Storing non-tools?

[MushCreek]

There are plenty of good ways to store tools, and even hardware is easy if you have enough drawers/bins/jars. How do you store the other 'stuff'? I have a bunch of plumbing fittings, air fittings, electrical fittings, car parts, and other weird stuff that's just hard to categorize. I've actually thought about pitching a lot of it, and just buying what I need when I need it, but it's a 25 mile round trip to the nearest store, so it's nice to keep stuff on hand. I'm just curious if anyone has some clever ideas to manage all of this stuff. Right now, it's all in big totes and floppy cardboard boxes since we moved. Not exactly what I'd call a 'system'.

 

[e30bradley]

Same way you store hardware.. Toolbox with shallow drawers.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I consider pipe fittings as hardware, so I store them same as nuts and bolts, in a card file cabinet with bin cups to contain them. For the larger items, I built a metal barn 18x20 with garage door and walk door. Wire rack shelves hold larger bulky items. For the smaller items I have a cubbyhole system made of shelving board, 6 feet high, 24 feet long, with 144 cubbies, each being a cubic foot in size. These wrap around an inside corner of the barn, and go 12 feet each down the two walls. In these go elec breakers, elec motors, casters, small metal drops, wire, etc. NOTHING stays in my shop that is not a tool unless it is in the hardware cabinets. I don't even allow yard tools in the shop as I classify them as "domestics". No domestics will ever reside in my shop until I am too feeble or dead to prevent it. This is also some of the reason for my avatar. I have a utility barn to store stuff in. The shop is to enjoy "working" in.

 

[PECVD2]

I have a Stanley Fat Max for plumbing parts/tools and another for electrical parts/tools.
These Fat Max units are pricey but I found one at a garage sale for half price and unused the other was a Christmas gift. They take up some room in my tall cabinets but are portable and keep things in one place and fairly organized.

 

[ZRH`]

Lots of peanut butter jars, ice cream containers, and ammo cans

 

[SJR033]

I have a Stanley Fat Max for plumbing parts/tools and another for electrical parts/tools.
These Fat Max units are pricey but I found one at a garage sale for half price and unused the other was a Christmas gift. They take up some room in my tall cabinets but are portable and keep things in one place and fairly organized.

x2

I don't have the Fat Max, but same concept. It makes doing a repair easy. You simply grab the correct box.

 

[jkwilson]

I'm 35 miles from the nearest box store myself. Fortunately a small town about 10 miles away has a decent hardware store, but it's still a pain to interrupt a 10 minute job to drive there for parts.

I built a shelf 2ft deep 10ft off the floor on two walls of the shop area and I keep things like that in well labeled plastic totes. Things like painting tools and drop cloths, small tarps, trailer parts, plumbing fittings, fence supplies, extra light bulbs, grass seeder etc.. I actually have three bins of plumbing parts. One is for PVC and CPVC fittings and pipe scraps. Another has coffee cans inside with tubing and copper line fittings and tubing scraps and rolls. The third has fittings for 4 and 6" drain pipe and downspouts.

In combination with that, I have dedicated plastic tool boxes for things like plumbing tools, electrical tools or fence repair tools. Saves me a ton of time. Just a few weeks ago my mother-in-law got a new faucet. I grabbed the right bin and toolbox, and had everything I needed with me in her kitchen. Took less than a minute to put everything away when I got home.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Light stuff like PVC fittings, electrical outlets, switches etc. I keep in boxes from office printer paper. Easy to get empty boxes, sturdy enough and stack well because they are all the same size.
Smaller fittings, misc. hardware. Old cigar boxes, tool boxes, trays, buckets, whatever I can find.

 

[DonPowers]

I bought a bunch of the Rubbermaid Clear Roughneck storage containers in three different sizes (66 qt, 50 qt & 19 qt). Most of the containers are on shelving units and being clear, you don't have to label, if you don't want to. Got most of them at Lowes on sale.


http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?Prod_ID=RP091909&CatName=Storage

 

[ratdoggy]

I got a bunch of these.
I keep related items in their own
painting,electrical,plumbing etc

 

[Ainsley]

I like storing most of my non-hardware stock in Rubbermaid bins. I use 4 different sizes depending on the size of the pieces.
My smaller parts end up in tackle trays. regular thickness for screws and similar sized stuff and the deep ones for bulkier items like eye bolts, black pipe fittings (1/2" and under) etc.

 

[Chevy-SS]

Shelves, shelves and more shelves - buy 'em or build 'em. Then put everything in well-labeled containers and get it up off the floor. Stack it as high as possible, with the most frequently accessed containers at the most comfortable level. I'm getting to be a fan of the see-through plastic containers, as quick visual sometimes stimulates memory of exactly what else might be lurking buried in the container.

 

[astroracer]

I have filing cabinets, mounted on casters, that I store current car project parts in.
Here is one set.

I also have a lot of those clear plastic shoe boxes that are catch-alls for everything from electrical to plumbing to paint brushes and gloves...
Mark

 

[MushCreek]

I like the idea of raised storage, and I also like the idea of storing them somewhere other than in the shop. I could store a lot of this stuff in the basement. Another plan might be to build a mezzanine around the shop like Ainsley shows, since I have 12' ceilings, and I'm not half that tall. I see a lot of rolling safety ladders at auctions, which would make access easy and safe.

You younger guys- try to keep your **** collection under control! I've been amassing these treasures for 40+ years, and now that I'm older, and starting to wind down a bit, I have to deal with it all. Either that, or just keep it all in a heap, and let my kid sort through it after I'm gone!

The problem is that I hate throw anything out. I have a huge cardboard box with nothing but PVC pipe fittings in it. Now that my house is done, I don't know what I'm going to do with 4" PVC fittings, but as soon as get rid of them, the need will arise. I've thought about having a yard sale, with fittings and old electric devices marked cheap enough to sell. I have dozens of electrical outlets that are no longer code, as they aren't GFI or tamper resistant. Somebody could use 'em, though. right? As long as I can raise a little beer money, I'll be happy to get rid of some of this stuff.

 

[1nterceptor]

Maybe you can use this to organize your items:

http://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage/part-storage/24-bin-bench-top-parts-rack-69572.html

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I bought a semi camperized 30' 1977 IHC school bus for $250.00. I got it running, insured and drove it to my place for ~ $100.00. Sold fridge, stove, heater, for profit. Put up shelving I salvaged from a marks work wearhouse refurb - free. Used some clear totes 24"x30"x6" w/lids, bought at yardsale for $1.00 each. Total cost ~ $35.00. It's still driveable.

Richard

 

[raf0419]

I must say this thread came at the right time. I was just trying to do some organizing in the shop yesterday. I have a "system" of cubbies, drawers, jars and boxes that just doesn't cut it anymore. I must have stared at hardware, plumbing, and electrical supplies for 15min before I decided to just sleep on it. Thank you gentlemen for the great ideas. I'm really digging the fatmax concept. I'm now wondering if I could do something with a modular approach. Basically use Plano boxes or something similar to organize, then slide the needed ones into a portable unit as needed. Looking forward to hearing more ideas!


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[hachi-roku_fan]

I like storing most of my non-hardware stock in Rubbermaid bins. I use 4 different sizes depending on the size of the pieces.
My smaller parts end up in tackle trays. regular thickness for screws and similar sized stuff and the deep ones for bulkier items like eye bolts, black pipe fittings (1/2" and under) etc.

Did you build those hanging shelves or is it a kit from somewhere?

 

[MushCreek]

Looks like unistrut and threaded rod. They sell both in the electrical department of the big box stores, or from a supplier. Just make sure the top piece is REALLY secured to the ceiling framing!

 

[FloydShine]

I agree with you regarding the use of file cabinets! You can store a lot of parts etc. in them, and most importantly, items will stay relatively clean. Putting them on casters really helps out when you drop something behind that heavy full cabinet too!

 

[reader2580]

I have a lot of the 18 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck bins. I have two problems with them. One is there is no good way to really know what is in each one. The second is they are so tall that they end up with layers of stuff in them and then you can never find anything in them. I think going with the shorter Roughneck bins that are half as tall is the way to go if you want to use them.

I had never seen the Roughneck clear bins before. I wonder if they are more flexible and less brittle than the standard clear bins? Most clear bins break so easily, particularly in below freezing weather.

 

[Wizzard]

I've resorted to storing what I can on the walls. I now see empty wall space as more floor space.

 

[NUTTSGT]

There's the normal nut and bolt bins.Then there's larger bins I bought from TSC when they redid their fasteners, they hold a wide array of misc stuff, plumbing, electrical and whatever home repair stuff. I also built some wood boxes are like drawers, for construction type fasteners.

 

[Ainsley]

Did you build those hanging shelves or is it a kit from somewhere?

Looks like unistrut and threaded rod. They sell both in the electrical department of the big box stores, or from a supplier. Just make sure the top piece is REALLY secured to the ceiling framing!

Mush is correct, the frames are made out of unistrut. If you look in my journal I have some photos of making up the frames. I welded mine but you can buy fittings that allow you to simply bolt it together.

 

[Kaizen]

I break my stuff up into job type....so plumbing, electrical, hardware, paint, etc.
The plumbing I just organized last year into three items. I used this for specific tools for plumbing and supplies like hangers, pvc cement, etc. http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-22-in-Pro-Tool-Box-in-Black-222570/205440481?N=5yc1vZc22a
The plumbing pvc pieces I put in a plastic lid storage container next to the one for elec boxes/switches and another one for misc hardware and paint stuff like buckets and dropclothes
Then I used a suitcase type with a clear lid for all the fittings like this one. I had a lot of copper and pex fittings that I filled this thing to the rim with. http://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-10-Compartment-Deep-Pro-Organizer-DWST14825/203367153?N=5yc1vZc28p
Took some money but well worth the effort. Now I keep both of these in my cellar where most of the plumbing would take place.

 

[92GreenYJ]

I like those small clear plastic shoeboxes. You can get them for like a buck a piece with lids damn near anywhere. They are eat for the smaller stuff. I use them for plumbing fittings, air fittings, electrical (12volt) switches, relays, etc. have them clearly labeled and stacked on shelves under my workbench. Larger stuff like car parts I shelve is if won't fit into a bin. Use old cat litter buckets for steel remnants and drops on shelving in my side alley.

 

[FunkyfullWidth]

Old picture, but get one of these.



I store nuts, bolts, air line fittings, plumbing fittings, grinding wheels, lug nuts, studs, different axle lock out parts, some bearings, etc... whatever fits. Bigger things get storage totes.

I've been trying to think of more clever ways to hold lengths of air line, garden hoses, brake lines... I keep just about everything unless it's disintegrating. Old radiator hoses are good vacuum extensions for weird places. Gotta keep those. Oh boy, I need a bigger building..

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

Clear plastic tubs so you can see what is inside them, but not huge things that get buried. I prefer shoe box sizes boxes for electrical, plumbing, etc. You can fit a lot of those on the 2' deep shelves I built in my shed, and still be able to find what you want readily.

 

[404]

Cut off 2L soda bottles in filing cabinets. It's not so much the cash value of the parts as it is the time lost driving out and dealing with road rage soccer moms, parking at the store, blah blah..all that extra stress and BS can kill you. Most shopping trips take 45 min to an hour.

 

[dbabicky]

I have a couple of the Lista cabinets I use for such items. (got them for free from the foundry I used to work at)