Oh those things...paint stir sticks, bolts, screws, washer, nails, caulk, string, chain, tapes, glue, oils, wire, parts of this and pieces of that.

It is handy to have things you need on hand but how do you organize all that? Do you have any tips for all the "stuff" in the garage that are for maintenance and repair of items?

Lots of little containers, or empty glass jars. We had picked up some little parts bins for nuts and bolts. They do go in a "holder" but we never had that. They are open at the top and stack. The front is slightly angled so you can see what's in one when there is another on top of it.

I hope that makes sense! I bet they are more popular these days.

There are also small cabinets (you can carry them) that will have 4-5 drawers and each drawer has a ton of little compartments in it. Sort of like a jewelery box for parts. I see them more with electricians. The cool thing is that they can sit on a shelf or workbench and not take up much room, but they hold tons of little things.

My other suggestion is to inventory everything! (or have the client do it)

We did the cheap, easy, old fashioned garage org. using wall space. 1st installed a shelf using 'L' brackets [grateful for battery op screw driver so I can do tasks myself, not waiting for others to 'get around to it]. Gathered up a dozen baby food jars from younger colleagues/neighbors and first used white glue [at hand] to hold lids in place. Step 2, used a washer + screw to permanently affix lids to the underside of the shelf, filled jars with supplies creating 'kits' like picture hooks, wire, eyes for example. Just unscrewing a jar gives me supplies for a specific project. The shelf holds glue, cone of string, and new project materials.

Paint supplies/support gear in a (brand name) type plastic bin holding drop cloths, brushes,rollers, refills, painter's tape, sandpaper blocks, spackle, paint thinner, stir sticks, paint lid opener & gizmos. The whole bin can go to the work site and clean up puts everything back so the bin returns to the garage ready for the next project. I've given up on cleaning and re-using brushes except for the expensive angle brush.

We also have a plastic part holder which hangs on the wall with 24 drawers which hold bigger nails, bolts, parts for this and that etc. I've found it very helpful to use 'jewelry' sized zip bags to hold small screws or left over parts. Tools are in a canvas 'gizmo' that fit over a regular kitchen type bucket. It has a total of 20 or 30 'pockets' for tools, extension cord, octopus, even subdivided for the different types of screw drivers & pliers. Its best feature is that you take the entire bucket to the project site and have what you need, where you need it, when you need it!

(Sorry, I had to edit out the brand name as we are not allowed to mention them.)

Diane, a suggestion for the bins you don't have a holder for....think college entertainment centers of the 70's and 80's....

cinder blocks supporting 2 by 4's. You could also mount 2 by 4's to the wall and line them on on that.

As far as storing the little things, I love the multi drawer table top holders that have holes in the back so they can also be mounted on walls.

Original home owner of my house put up shelving all around the upper level that now holds the storm windows/screens when not in use, the Christmas tree and anything else that gets seldom use. I was also fortunate enough to inherit a workbench, homemade from pipes with a butcher block top, lots of easy pull out drawers and a peg board over it. I just had to buy some hooks for the board. Now it holds extra things in easy view and not piling up anywhere.

Although not perfect by any stretch, it works til I can get out there when the weather warms up. I am also fortunate enough that I have an 8 by 12 shed to hold all the yard tools and mower.