21 Top Tool Storage Tips, Tricks and Ideas | Family Handyman

By Andrew Zoellner

Updated on Apr. 28, 2023

DIYers tend to accumulate all kinds of tools for all kinds of projects. The key to staying efficient, though, is to make sure you always have the right tools at hand. Check out these ideas to make sure you keep your tools organized!

Here's a smart way to keep a vise or small bench-top tool right at your fingertips without cluttering your workbench: Build this slide-in base and mount the vise or tool on it so the entire unit can slide back in upside down and out of the way. Countersink holes into the underside of the base so you can recess the mounting nuts and washers.

Find a bare spot on a wall or workbench and screw on a 2-ft. piece of 2-in.-wide, slotted angle iron available at home centers. It's the perfect hangout for screwdrivers, bits, safety glasses and sanding drums.

My wife has a drawer full of old eyeglass cases that she doesn't use anymore, so I repurposed them to store small things like drill bits and screws. I stick a case in my shirt pocket when I'm working and toss it into a toolbox when I'm done. It's much easier than digging around for small stuff in the bottom of my tool apron.

- Norm Smith

Keep all your hand tools within easy reach in a portable 16-in. pine carton. Build one from a 1x8 x 12-ft. pine board, 1/4-in. plywood and a 3/4-in. oak dowel, and you'll never run back to the garage for a bit, blade, wrench or nail. Here's how:

That's it—load it up and tote your tools with just one hand!

Organize your paint brushes, scrapers, roller frames, rags and paint cans with this shelf made from two 1x8 boards screwed together and reinforced with metal shelf brackets. We built ours 38 in. long to fit three brackets of sliding spring grips that we mounted under the shelf for tool storage. Build and attach this shelf to a shop or basement wall, and you'll enforce orderly storage on all your far-flung painting paraphernalia.

Drop this nifty rack in a deep tool chest drawer and fit more pliers and wrenches in less space by storing them on their side. The Lisle No. 404090 storage rack holds up to 13 tools and has two different size slots.

Vinyl rain gutters make great storage shelves for long, thin items such as molding, light lumber, pipe and certain tools. Simply screw the wraparound support bracket to each stud and snap the gutter in place.

Turn any closet into a useful hang-up storage space by adding S-hooks to wire shelving. This provides tidy storage for mops, brooms and other cleaning tools.