Our Go-to Storage When We Run Out of Drawers

Sterilite 3-Drawer Cart #2830

Murphy’s first law of storage space states that, “A homeowner will always need one more drawer than is available.” [It doesn’t: I made that up, but it sounds pretty plausible, doesn’t it?] The good folks at Sterilite are, apparently, great fans of Murphy and the Ms is (in her turn) a great fan of Sterilite. That’s why there are boxes, tubs, and other assorted clear plastic storage items scattered around our house. There are several rollaround drawer units, including at least one wide-track setup, but this one – a Sterilite 3-drawer unit – is mine.

Homemade Overhead Storage for Your Garage

When You Can't Fit the Car in the Garage Anymore

The neighborhood where we live now is decidedly suburban, without many sidewalks. Worse, in about every block you'll find that at least one house where a car is parked across the sidewalk, even though the house has a two or even three-car garage. Why? Well, people's stuff just plain takes over their garages, to the point that they can no longer fit a car in there.

If that's your problem, you might fork over hundreds of bucks to buy shelving systems and cabinets from some BigBox store. If you're handy, you might build your own shelves. But what do you do with the biggest stuff? Articles about garage organization tend to concentrate on storage along the walls, but often ignore the empty space near the ceiling. With just a few bucks' worth of materials you probably have lying around, you can build a ceiling rack for big stuff that doesn't fit on the wall shelves. At one house, I built one of these racks to hold full sheets of plywood; my current one is a little smaller.

Original Bucket Boss

Lightweight Tool Transport: the Bucket Boss System

The Original Bucket Boss is one of those inventions that just about every DIYer looks at ans mutters, "Why didn't I think of that?" If you're not familiar with 'em, a Bucket Boss is a canvas tool transport/storage system that fits into a five-gallon plastic bucket. They're sort of open, cylindrical sleeves that fit inside the bucket plus flaps that drape over the outside. They're made entirely of heavy weight, water-resistant canvas.

Craftsman Wrench Holders

Combination Wrench Organization in a Small Package

Question: What do you give the man who has everything?
Answer: Something to keep it in.

That’s an excellent idea, especially when you think of tools in general and hand tools in specific. Case in point might be one of those mechanic’s tool set with a thousand wrenches, every one of which immediately migrates to the bottom of the tool chest. And the one you want is always lurking beneath all the others. It's easy to avoid that syndrome with a Craftsman Wrench Holder, one more cunningly crafted piece of plastic (and therefore recyclable, too).

Akro-Mils Keep Boxes

I Think I'll Keep These Boxes 

There's somebody around this house who's, let's just say, "acquisitive." Over a couple of decades, that somebody's collected references and resources for all sorts of activities and lessons. Happily, that someone is pretty well-organized, and all these years has kept the stuff in collections. Some collections are pretty extensive, most are downright eclectic. For instance, who do you know who has a collection of snakeskins or an owl wing? Most collections are kept in handy containers, an Akro-Mils design called Keep Boxes.

Craftsman Socket Racks

Finding that Socket Gets Easier When They're Organized on Craftsman Racks

If your toolbox contains a screwdriver or two, pliers, a hammer and roll of duct tape; organizing "all" that stuff probably isn't much of a problem. Me, I'm nearer the opposite end of the spectrum: I've got drawers filled with sockets in my tool chest in ¼", ⅜", and ½" drive; both SAE and metric units; six and twelve-point and regular vs. deep-well. I do still have the duct tape, though. Hunting for a specific socket out of the dozens in those drawers would be more frustrating if I didn't have a lot of them organized on several Craftsman Socket Racks. I've got separate racks for ⅜" drive metric and SAE sets, separated by standard and deep-well. It makes life that much easier.

Magnogrip Magnetic Tool Wristband

Get a Grip on the Small Parts: Get a MagnoGrip

Whether you’re putting together that table from Ikea, putting up curtains or performing a tune-up on your 1987 IROC-Z, at some point you're sure to find yourself crawling around looking for a dropped screw or other part. Pockets and aprons don't work – how many times have you drawn blood digging through pocket full of nails? And don't even mention trying to find the correct screw when there are four different sizes. It’s times like that we all wish we had three hands, like Zaphod Beeblebrox.