Organizing nails, screws, etc

S

Shann

Joined
Sep 2, 2004
Messages
5,247
Does anybody else do this? I spent a whole morning going through coffee cans of old nuts, bolts screws and nails to get them (mostly) organized. I will never use 99% of them. (I have no idea how I've accumulated hundreds of tiny chrome screws-I honestly don't ever remember using them). When I hire a contractor to do some work they always need something different, so its not like they will use them either.

My wife pointed out that if I recycled all of them and we bought what few we need over the next 20 years as we go, it probably would be like 20 bucks and we'd save a whole shelf of space in the barn..

But that's not the point. Right guys? Right?
 
I use various bits from my supply frequently.

I had a can full of nuts/bolts/screws/washers. I had also collected a lot of small glass jars (sold with pimentos I think). One winder I spread my stuff out on a table and sorted into piles of screws, bolts, nuts, etc. Then I sorted each pile into multiple piles roughly by approximate size. I painted the jar lids all silver then labeled them such as "nuts 1", "nuts 2", etc. and put each pile of different size hardware into its own jar. When I need something I can pull out a jar and look through it to see if it is close to what I need. If not then I go to the next jar. When I find a jar of interest I dump it out in a bowl and dig through it to find what I need. Well 10 years later I had a lot more hardware saved up. I didn't want to go through the entire sorting again but I did sort all of it by category- nuts, bolts, screws, etc. Then I put each pile into a thick ziplock back and put in a drawer. I can dump out a quart bag into a bowl and dig through it fairly easily, not as easily as the segregated hardware in a glass jar. Last Christmas I noticed that my wife was throwing out some metal tins that cookies came in so I grabbed them. One now holds my bolts and one holds my screws. It is easy to pull off the big lid and dig through the contents without having to dump any of it out.

During my sorting I had some other smaller categories that got their own bag, such as inserts for attaching things to hollow walls, leftover bits from assembling knocked-down furniture, electrical bits, etc.

Saving hardware is what people with packrat personalities do. I had a friend that did his own projects at home but didn't save anything. He figured when he needed new hardware he would go to the store and buy exactly what he needed rather than spend time saving hardware and going through it searching for what he needed. I can see the point of this except that when I'm doing an impromptu project I don't want to have to stop to go to the store.
 
I sort screws and nuts by diameter and thread pitch and put them in drawers with separate compartments. This has saved me many trips to the hardware store, and I do not have to stop working on a project on nights or weekends. Many of the screws used for knife modification or repair are hard to find at the local hardware. Same with bicycle screws and nuts, especially if you want stainless steel fasteners. I order the funny stuff ahead and throw it in with my other presorted stuff. I also have bolt cutters which can shorten screws without bollixing up the thread.
I also have taps and dies that I can use to make custom fasteners.View attachment 760999View attachment 761000
 
Back in HS Shop I had extra time [I work fast ! ] so I could do a project on my own. So I made a sheet metal box that held 18 small drawers , cut , bent , soldered -- still being used !!
 
I just use old plastic peanut butter jars and such. If they're not clear for instant recognition, I don't want em. I'll put deck type screw jars in one box, nail type jars in another box. Nuts, bolts and washers in another box. I have a box for plumbing parts and another for electrical.
I don't get too fancy or organized. I might have to look thru 7-9 jars to find what I need but hey....it works for me and I can tell if I'm getting low on say, 2" deck screws.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 555
Screw the lids of baby food or jelly jars to a joist or shelf above the work bench.

169311.jpg


7c3d4eb6174ad5bdc0fa536d03b6b3cd--organizing-ideas-garage-organization.jpg
 
Lots of good stuff here. I had a couple plastic bins with lots of dividers that held most of it. I also picked up in a free pile a bunch of clear plastic canisters that will work pretty good.
 
tiguy7 said:
View attachment 761961 I bought this at a flea market for a buck, and it was full of stuff.
Click to expand...

This is the ultimate. I place this at a Level 10. I place mine at around 4 or 5. I couldn't use glass when putting them in boxes or buckets. Also, I didn't take the time to mount them. I think a retired person or somebody with aLOT of time on their hands did that.
If you made one of those, your wife would have reasons for divorce. :eek:
 
I went through my garage last week and threw away 90% of the random screws, nuts, bolts, washers, hinges, fasteners ect. I've always been a "I might need this one day" guy, I kept what I have used within the last couple of years and got rid of the rest. To be honest it feels good.
 
3fifty7 said:
I went through my garage last week and threw away 90% of the random screws, nuts, bolts, washers, hinges, fasteners ect. I've always been a "I might need this one day" guy, I kept what I have used within the last couple of years and got rid of the rest. To be honest it feels good.
Click to expand...

I've been tempted to do this myself. What keeps from doing that, is 1 the drive to town to get the odd thing adds up in time and fuel, 2 what is sold as hardware and fasteners these days, so much of it is junk being sold in town, that I have a higher quality stock in the shop.
 
Kootaga13 said:
I just use old plastic peanut butter jars and such. If they're not clear for instant recognition, I don't want em. I'll put deck type screw jars in one box, nail type jars in another box. Nuts, bolts and washers in another box. I have a box for plumbing parts and another for electrical.
I don't get too fancy or organized. I might have to look thru 7-9 jars to find what I need but hey....it works for me and I can tell if I'm getting low on say, 2" deck screws.
Click to expand...

I do the same thing, you have to stay with it to make it work and I find the Cold of Winter is the best time to sort the in house hardware store and to put it in order.

I try to fine tune it more, flat vs lock washers, hex vs stove bolts, lags vs drywall vs wood vs sheet metal screws, etc.
 
555 said:
I do the same thing, you have to stay with it to make it work and I find the Cold of Winter is the best time to sort the in house hardware store and to put it in order.

I try to fine tune it more, flat vs lock washers, hex vs stove bolts, lags vs drywall vs wood vs sheet metal screws, etc.
Click to expand...

Bingo! Winter time is a time for aLOT of things like this. A time to get organized. Mainly, a time to reset.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 555
3fifty7 said:
I went through my garage last week and threw away 90% of the random screws, nuts, bolts, washers, hinges, fasteners ect. I've always been a "I might need this one day" guy, I kept what I have used within the last couple of years and got rid of the rest. To be honest it feels good.
Click to expand...
I don't keep aLOT of random stuff. But I do have a plumbing box. An electrical box with spare outlets and switches. They do go bad.
Mainly I keep things I have aLOT of. Like I said earlier. 3 inch deck screws or 4 inch galvanized eye bolts.
 
I keep stuff I use for work pretty organized, but the miscl bolts and nuts eventually get dumped in a coffee can or similar. I seldom can find what I need at home and I end up buying new. I could probably trash all the odds and ends and be just fine with it.

My Dad did the jar with lid screwed into something approach. He seldom ever dug anything out of those jars.
 
Another hardware hoarder here, guilty as charged. Always afraid of needing that one clip, pin, nut or bolt and having to drives miles just to get one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top