I wish it were that simple, I have some of every common size and a bunch of uncommon as well. Basically 4mm up to 1" and it is a pain. I have some sorted, yet it is still a mess. I like the colored dots, but my bins are usually full so you wouldn't be able to see the stickers. Sometimes it gets so frustrating I want to toss everything and start over! Lately I have had less time to organize and more time to make a mess, so it is worse than usual. Keep showing pics and sharing ideas, maybe someday I will find a way to make it all work.
That was a "small" sample of the cabinets in our shop. Here's a slightly bigger picture...
That's our cabinets being delivered, the full length of the hallway. What you don't see is the shop was already full of cabinets, being assembled and stacked. It came in a 53' tractor trailer, 3 rows wide, stacked floor to ceiling. Took me and a coworker 3 hours to unload the truck, put it in a freight elevator, and haul it all up to the 3rd floor with a pallet jack. Took another several weeks to assemble it all!
So when I say we have a few more pieces of hardware than most anyone here, it's probably a fact. For the most part, it is organized. A mechanical shop, electronics shop, pneumatic section, etc. We also have a couple of store rooms in the building but those lack the nice cabinets, and are far less orgainized.
I bulk order a lot of things. I only fill the bins so much. The overflow stays in the orginal packaging so it can be identified later. It's stored in a large tote, and put in the overhead cabinet IN the related section. When I run low on something, I simply look in the overhead bin to see if I have spares on hand. The key thing here is to NOT overload your bins!
I also have a metric section, SAE, screws, and even a section for kits. Some hardware already comes in nice kits, and makes more sense to keep them in the original packaging. Larger things won't fit in the plastic bins we have, but the Vidmar cabinets have metal dividers than can be configured to accomodate them. So have more draws with dividers for things like Ziploc bags, tie wraps, etc etc. We have a mix of shallow and deep drawers, to accomodate most everything.
I'm far less organized at home. For one, my budget isn't anywhere near my employers... so no Vidmar cabinets in my future. But I know where everything is. Like things are put together in bins (when possible) and labled.
I'm using clear tackle boxes for various fasteners at the moment. Makes it convenient to haul them to the jobsite (garage, attic, outside, shed, Dad's house, my uncle's house, etc).
If Vidmar reads this, and wishes to supply cabinets for my home shop, I'll be glad to show the "make-over".
