A few months ago I set out to clean up my workspace. I moved things around, popped a Gladiator adjustable height workbench (reviewed here) in the middle of the room, ordered a huge supply of Dewalt ToughSystem cases and Bosch L-Boxxes (why both?), and started making lists.
And here I am, still sorting through the mess of tools, culling my collection and trying to get everything organized.
Advertisement
Why is it taking so long?
1. Not Enough Tool Storage
I recently borrowed back my Craftsman 6-drawer 16″ deep tool chest from my father, and it now sits on top of my Beta 7-drawer cabinet. That has been a huge help in getting my hand tools organized again.
18 months ago, I had the 6-drawer chest on top of two 2-drawer deep intermediate chests, the same Beta tool cabinet, and a Craftsman 5-drawer 16″ deep tool chest under my now-discarded 2x4s and Strong-Tie workbench.
I thought I could make do with a minimal number of tool draws, but I can’t. No matter how many bins and boxes I have, nothing is more efficient than drawers.
While I could definitely use more drawers, I think I have enough right now to move forward.
2. Too Many Tools
I know, heresy, right? But it’s true.
Advertisement
I would say that my too many tools predicament is 50% due to my personality and who I am, but also 50% due to ToolGuyd. I like trying new brands, styles, and designs, but that tends to lead to overlapping function.
The solution? I’m packing up all non-essentials – including some tools still in retail packaging – and putting them in storage. Once I have more breathing room and no loose tools all over the place I’ll bring the boxes back one by one to sort through. If there’s a realistic hole a tool will fill without much overlap, it will earn back its place in my workspace. If not, it goes into more permanent storage or a donation pile.
3. Deals!
If I had to pay full price on everything, too many tools would be far less of a problem.
Here’s a great example: Six years ago (Jan 2007) I bought a Milwaukee 17pc hole saw set for $25 from Amazon. Back then they had sweet tool deals that kicked off at 3am ET. Today, a comparable set would cost at least $120. At the time I had been using my Ridgid hole saw set a lot and figured that a greater selection of sizes would be nice.
To this day I have never used those Milwaukee hole saws. Yet.
This is mostly why there are fewer DealGuyd deal posts these days. I have forced myself to stop looking at sales flyers and special price sections except ahead of major holidays. I can’t take advantage of a great deal if I don’t know about it!
4. Too Much Attachment
As odd as it might sound, I have too much attachment to some of my tools. Some I bought for a great price, others I used on special projects, and a few I’ve been using for a very long time.
In the case of too many locking pliers, it has taken me quite a while to realize I use imported one-hand-opening Irwin Vise Grips a lot more often than my USA-made ones.
But attachment doesn’t mean I should have tools with overlapping or duplicate functionality in the same drawer or bin.
5. Distractions and Delays
My workspace has been in constant disarray since we moved here a year ago, and so I only have short pockets of time when I can photograph things for review. It takes a lot of time to clear things up, and then a day or two later a project leads to additional turmoil, mostly because there are too many tools all over the place.
Toolguyd is 4-1/2 years old, and there are tools I have been using (or not using in some cases,) that were purchased mostly for review.
For example, I have a Proto Phillips #2 screwdriver that I purchased strictly for review. Everyone can always use more #2 drivers, so that’s what I buy when I want to try a particular design. I used that driver a bunch of times, but mostly only if I can’t find my either of my favorite screwdrivers. I ordered that driver from an industrial supplier on 11/27/2009. That means that I could (should) have reviewed it almost three and a half years ago after a brief evaluation.
As I mentioned, all my stored tools will be brought back one box at a time. I’m not doing that just to see if I’m missing their functionality, but also to properly review them. The reviews might not be terribly thorough, but if I have an opinion or comment, there will be photos, a writeup, and a video.
Why I’m Telling You This
Mostly because I’m taking a break. Carrying tool boxes and cases full of tools back and forth is tiring work. I started bumping into things more than usual, which meant it was time for some lunch and rest.
There’s also the feeling that points 1 – 4 can happen to anyone. As bad as I might be with too many tools and not enough storage, I know of others that are far worse. There’s a very fine line between need and want, and once that line is crossed it’s too easy to start collecting tools.
While I was perfectly fine having tools all over the place, it greatly impeded the progress of my projects. The 30 minutes it takes to clean off a small span of the workbench for a project is 30 fewer minutes I can spend on the project itself. Too many tools and cluttered storage also means that digging out the right tool can become a chore.
A clean and neat shop/workspace/studio/call-it-what-you-want will allow me to be a lot quicker with both projects and product evaluations. Or at least that’s the plan.
Once I’m done cleaning my shop and workspace I will turn my attention to everything in storage. There are a lot of supplies and materials in there that are perfectly usable or even brand new, but they’re just sitting there. Expect to see some random “for sale” or “freebie if you pay shipping” posts in a couple of months.
John S
Seeing as I am just getting started in getting my tool “collection” going, I am really working on keeping my must-haves to a minimum. Time will tell how that fares (ha), but my aim is minimal tools for functional project-doing. Then again, I am no pro, just a wannabe 🙂 I look forward to seeing how you organize everything! Are you planning on using kaizen foam or anything else for some of your fragile stuff and drawers?
Stuart
Once my workspace is clean and neat I hope to be able to go over the organizational scheme thoroughly.
Right now I have no plans to use Kaizen foam or similar, but I do have a number of Bosch L-Boxxes with pick-n-pluck foam. Specialty or more delicate tools are going there.
I still haven’t fully determined how to organize my drawers, but in some I have Schaller plastic bins. That’s more for small tools that like to roll and get jumbled up, though.
Fred
My workbench looks just like yours. I got several LBOXX & Toughsystem boxes also, but the way things worked out when I got them, they now sit taking up more space than they’re saving me. A few really good deals here and there or some rare used tools and now the new stuff is sitting out in the way of everything.
And the biggest issue is several tools that you want to try to work within the constraints of a specific drawer, or this or that size box. You wind up thinking ‘because it doesn’t fit within this volume, its not needed’ or worse ‘i need a bigger volume now for this category of things’ it can do more to compound the problem than fix it. That’s what I’m dealing with.
I’m eager to see progress, I think this should be come a monthly or at least quarterly topic. Be the beacon of encouragement for us, or prove that you’re human just like every other man with a garage. Either way I think it will continue to be interesting.
Stuart
That’s what my workbench looked like a while back when I plopped on top all the tools I could find that I bought from Sears. You don’t want to see it now, trust me. These days it’s cyclic and goes from being completely clean and clear to being covered by piles of tools and supplies that need new homes.
Right now I’m using the ToughSystem cases for power tools and heavier supplies, and L-boxxes for workspace and off-site storage. I plan to get as many non-essentials into off-site storage as possible, at least the types of things I will never need immediately.
I don’t do a lot of plumbing-type projects, but sometimes need my tools at a moment’s notice. In situations like that I fill up an L-Boxx or storage bin and pop it onto a shelf.
One of the problems is that I don’t have a garage. Right now my workspace is 80% of the second bedroom in a 3rd floor apartment. I also have many interests that results in non-overlapping tools. But I think that even if I had a 3-car garage, I’d still have tool, equipment, and supplies overflow issues. Only in that case I would have cabinets lining all the walls and multiple workbenches.
Jerry
I can relate. I have a work/welding table at least 16 feet long, with about 8 inches of usable space right now. However, instead of just tols, it is covered with odd things like corn planter parts, and various small projects that sit there waiting for some free time to complete.
Stuart
How’s this for odd things – I have a Triceratops horn section (about 6″ x 6″ x 8″) sitting on my workbench until I figure out where to put it!
Mike Montgomery
Over the past few months, I’ve been on a kaizan foam kick, starting up with getting my screwdrivers, pliers, wirecutters, and the like organized. Along the way, I discovered lots of duplicates, which have been fed into either a project specific electricians pouch I used for wiring and data cabling, or a project bag that I can haul off when I’m visiting relatives and they want me to help them with some project or other.
One of the nice side benefits of the kaizen foam route is it forces you to really think about new purchases. After methodically cutting out spaces for all of your screwdrivers, nut drivers, etc, the thought of purchasing “one more tool” forces some soul searching, which can be beneficial. The only negative I’ve run into so far is that it’s a pain to label what goes where, something I’d love to do.
Stuart
One of these days I might foam-up my drawers, but that probably won’t happen until I buy a house and figure out a long-term tool storage solution.
Kaizen is a strong option, but I think I like the idea of foam sheets a bit more, like from here.
Mike U.
I have found that I have an odd attachment and problem with ratchets in particular. I’m sure have at least 30, in every form, variation, and tooth count imaginable. Still, I continue to buy…my new thing is vintage ratchets, trying to find the oldest models on Ebay that I can. Sure, 80% of them will probably never be used, but there’s something really cool to me about owning a tool that was made in the 40’s or 50’s and is still going strong. Other than the ratchets, my workspace is actually fairly tidy.
Jerrick
Deals are my weakness. I will buy something that I might need in the future or will certainly use once if on sale. I end up with a lot of stuff that largely goes unused. On the positive side, at least I have something to lend a buddy!
My other weakness is tape measures. I can’t explain it, but I pick one up anytime I see a sale.
Walty
My bench looks exactly like yours! I’m trying to live by the mantra “a place for everything and everything in its place”, but so far I don’t have a place for everything. I’m building a 30×32 shop this summer, so hopefully that will change, or I will just buy more stuff…
Stuart
That photo was staged to show many of the tools I purchased from Sears for a late-2011 post. The current situation is far worse!
“A place for everything and everything in its place” is kind of what I’m trying to do now. It’s hard but I’m slowly making progress.
Rascally
Recently, I’ve had to cut back on all tool purchases, because I no longer have any room to store them. I’ve bought so many “deals” that I’ve never opened… if I start a project, I’ll go buy more blades, supplies, etc, only to find later I already had unopened blades in a cabinet.
I was in HF one day, and saw a cool pistol type propane torch…and then it dawned on me, I already have that in a cabinet.
There’s a rule that any open flat surface of a workbench won’t stay empty longer than a week. Sad but true…
I should have built a shop behind my house twenty years ago…maybe this year.
Thanks for the great informative blog… I look forward to the email every day.
Allen
I actually enjoy the occasional cleaning session. Even if I am in the middle of a project a half hour spent cleaning allows me to turn possibilities of how to next proceed over in my mind. Many times I stop right in the middle of a cleaning session because the solution to a problem presents itself.
Yadda
Having inherited the pack rat gene from both sides of my family I have tons of tools and other items in the garage. I’m also at the beginning of a huge orginization project that will probably last 6 months since I will be organizing part of the garage. Good luck as you go forward!
fred
I come from a commercial environment where we used Lista and Rotabin storage in one shop and Stanley Vidmar in another. Since I never hit the lottery – this was never an option for me at home – but I built closets with floor-to-ceiling shelves along the short (16 foot) walls of my shop to store away tools that came in cases. I use shelves and dedicated toolboxes to store classes of tools that I use infrequently – and everything else hangs along the 2 long (32 foot) walls of the shop on pegboard. I built in some storage under my benches and tool carts/stands – where I store related items (e.g. drill bits, hold-downs etc. with the drill press etc.) Over the years I’ve migrated some tools (table saw, band saw, miter saw, jointer, planer, sanding station – and their accessories/consumables) from the basement shop to the garage for several reasons – but mainly because I got tired of hauling lumber – particularly sheet goods down into the basement – even though I have fairly good access. I still keep the drill press, grinders, scroll saw, router table and mortising machine – plus wooden benches and nearly all of my hand tools in the basement shop. Storing anything in the mostly-unheated garage requires some thought about how to prevent corrosion and deal with what does happen. While I know that pegboard seems to have fallen out of favor – in favor of more elegant slat-wall solutions – I still think that the 1/4 inch variety provides an inexpensive and flexible storage option.
Brad Justinen
come on man. months? i could have your shop perfectly organized in 2 days.
I made the How-To for those who cant afford tool storage.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Peg-Board-Tool-Cart-then-brag-about-it/
Jake
Too many tools? I didn’t think that was possible. Just because I have 8 framing hammers doesn’t mean I have too many! My problem is that while I have a place for (mostly) everything, it somehow never seems to find its place back to where it should be and thus both of my benches look like the picture.
Jason Offret
Step 1: Move wifes car out of garage
Step 2: Spread out (scatter) everything in the garage so it’s “easier to sort”
Step 3: Get side tracked
Step 4: Push everything over to one side of garage in a huge mess so wife can park in garage
Repeat 🙁
DC
As someone who has a bit of a mess himself, how exactly do any of you organize your tool bags??? I usually just throw everything in but thats not ideal and I feel as though I need to get more organized…
Stuart
I decided on a new policy earlier this week. Plastic kit boxes go in the trash if I don’t use them and tool bags get tossed into an 18 gallon plastic storage container.
My kit boxes were all different sizes and wasted a TON of space. It was kind of sad when I hurled them into the dumpster, but it’s better this way.
Tool bags are great for carrying tools to and fro, and can be okay for storage and rough organization. I like how you can (usually) toss in bits and accessories without worrying about being unable to close the bag, but bags can be a hassle to store away in home and professional shop environments.
My Bosch 1/4 sheet finish sander came with a small kit bag, and while I kept the sander in the bag, both were kept in the retail box for easier shelf storage. Now, the sander shares an L-Boxx 3 with a Ridgid 5″ random orbital sander and matching abrasives.
RKA
It’s a constant battle here. I’d say more then 75% of the tools are placed where they belong and well organized, but that last 25% clutter every horizontal surface in sight until I get fed up and organize/push things aside!