when you have assistants that you send for the equipment you need if you’re fixing something elsewhere in the house.
Don’t let your workspace become a dumping ground for stuff you never use. You’ll be much more productive and less frustrated if you give yourself and your tools the space you need to get stuff done. If there was an emergency, you want to be prepared.
Climbing the Walls
You can easily give yourself more room if you utilize every bit of space available. This includes wall space that is usually wasted.
A cork or pegboard wall, shelving, hooks, and other wall climbing options can come in handy for giving each tool its own place. To help others know where things go, you can always do a tape or marker outline on the board showing each tool’s place.
There’s no point in having all those cool tools you bought while late-night internet surfing if you can’t get at them to use or show them off to your buddies.
Recycle Cupboards
Whether they’re from your own kitchen renovation or you pick some up from a Habitat from Humanity store or garage sale, old kitchen or bathroom cupboards are a great way to organize your tools and hardware.
You could secure some overhead or floor cupboards, shelves or cabinets in the basement, garage or garden shed to give you a place to organize but hide the clutter of cords, tools, accessories and more.
Upcycle Totes, Cans, and Bottles
You can create a place for everything by using old coffee cans, bottles, and totes. Place a label on the outside. If you think you’ll be using the container for other things, you can always add a dry erase or chalk label that can be changed.
Separate the hardware like nails, screws, nuts, and bolts into various sizes and types so that you can easily grab what you need.
Totes can be used for larger tools. See through ones can be stacked on a shelving unit so that you can access the tools you need without spending a lot of time searching or moving other totes to get at it.
Tools To Go
Most home renovations, projects and issues don’t happen in your workshop area so you need to be able to take your tools with you.
A toolbox is the traditional choice but doesn’t always make it easy to find what you’re looking for. If you have sharp tools, it can even be dangerous to be digging through it. Bigger tools often won’t fit in a regular toolbox.
You may want to come up with something more functional like a stand-up tool caddy that gives you easy access and keeps everything organized between jobs.
PVC Pipes, Magnets, Pie Plates, and Styrofoam
Tools often have lots of accessories that are sharp or can be easily lost if not given a specific way to organize them.
A large piece of foam glued to a board on the wall could be used to stick pointy tools into. This keeps them on hand but saves your hands from being poked while digging through the toolbox.
If you have a circular saw, grinder or other round blades to store, you could easily and safely do so by cutting some metal pie plates in half and hanging them on a board on the wall. You can place different size and types of blades in each one.
If you don’t want to cut them, you can always use pie plates on a shelf to keep the blades in one place and not loose.
Magnets secured to the wall is an easy way to hang metal tools like screwdrivers and chisels.
PVC pipes can be used to make shelves, an organizing wall for tools or can be cut in half and placed over hacksaw blades and other larger sharp items to make your work area safer.
Your To-Do List is Easier Using These Tool Organization Tips
You can complete a project or get through your To-Do list more quickly and easily if you follow the above tool organization tips.
For more tips to make your life easier check out our Lifestyle section of our blog and connect with us today.