We live in a house where if we can't find a certain tool in under twenty seconds, we head to the hardware store and buy another one. If you ever need a drill driver, we have three. Circular saw, yup, we have a few of those. Hammers? Sure, we have about twenty! What also seems to happen in our house is once a project is completed, the tools forever live within a four foot radius of said project until someone puts them away. When I think of the money we have spent on duplicate tools, shoot, I could be sitting on a beach right now in the Caribbean tanning my winter-white body and not writing this blog! If any of this sounds familiar to you, instead of pouring yourself a screwdriver to ease the pain, find a place FOR YOUR SCREWDRIVER and never be frustrated searching for the right tools again! My number one rule in organizing anything is, while it might take awhile and make you nuts to organize a closet, your kitchen, the laundry room or your garage, once things have a specific place to LIVE, you won't (or shouldn't) ever lose them again. So, take your time and do it right! While you might roll your eyes at the top photo, it works and costs nothing at all. I simply trace the most used tools in our toolbox with a sharpie and hang them on a wall, that way A.) I know I'm not crazy when I come to get a tool and it's missing, because I know I HAVE IT BECAUSE I TRACED IT and B.) whoever takes it knows right where to return it! To keep the little bits and pieces together, I collect jam jars and screw the lids to the bottom of a shelf, filling the jars with the odds and ends…that way they're hanging in plain sight to see. Hopefully next time we decide to attack a simple project, not only will we have the right tools, but they'll be
right where we left them!
SHARP IDEA:
Because I paint just about everything in sight, I have more paintbrushes than sense, so keeping track of them is essential (and some are expensive, so I'd rather not constantly buy new). To keep them all in one, clean spot I found magnetic knife racks at Ikea for $3 and hung them on a wall in our garage. Not only do they have a great place to hang and dry, when it's time for another project I don't go nuts searching for them because they're right in front of my eye!
