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Whether you’re a contractor trying to max-out production and efficiency or a DIYer trying to get the job done before Monday a word that should be present in lots of your thoughts and actions should be organization. I think about it all the time.
While there is an endless amount of items that needs to be organized in a home improvement project–everything from budget to materials–one of the key things to have organized is tools. And while there are lots of products that go a long way to helping manage that mission, it all starts with your approach.
The reason for organization, in my mind, is that looking for a tool you need isn’t working. It’s looking for a tool. Nailing up trim or hanging a door is working if you catch my drift.
A key element to organizing my job sites and home improvement projects has always been to keep things neatly in a line and, therefore, visible. For example, my shop is lined with homemade shelves that enables me to place my tools on them such that I can see what they are. And, when possible, I keep the tools in their respective tool boxes or carrying cases so I can remove and replace them sort of like books from a shelf. This doesn’t always work–framing nailer or circ saw boxes are either too big or don’t exist for example–but it helps. Besides, hanging a nailer on a nail works even better.
Large stuff works well in individual boxes for me. Containers loaded from the top-down–like buckets–rarely works for me. Better than nothing yes, but it’s just an organized pile I still have to sift through. For small items like drywall knives and other accouterments, I like pocketed bags. I’ve had a Bucket Boss tool bag for my drywall gear for years while I’ve used a Duluth Trading Company riggers bag for my paint stuff (you can place your brushes in the sleeves upside down so the bristles don’t get crushed or curved as they probably will if you laid them in bucket).
I guess it doesn’t necessarily matter how you organize, just that you do. And in doing so, I hope you get more done.
