Day 60: 7 Tips on How to Organize Tools

What: Tools

Why: This may be more for the men and their man cave, but tools are still part of the house and garage, making it something we need to organize and live with less of. Are you ever working on a project and can’t find that one wrench, so you tear apart your whole tool box, trying to find it? Or have you ever found a nail, wondering what it went to? Tool boxes, workbenches, tool buckets, whatever you use, they can get disorganized in a jiffy. Here are some tips to keep your tools easily organized.

How:
1. Be okay with “organized enough.” Tools are something that are so miscellaneous, that there has to be a point where good enough is good enough.

2. Clean and declutter your workbench, tools, and toolboxes. Sweep, dust, wipe down whatever needs to be.

3. Reassess whether you need each tool. Make piles of all of your screwdrivers, wrenches, etc. If you have doubles of some things, decide if you need two of it. Whatever you do not need, donate it. Get rid of empty caulk and glue bottles. Decided if you need all of that scrap wood – if you’ve had it for awhile, chances are you probably will never use it. In fact, you will probably forget you even had it and just buy new when you start a new project.

4. Organize! If you do not have any cabinets or drawers, you may want to consider finding someone who has old cabinets that you could set up in your garage or man cave. The Habitat for Humanity Restore is a great place to go.

• Store items on a pegboard, in drawers, on shelves – whatever is most convenient.
• Think about what you use most often make that easily accessible.
• Store like items together, such as all of the cutting tools together.
• If you have more than one of something and want to keep both, put the other in a toolbox or bucket

5. Create a tool bucket – something you can grab on the go when doing a project. Keep all of the necessities in it such as a screwdriver, tape measure, hammer, an assortment of nails and screws, etc.

6. After each project, organize your work area to prevent it becoming disorganized.

7. Any miscellaneous items, put in one area and if you do not use it within a year, get rid of them.

Confession of the Day: I stay out of this area! My husband knows where everything is, so I do not bother learning. He is the fix-it person around our house, so I let him organize his man cave. Every man needs his space, right? We do have a tool bucket which is very handy. If I quickly need a tool, I go to the bucket first and can typically find it there Living with less means organizing all areas of life – even areas we may not always deal with. Getting your husband and/or family on board is a great place to start!

What does your tool bench area look like? Does it need some work? What are some solutions that you suggest?