This week in the Organized Life Series, we will organize our tools. Whether you’re a seasoned do-it-yourselfer with every set of tool and machinery imaginable, or a college kid in your first apartment, you need tools.
A minimal tool set should include such basics as a hammer, a screwdriver set, pliers, and adjustable wrench, and possibly a drill. Everyone should at least have the ability to hang a curtain rod or a framed photograph.
Tool Storage Locations
Depending on your needs, your tools may be in multiple locations around your house.
- Garage or Tool Shed – If you have the ability, this is the ideal place to store your tools. If they’re always in one place, you know where to get them and where to put them away.
- Closet – You may have a nicely organized kit that you keep in the bottom of a closet.
- Kitchen drawer – some people keep a set of screwdrivers in the junk drawer in the kitchen.
- Craft Room – you m ay need certain tools with your crafts
Wherever you keep your tools, you should know where they are whenever you need to grab them.
Purge and Replace
Get all of your tools in one area and go through them. Do you have dull drill bits and stripped out screwdrivers? Keep in mind that Sears Craftsman screwdrivers have a lifetime warranty and you can take them in to be replaced. Do you have duplicates of items that you never use? Are there any holes in your collection? If so, go shopping for the items you need. Check your screws and nails. Do you have plenty of useful drywall anchors?
Storage Solutions
You can store your tools in a box, in a drawer, or in a heavy-duty tool box. The choice is yours. If you need to improve your tool box, head down to your local Home Improvement store and have some fun.
Organize
When you’ve figured out how you’re going to store your items, sort by type. Put all of your Phillips Head Screwdrivers together. Keep your drill bits together. Put all of your power tools together – in a lockable storage solution, if possible.
Label your bins, drawers and boxes to make it easy for anyone to find the tools they need and to put them away where they belong.
You can even get super-organized and have a hanging pegboard solution if you like. The sky is the limit.
Keep it Organized
As you use your tools, put them back away. Remember the the key to organization is maintenance. Put things away properly. For more organization, check out the Organized Life Series.
