Crafting Your Workshop: DIY Tool Organization With Abrasives
With these clever tool storage ideas, you can keep your priceless assortment of do-it-yourself tools and gadgets organized and safe. Whether your tools were a large investment or heirlooms passed down to you, storing them properly helps ensure their longevity and continued good functioning. Having everything organized also makes locating tools like screwdrivers and sandpaper simpler when a task calls for them.
To ensure that you always have all of your tools at your disposal while taking on DIY projects, consider the following storage solutions for tools.
1. INSTALL A PEGBOARD OR SLATWALL
Installing shelves is a tool storage concept ideal for tiny places, as garages typically have limited floor space—Maximize vertical space with drawers, tall cabinets, and track storage. However, if you prefer having your equipment visible, there is another kind of garage storage solution to consider. Think about setting aside a portion of the wall for pegboard or slatwall.
Hooks are attached to pegboards by tiny circular holes, and hooks are suspended from slat walls' horizontal panels. Each tool storage concept has a different potential application. Pegboards work best for small to medium-sized objects, such as pliers, wrenches, and open baskets of nuts and bolts. Conversely, slat walls are typically roomier and perfect for hanging bigger items like garden tools and ladders.
Everything you need will be at your fingertips if there is space in the garage to put one next to the other.
2. UTILIZE BINS, BAGS, OR TOOL BOXES
Own just the necessities? Use the box or bag they came in, or arrange them in transparent storage boxes to keep things easy for yourself. Many tool kits already have spaces pre-made for each item in the box. If yours doesn't, you can store exactly what you need in a canvas bag with compartments or a two-tiered toolbox. Alternatively, create a separate box or bag for regularly used instruments like a hammer and measuring tape and another for less accessible objects like a mallet or hand saw.
If you utilize containers, choose clear bins with latching lids that nestle into each other or stackable open bins if you want simpler access. Put some labels on the front of the bins even if you can see inside them, especially if multiple people use them. In this manner, it is clear where returns should be made. You can store them in a shed, garage, or basement if they are shielded from the weather.
3. MAKE A STATION FOR CHARGING
Power tools occupy much room, particularly if you have a sizable collection. Although you can always set them down on a table or workstation beneath the pegboard, building a wall-mounted charging and storage station is safer for storing tools.
Imagine it as a power tool garage for appliances. Whether you build one or purchase one, include docking stations for your power tools (sanders, drills, etc.) and a shelf or two above for chargers and any larger instruments that won't fit on the dock. Put a power strip on the side so you can charge conveniently. This keeps tools organized, usable, and out of the reach of young, curious hands.
4. HOLD A FEW SMALL ACCESSORIES
Small components are frequently the most difficult to organize despite the appearance that larger instruments are easier. Keeping nails and screws apart helps you avoid buying items you already own because you can't find them in a messy bunch, and it saves time when you're looking for something specific.
A desktop cabinet with narrow drawers for every kind and size of hardware is a creative way to store small tools. Alternatively, try a do-it-yourself project with materials you may already have. Sort minor items for home remodeling into categories and store them in Mason jars. When you need to grab something, unscrew the bottom of a shelf with a magnetic strip underneath it and attach the metal top to it. Name every drawer or jar to distinguish between your coarse- and fine-thread bolts, just like you would when putting anything into bins.
5. SEPARATE DRAWERS
Keep small hand tools organized in drawers, whether you're storing them in a chest of drawers or a few drawers in a shed. As an option for tool storage, use drawer dividers to keep drill bits and anchors apart from pliers and levels. Use deeper drawers for bulkier items like power tools and lower drawers for flat objects. For a tool storage solution that maximizes your available space, think about getting a mobile drawer system if you have a large collection of tools. Set aside a drawer for each type of screwdriver, socket, etc. Find or replace your tools more quickly than you can drive a nail home by labeling each drawer.