Quick note: for now we’re mostly dealing with heavy rain and some wind gusts from Hurricane Sandy. Conditions are expected to worsen later today and tomorrow, so we may be without power for a while. We’ll post remotely when possible. Stay safe and dry!
Since pegboards have become my new obsession, of course I had to write another basement organization post that features them — along with a few other solutions for containing screws, nails, and small hardware.
Here’s how I made the basement feel useful again after a recent yard sale, a Bagster pickup, and some yard tool organization.
Next up on the to-do list were our regular hand tools. After years of keeping tools in odd places like kitchen drawers, we decided to consolidate most of them in the basement workshop. We’ll keep duplicates of a few frequently used items — hammers, nails, and caulk — in the sunroom for quick access, but having the majority of our tools neatly hung and stored in one place is worth the occasional trip downstairs.
We began by bringing everything down — drawers, a toolbox, and loose tools — and laying it out so I could sort and categorize. Forgive the mediocre phone photos; Sherry had the camera with her for another project.
First I spread the tools out on the work table to see what we had and figure out categories.
Sorting turned into a little trip down memory lane. I found remnants of past projects, like old kitchen knobs and the clothespin chandelier we once made.
There were plenty of familiar faces among the tools, too. I came across my Boy Scout pocket knife from my Papa and the first set of screwdrivers my dad gave me in high school. The small toolbox he gave me has traveled with me through college and a move to New York — and it still has a photo taped inside by my dad, which is one reason I’ve kept it.
Enough nostalgia — on to the pegboard. After a couple of hours and a quick run to the hardware store for hook sets, the tools were finally where they should be: orderly and ready.
Here are a few closer shots for anyone who, like me, enjoys staring at a well-stocked pegboard.
We didn’t hang everything. Paint and craft supplies — glue gun, staple gun, and similar items — stayed upstairs in the sunroom along with picture nails, anchors, a hammer, and caulk since those get used more around the house. Project-specific tools went into the toolbox so I know where to look for plumbing or electrical supplies.
I could look at the pegboard all day, but there was still a drawer full of mixed screws, nails, and hardware that needed attention.
I used a simple sorting method: spread everything out, group similar items, and place each group into jars. I already had a collection of mason jars from another project, and Sherry had spray-painted the lids a nice midnight blue — a happy bonus.
For the smallest pieces I picked up a few half-pint jars on sale. Once everything found a jar to call home, I added labels to make items easy to identify.
I placed the labeled jars on a shelf above the work surface that the previous owner had built. The shelf spacing is larger than ideal for these jars, but it works well enough and saves a rebuild.
For labels I used 1.5 x 1.5″ Avery squares and hand-wrote the contents. I debated printing them but decided handwriting would be easier to maintain over time.
Eventually I plan to paint the pegboards and stain that shelf and the built-in work table to tie the space together and give it a more finished, workshop feel. I’m trying to be practical about upgrades, though, so I’m skipping outlining each tool on the pegboard — that would be a hassle to redo whenever a tool moves. Sherry suggested chalk outlines, but we dismissed that because of the dust.
I was glad to see the sunroom drawers looking less cluttered after moving things downstairs. Keeping frequently used items upstairs and the rest in the workshop has already made finding tools easier.
One project still on the list is taming the wall of paint, spray paint, and buckets — that will be a separate effort. For now, the pegboard and labeled jars have made the basement far more organized and functional.
Do you have a pegboard obsession too? Are you planning paint and stain updates in your workshop? Deciding which tools belong upstairs versus in a basement or garage gets easier once you think about where you actually use them. Once we mapped that out, committing to a home for each tool felt natural.
P.S. We finally posted our apple-picking photos on Young House Life. Spoiler: Clara was thrilled to discover a caterpillar.