This might be better served for an Off-Topic forum, so if so - I'm more than happy to move it (I did search but couldn't find a garage-specific forum).

I'm starting to collect more and sockets (such as here and here), and I'm starting to find that tools are starting to collect all over the house, garage, office, kitchen, etc.

What do you all use to keep things organized? For the moment, I'm keeping the sets attached to the packaging that they came in / were attached to, but that's going to create more consolidated piles of stuff around the house.

 

I have two cheapie Craftsman 5-drawer units that fit under my workbench for long-term storage. For many years I coveted the big honking roller chests, until I spent enough time watching Greg Brown working in his native environment. He has a bajillion dollars worth of tools, and an enormous Snap-On roller.

However, what he actually uses day-to-day is an ancient, tiny (maybe 24x 18") roller cart with three drawers and a side rack that holds a couple of screwdrivers, a pry bar, and a flex head 1/2" ratchet with a 27 mm socket for turning motors.

You want something mobile, rolled right next to where you're working.

So following that example, I got one of the 4-drawer HF roller carts on sale for $120, about $30 in socket trays (made by Hansen), and an add-on Sunex screwdriver shelf on the side. $200 or so, all in, and it'll hold most everything one needs to more or less disassemble a 928 and put it back together:

 

Thanks, Rob. I, too, was gravitating in my mind to the big honking 73-drawer storage cabinet, so I'm glad I posted.

Is this the HF Roller that you are referring to?

 

The very same. Often combinable with an in-store $30 off coupon.

The screwdriver holder is a Sunex piece- it's gotten a little more expensive than I recall, but it's a good fit on the HF cart:

 

I also use a tool cart similar to the one Rob posted. It has the essentially all of tools that I use 95% of the time, and my specialty tools are kept in the cabinets. It makes for quick and easy access to the tools I need most often, and can actually be rolled around the garage (in a practical manner) when needed. I chose cabinets over a huge rolling toolbox for specialty tools because it's my garage (I'm a hobbyist, not a professional), and cabinets (or even shelves) provide significantly more storage space for the money.

Interestingly, I also use the same style of socket organizers as pictured above. I find they offer fast access and easy to read numbers. All of mine have a section of the stem normally covered by the socket painted bright yellow; this allows me to see at a glance if I am missing any sockets. I use the same trick for my wrench trays.

 

+928 on the Harbor Freight tool cart. I have the 5 drawer.

http://www.harborfreight.com/tool-st...art-95272.html

The Hansen socket organizers are great. I am also a big fan of the Ernst socket rails:



The sockets twist on and off and are the only socket rails I have ever used that worked and are easy to use.

 

These are the socket organizer set I just received from Amazon and they work great. Also locking and can be bolted on the wall or upside down as needed.
For cabinets, I was fortunate to purchase the Home Depot ball-bearing drawers set when they had a special 2 months ago. The top goes above my bench and the lower section fits perfectly underneath it. Only $100. Well worth it.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-26-...BF16/203420937

 

H-F sells the socket rails for a buck each. They do the duty for me. Meanwhile, I have three rollaway cabs in 32-44" flavors, plus four Stanley-Vidmar shop cabinets. Two of the Vidmars are drawers for tools, two are door cabintes for tools in cases, and for supplies. New garage is soon to be fitted with steel storage cabs from Baldhead cabinets, which happen to be made locally here in central Oregon. Owner is a great guy, and moved the company from right down the street from Rob (Newport and Cosa Mesa) before Rob's garage upgrade happened.

Last, I'm impressed with the convenience of the service carts with drawers, and will likely add one at some point. I've got a few handy drawers of one of the rolers that have the "most-used" tools in them. For the times when the tool cart isn't being used though, I'd need to have a place to park it, and that's what's holding me back right now. Even with the larger "workbay" garage we have, space is the final frontier. New garage cabs will pobably happen this fall, and I'll make a decision on the fate of the existing rollers vs a service cart after I get stuff loaded into the new cabs. K is already sketching designs for the space where shop cabs will go, so I need to get after this before I loose that space forever.

Anyway-- Those socket rails pop-rivet to a backing piece or directly into a drawer bottom (recommended). Plastic silverware trays help organize other things in drawers too. I'll have to look into the srewdriver organizer that Rob shows. Right now they live in a couple random tightly packed rollaway drawers. That collection needs serious editing, but I jsut can't bring myself to sell, give or throw tools away.

I'm not a tool hoarder. I can quit any time. I'm not a tool hoarder. I can quit any time. I'm not a tool hoarder. I can quit any time.

 

I see what you did there.

 

I use these trays. Has plug in pegs so you can arrange your sockets by size. I use a total of six trays for my metric and standard, 1/4 to 1/2 inch sockets in my lined jumbo Kobalt tool 'House'. I keep the specialty/flex head sockets in their original homes. All in nicely arranged. One advantage of the Craftsman trays is that as you go up in size of a row of sockets, the 'plug and play' pegs let you spread them as there sizes get to be to wide for the initial holes. This keeps everything nice, tidy, and tight in their respective rows, and this works for me. When I'm in the 'hole' and call out for my son to grab a '10mm 1/4inch head', he knows exactly which row and where to look.

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-103-p...&mktRedirect=y

 

Brilliant!

Yep. Keep telling yourself that

 

One of these plus the roll around cart that Rob has should be enough.
http://www.harborfreight.com/tool-st...net-68784.html

They are way better than the price would indicate-

If you need more storage, get two & bolt them together & use a blank solid core door cut to size on top
That way, you will also get a workbench

 

Garagejournal.com has a significant amount of threadage dedicated to that 44-inch HF box and various ways to make them part of a workspace. The quality is good and the price is good enough for folks to buy two or more of them, and build a support framework that makes them a solid workbench base.

 

GJ is definitely a forum worth joining, or at least exploring. Lots of good ideas to be had there on shop organization and tool storage, not to mention construction, shop HVAC, wiring, etc.

 

Pretty nice socket organizer found by sorting through Garage Journal:

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...06&cat=51&ap=1