I'm so fed up with either not finding a tool or having them lying around that I've emptied the numerous tool boxes in our house and I'm sorting them out. I've got one with sharp stuff like scrapers, stanley knives, junior hacksaws, spare saw blades and chisels, one with the router, boxes of cutters and biscuits, one full of drill bits, etc, one full of sanding stuff and surforms and one with screwdrivers, various hammers, punches, cold chisels, etc. I've yet to tackle the box of mixed up screws and fixings!

I reckon that's a logical way of sorting but how do you all do it if you have piles of tools like us?

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If at first you don't succeed, ask UHM in your hour of need!

I have large clear plastic boxes (from Big Dug, along with their shelves) and rather then putting hammers in one box, screwdrivers in another, etc, I am now grouping them by type of work, so I have a "Plumbing" box, an "Electrics" box, a "Decorating" box, etc.
Then keep all things like Drill bits and Screws together and in a single bag which I can pick up when I pick up a drill.

Found that way, when I am doing a specific job, I carry that box with me and I usually have the right kit to hand

PS - that box of mixed-up screws .... just throw them away and get a mixed set of Turbogolds from screwfix - much better idea

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I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?"
She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

I thought I'd get the girls to sort the screws out into plastic tubs.
I think I'll get two more tool boxes to put the odds and sods in that have no place.

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If at first you don't succeed, ask UHM in your hour of need!

Took me a while to suss it out, but I do much the same as Hoovie, plastering/tiling/joinery/decorating each in a seperate box/bucket - to the extent that I actually duplicate some tools so I'm not pinching things out of another box.

Well, thats the general theory! Mostly its an archeological dig in the boot of the car for that elusive "thingy" that was there last Thursday!

Trade case of Spax screws was one of the best investments I've ever made - no more hunting through the bucket of odds 'n sods for the screw you need. I take the labels off the end of the screw boxes and fit them into the base of the individual boxes so when I need to replenish stocks I know exactly what to get.

I have a slightly different approach but it works for me becuase I only do DIY at home and don't travel with the tools.

In my shed I have tools hanging from various hooks and corners.

When standing infront of my workbench, to my left side I have workworking tools hung up, chisels, planes, sandpaper, mallets, saws etc. plus screws in various jars.

Above the bench are general perpose tools, like screwdrivers, rulers, levels, files, hammers, etc. Underneath the bench are all my power tools.

To the righthand side I have all the electronics and chemicals. Cables, solidering iron, transformers, mulit-meter, Spare PC parts, vices/clamps, oil/grease, paints, spirits, etc etc.

My shed is 100ft from the house. When I am working on something I pick the tools I need and use one of these to carry them to the house:

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Don't buy a dwarf with learning difficulties,
It's not big and it's not clever.

Spax are great

Good tip with the box labels. I wrote the info in the clear window with a marker but that,of course, has all rubbed off over time

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I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?"
She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

Gig goblin, that's a neat bag!

An ex-boyfriend used to sort screws by type and put them in jam jars that screwed into the lids that were already attached to a board. That works until you accidentally smash the jar.

I don't want to leave anything in the shed as it'll get nicked, knowing our luck.

It's the odds and sods that annoy me because they all end up in a big mess. I've also got bits that I haven't got a clue what they are or what they do, maybe I should post pictures for help.

I've bought screw sorter cases before only to drop them and the whole lot got mixed up again when the lid broke! If someone invented a fixings sorter they'd make a million.

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If at first you don't succeed, ask UHM in your hour of need!

Im like Hoovie and 54aarvark in that I have boxes for each different job.

However whilst doing my brothers back garden for him at the moment. The amount of tools that you have to take with you is unreal.

I don't drive so I have had to leave most of the tools in his house and shed.

For instance,

Gardening tools, for clearing site, Installing slabs, stones, Painting etc
Woodworking tools for fencing, decking etc.

i didn't realise that I had so many tools

We seem to have lots of drill bits and chisels!

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If at first you don't succeed, ask UHM in your hour of need!

Home tool sets, most of it is in 2 boxes. one is general & woodworking, the other is things like spanners.

Bigger stuff goes in stacking boxes.
Blades are kept with saws in cases, drill bits are kept in the drill case, screwdriver bits with impact driver...

That way if i need to drill a hole, i just pick up the drill.
Bigger sets like forstner bits are again in boxes in stacking boxes.

Screws for normal use are in SF trade cases.



Work tools, in each drawer-
sockets/ratchets,
Measuring & marking
Spanners
Screwdrivers/allen keys etc.
Pliers/cuttters
Files, saws, punches
Clamps
vise grips.
And loads more

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Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety one?

This is the kind of stuff I have in my garage.....



I find the boxes can get damaged if given a whack, so got a few holes in them, but I think I paid something like £2 each for big clear plastic box plus lid so so cheap don't really worry about

I used to keep all my drill bits and screwdriver bits, screws etc and used to end up wasting so much time using crap worn out stuff - I am much more ruthless with that kind of thing now and end result is better quality work done quicker - False economy to keep everything!

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I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?"
She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

Hoovie,

Looks good but my shed is full of bikes and I don't have a garage.

I had helpers sorting the tools and they were taken with the tiniest little G clamp you've ever seen! Sooo cute!

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If at first you don't succeed, ask UHM in your hour of need!

Reisser are my first choice..........Spax second

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Knock Knock Knock........ Stevies home!!!!



nil illegitimus carborundum

I got a lovely kit as a pressie with a cordless drill, two battteries and every basic tool you can think of along with drill bits, screwdriving tips, hooks and wall plugs. Screws, nails, saws, spanners, decorating palaver and other randomness that I've bought or inherited from the house (or the ex-husband :)) are in the small shed. Somewhere :)

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Tina

If I can't fix it with a hammer it's an electrical fault.

I have a van and a garage - it all lives in there I know where it is, I think its called organised chaos but it works for me

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"Where would we be without rules?
France! And where would we be with too many rules? Germany!"