I've been collecting garage 'stuff' for 35 years, and I've never figured out a good system for organizing it all. I don't mean big stuff, just hardware- nuts, bolts, screws, nails, plumbing fittings, electrical stuff- on and on! I've got about 40 4"X12" plastic bins, but many of those are full, and you have to dump out the contents to find that one 1/4-20 nut. So, I always buy new stuff when doing a project of any size. I worked with one guy that threw out everything left over from a project- I can't bring myself to do that! Then there's wood, metal, hinges, spare parts- AAARRRGGGHHH! This is a cry for help- I want to move in a few years, and I have to get this stuff under control!

 

I have different ways.
I use those plastic cabinets with slide out drawers.

I have a few cabinet's for screws,bolts,washers,etc:
Automotive Related
Wood Related
Metal Related

Bracketry:
Hardware Related

Electrical:

Nails:
Soup cans in a fold out cabinet

Plastic Peanut butter Jars for Larger items

 

I saw in this old house magazine a while ago someone who came up with a brilliant idea. He built an octagon out of 1X material (attached the long side of the boards) so that he basically had a long cylinder. Then he made a bracket that hung from the ceiling to hold the cylinder so it would rotate on a dowel (think of a roll of paper towels). Next he attached mason jar lids to the flats of the octagons and screwed the jars into the lids. So basically what he had was over one hundred clear jars of hardware/fasteners that rotated and could easily be identified and didn't take up any space on top of a bench or on a shelf. Is this the kind of suggestion you were looking for?

Matt

 

Plastic drawers for the smaller stuff. For everything else, I use NAPA/Echlin cardboard parts boxes. The NAPA store sells them knocked down for about 40 cents each..

 

I started by sorting into groups like electrical, plumbing, automotive, household etc. and putting into boxes. Each group would then be sorted into smaller categories once they got so large as to not fit into boxes anymore. I also keep each category in a different spot in the shop so at least I know a general area to look. Of course nuts/bolts are kept in small drawers or boxes that are easy to see without opening.

 

Never use glass jars in the garage. Glass cuts and breaks. There are too many projectiles that can fly around in the shop. Its better use plastic like large clear plastic drink jugs which have large tops and looped handles to hold on to. Coffe cans are great if contents are marked on the outside of the container. The colored plastic parts bins are great also.

 

Thought I'd bump this old thread to let you know my solution. Stanley makes a line of organizers (Zag) They have a number of removeable bins. So I set one up w/ all my various nails, another one w/ drywall screws. I'm working on an electrical one now. I do a lot of volunteer work at school and church, so I need a lot of this stuff to be portable. A friend of mine that's a contractor uses these w/ good success. Now all I have to do is KEEP them organized! Still pondering the plumbing stuff; it's very bulky, so my plumbing drawer runneth over!

 

Try organizing things alphabetically by numbered pile.

 

Standard vs. Metric

 

I save the rectangular antifreeze bottles and cut the flat side out of them to make a bin (ok so I'm frugal). Put the stuff in, electircal, hardware, whatever. When the bin becomes full I divide it again with some sort of logical split. When it becomes full again I split again. So for instance the bin starts out as electrical. Then it becomes "wire and wire ties" and "switches, relays, bulbs". Next splits might be "wire", wire ties", "switches & relays" and "bulbs". And so on. I'm up to about 30 containers so far.

 

Coffee cans with plastic lids and a shelving unit to hold them. The most important thing is to label the cans. I wrap a couple of turns of masking tape around the can and write on the tape. I can re-label a can easily if needed. I have cans labeled 1/4", 5/16", 3/8" etc for nuts and bolts. Other cans labelled 'electric clamps', 'marrett connectors', etc for electric stuff. Inside some of the cans, I use ziplock baggies. For instance: bag of 1/4" nuts, bag of 1/4" flat washers and bag of 1/4" lockwashers, etc. ...Terry

 

I like my bosses system. When he moves he starts packing. There are two piles, packed and moving and the trash cans. As you figure out and rearange your shop try it.

 

I have so much stuff in my garage, I invented a new word. When a big pile of stuff falls over, it is known as a 'crapalanche'! Actually, I'm doing a lot better. I've been selling and pitching stuff I no longer have an interest in, and organizing what's left. I have 3 big items to sell, and I could just about get 2 cars in the garage! I can't work on my '64 F100 project until the garage is clear, because of local laws about "non-functional" vehicles. It's functional; I consider it art!

 

Crapalanche -LOL!

4 years ago My wife and I moves from a house witha 2 1/2 car garage to a one car garage. (Who knows what we were thinking!)

I threw out and sold a ton of stuff to get down to the size I needed. It was painful and I hated every minute of it. I was so bummed to get rid of such great stuff.

4 yrs later - I have to admit there wasn't one thing I got rid of that I have missed, NOT ONE!

I have become pretty brutal about not saving stuff, but I have outgrown again. Can't build anything on my lot, so I just rented a 25X40 garage for a heck of a deal. (business expense ) But I know I have to continue to get rid of stuff more often than I save it.

Regarding organization - I like the 4 compartment trays that go inside 5gal buckets. As a residential remodeler, my stuff must be portable. I set up both crews I have with a bucket of screws, 1 tray of each for 3", 2 1/2", 2", 1 5/8", 1 1/4". Big time saver when they need a few screws for this or that, no rummaging around by the hour. And, of course, buying in bulk saves 50%.
The 25 pound buckets stay in the shop for refills and large jobs.

The other great organization tool is a Brother "P-touch" labeling machine. I label everything!

 

I thought about the bucket organizers, but I don't need very many screws w/ my volunteer work- I rarely use a 1# box on a job. So I wind up w/ dribs and drabs of things all over the place. Now I have a place, and I'll just re-stock periodically. 25# would last me a lifetime!