Toolbox Excitement

Not long ago now, I ordered and received a new toolbox from amazon. We had finally outgrown our old toolbox and were in desperate need of a new one.

No, that’s not quite accurate.

We had outgrown our toolbox about the day after we bought it. But it was cheap, it cost us like $15 at the time and we figured so long as we had a “box” to put our “tools” in, we’d be fine. This just wasn’t so, however. Because those of you who know me, know that I am sort of a freak about organization. Sort of a “neat freak” but without the feather duster & pen protector. The thing is, the old toolbox was really just that: a box for tools. It didn’t keep everything organized well – or at all – and thus finding what I needed for a particular job was an exercise in mental frustration.

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We shopped around at Sears, because you know that old Craftsman brand? Well, the name still rings a bit. But at this point I can honestly say it’s just a name. For $20 more than the toolbox I ended up getting, they wanted to sell me one with drawers that felt about as sturdy & reliable as Britney Spears at a frat party. Oh yeah baby, it was a rock!

Anyway. The one I got was from Homak, and it has – get this – ball bearing drawers. For $20 less than Sears’ brand. And I like it quite a bit. I feel like a dork (and probably rightfully so), but I really have been excited to be able to get my stuff organized proper, and make sure there’s a place for everything and, subsequently, everything in its place. And with a little help from Jo-Ann’s, that’s now a reality.

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The final straw with the old toolbox was that the nifty little organization containers at the top broke and wouldn’t latch. So every time you opened the top, your “stuff” in the top would end up a big mess on the floor behind you, and commingled at that (so much for organization, eh?).


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I used those containers to store and separate screws & nails (and bears, oh my!), and also some miscellaneous do-hickeys – the technical term – that you accumulate that are just too odd to really belong to anything but will be immensely useful once you throw it away. We found some containers at Jo-Ann’s that had nice dividers & fit into the drawers about perfectly. And now, I think I’m far more organized than even I felt I’d be with a toolbox. The only thing left is to devise some dividers for the other drawers to keep the tools in place a little more securely.


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Actually, that’s not quite accurate.

I’ve already devised something that I think will work, I just need to get to ordering the few things I need to make it, and get to it. What’s the trick? Well, it’s about the same as the magic trick you see before you; how I get those scissors to defy gravity in the picture: Strong-as-hell magnets. I’m going to use some more of those, and glue/attach some dowels to the top of them. Stick them in the drawers where I want them, they ought to keep things well-divided and organized.

Yes, I’m a dork. I know I shouldn’t have a blog about a damned toolbox. I shouldn’t be excited about putting nuts & screws away neatly. But I am.

I’m OK with that.