Tool Time Tuesday...What You Should Have in Your Toolbox

Hi everyone. What's today's Tool Time about?? Tools, tools and more tools!!

I've had some emails asking what types of tools would be good in a women's toolbox, so I wanted to share with you some of the tools I have in my sewing/craft room.

I love tools, I use them all the time and I have actually asked for them as gifts from my husband. Even if you don't do major work around your house, there are some basic tools that you should have.

Here is where I keep my tools now. This was an old shelf that I painted black.

Instead of having a tool box, this is like my "workbench". A girlie workbench!!

It looked like this before...it stored my craft supplies.

But I moved my craft supplies to here. Now I have them separated. Sewing and crafting on one wall and greasy dirty tools across the room on the other wall.

The craft supplies are just stored in plastic shoe box style containers I bought at Walmart for 88 cents each. I bought these boxes for years and years until I had the amount I needed. Slow and steady wins the race with organization.

Now let's break down what you can have in your toolbox too!!!

The frame above the shelf is an old post that I did a few years ago. Click HERE for the magnetic frame post and click HERE for the Solo cup post. In short, it's a piece of metal ($5.00 at Lowe's hardware store) in a frame. Then I glued magnets to the bottoms of take-out solo cups.

The solo cups hold all the little screws, nails, tacks, picture hangers, washers etc...

I use cheap buckets I bought at the store Tractor Supply to separate all the tools ($3.50 each). You can click HERE for that post on the buckets and how to make the chalkboard labels too.

I also bought another tube of french drain to store all our spray paint cans. You can click HERE to see how to use french drain for organizing. The french drain tube is 10 feet long and is only $5.00 for the entire tube.

Look for different colored spray paints in the clearance rack too...lots of great colors go in the clearance rack at Walmart.

Now onto the Tools...by the way, I may give you "my" name for them if I don't know the official name. Lol

Pliers are so important to have in your toolbox.

If I could pick 2 for you, I would say the 2 on the left...needle nose pliers and the flat top one. I also love wire cutters, but these have wire cutters built into that little circle cut out area.

 I really love these too. These are mini pliers I bought at Harbor Freight for $1.00 each. The green one on the right is the wire cutter.

The difference between the 2 orange pliers are the tips. One is curled and is great for working on jewelry.

Screwdrivers...a MUST!!

Flat head screwdrivers in different sizes.

Philips head or the star shaped screwdrivers...

and the pointy things...technical, I know. They are awls and great for poking holes in leather, plastic  etc.

If you don't have the space for a toolbox or workbench, they sell these "all-in-one" screwdriver sets.

The cover holds all the different tips. Just take one and insert it in the handle.

Flathead and Philips head all in one

Hammers...another can't live without.

There are claw hammers and framing hammers. This is a claw hammer, because of the angle of the claw. Hooks downward.

They are sold by how heavy they are...10 ounce, 14 ounce, 16 ounce etc.

This one is 16 ounces.

The claw is what rips nails out.

The little hammers that I have are great for tapping in nails, brads and tacks. Not heavy at all.

Little mini saws are great to have too. The top one I found in a yard sale for $1.00 and the red one is from Harbor Freight.

These are great to cut the french drain tubing and pvc pipes.

Retractable knives are used for easy cutting, especially cardboards, heavy duty plastics, etc.

That little switch retracts the blade for safety.

Drills. My favorite, favorite thing. I asked for this for my birthday one year.

The higher the volt number the more torque and power it has to drive in the screw or drill the hole.

7.2 is low, but still gets the job done.

12 volts is even better. The higher the number, the higher the price, so look out for sales.

These have rechargeable batteries. Just squeeze the side and the battery pops off.

The battery goes into the charging base, which is plugged into the wall.

Drill bits are endless too.

Love the flat bit to drill large holes. The number on the flat head is the size of the hole it makes...example is 1 inch.

Tip...the yellow tape is used to show how far I should drill into something.

The screwdriver bits are inter-changeable. The top 2 are magnetic to hold onto metal screws.

I store all the little things in cans.

Allen Wrenches are another must have.

It's a hexagon shaped screwdriver.

This is an all in one.

Just unfold the one you need.

This is a mitre box I bought at Harbor Freight for $8.00.

and it comes with the saw!!

place your piece of wood in the box and follow the grooves in the box to cut a perfect straight line.

angled 2 ways...

or a straight cut.

Tape measures and rulers.

Auto stop or locking tape measures are the best.

Stays open until you unlock it. Great when you are measuring something by yourself.

A metal squaring ruler is great too. This metal ruler is perfect for cutting with the blades that I mentioned before.

A level is perfect for hanging pictures.

The liquid bubble has to be in the center of the black lines to be level.

Clamps are a necessity for holding things together when gluing. 

They will also clamp things to a table if you need an extra hand when drilling or cutting.

Sandpaper comes in different grits numbering the coarseness. The lower the number the grittier it is. The higher numbers are finer.

When sanding something, you start with the coarse grit and finish with the finer grit.

Wire is determined by the gauge. The lower the number the thicker the wire. The higher number is a very thin wire.

Tape is important in your toolbox too...

Duct tape, painter's tape, electrical tape and packing tape.

Now where to put it all.

This is a canvas craft bag. Cute and polka dot!!

An old fashioned wooden toolbox if you want to be classic and vintage.

You can also use a 5 gallon paint bucket with a canvas insert.

The buckets at home depot are $2.87 and the inserts are different prices depending on where you get them.

Pockets are on the outside and the inside and you still have the whole bucket for larger things.

Click HERE for my "bucket list" post about different uses for buckets.

Don't forget your 79 cent apron too!! Home Depot is definitely NOT paying me to say this...I just love cheap useful things and you can't beat 77 cents!! You can click HERE to re-make this apron to a girlie apron.

Now to add a little personal touch...

An old wooden vintage expandable ruler holds a picture of my girlies. I actually call them my girlies, so they'll laugh when they see this.

Add a curled wire to a vintage oil can to hold another picture...the best hubby ever!!

I think that just about covers the "tool" in Tool Time Tuesdays...hope it was helpful!!!


Have a great day,
~Karen~