There’s nothing worse than needing to use a specific tool for your DIY project only to discover that you’ve got no idea where it is. You could have sworn you left it in this corner of your workshop. Or perhaps it was near that pile of miscellaneous junk on the other side? Nope, it’s no good. You’re going to have to completely turn your workshop upside down to find it.
Is that a scene that’s all too familiar? Then it’s time to try and get your tools organized so that you can confidently reach for your hammer the next time you need it instead of wasting precious time hunting it down.
There are several different ways that you can organize your tools in your workshop. The only thing that will be limiting you is the amount of space you have available.
Today, we’re going to be looking at how to organize tools on a shelf so that you can easily find them when you need them.
What is the best way to organize tools?
Of course, the best way to organize your tools is to ensure that everything has a place. Chances are that you will also have your own preferred method of organization. Where you place your tools on your shelf will be determined by their function. Depending on the tools that you need to organize, you may need a smaller or larger space.
We’ve put together a list of the best storage solutions to help you find the ideal way to organize your tools on your shelf or in your workshop in general.
Use Zoning
One of the best ways to organize the tools on your shelf is to create zones for all of the different tools you own. Before you even start to organize your tools, create an inventory of all the ones you own. Now that you’ve got a better idea of the tools in your possession, you can start to organize them into different categories.
You will want to group all of your power tools together, all of your smaller hand tools together, and so on and so forth. Now you can create the zones in your workshop, and use some of the methods we’ve mentioned below to help you store everything in the right place. You can use cabinets, shelving, pegboards, or whichever method best suits your workshop.
It’s best to make the most of your available space when it comes to placing the shelving or other tool storing methods, too.
Shelving
Instead of having all your tools dumped around the place, you should make use of a good quality set of storage shelves. These should be one of your first options when it comes to kitting out your shed with storage solutions. You may even have an old set of storage shelves lurking around your home that you don’t need anymore that you can use.
Shelving can be freestanding, or it can also be fixed to any beams in your workshop. Once you’ve got your shelving in place, you can make use of the zoning method we’ve mentioned above.
You should think smart when it comes to placing your tools on the shelves. Place the everyday tools that you use most frequently on the middle shelves where you can see them and reach them easily.
Any heavier tools or equipment should be stored away on the bottom shelves. This will help to prevent any accidents in case they fall off the shelves as you move things around. Tools which are used less frequently or tend to be more seasonal can be stored on the top of your shelves.
Create a Tool Wall
Not a fan of the shelving idea? Then why not create a classic tool wall to help you organize your tools instead! This should be a much easier process to use once you’ve zoned all of your tools, too.
Once you’ve organized all of your tools into certain categories, you can start grouping them together on your workshop wall. You can use brackets, hooks, or nails to help you secure them to the wall.
When you’re happy with the placement of each tool, you can then use a pen to draw around your tools. This should then help you to remember where exactly your tools are meant to go when you take several of them off the wall for a DIY job. It can also help you quickly identify which tools are missing!
Hooks
Hooks are a great way to make the most of your available space. Especially when it comes to smaller tools such as secateurs and trowels. Most types of hooks are fairly inexpensive, as well as super easy to install around your workshop.
For most hooks, you won’t even need to drill into anything. You can easily hook them over any shelving, window frames, or palettes that you have in your workshop. Another great thing about hooks is that they can easily be moved if you need to move things around in your workshop.
Larger hooks can be used for larger tools, and these should be easy to install. Depending on the size of your hooks or the tools you need to support, you may need to screw them into the wall or ceiling of your workshop.
Magnets
Using magnets is a popular organization method in the kitchen when it comes to keeping all of your cooking utensils in one place. So why not adopt the method for your tools? A magnetic tool holder can help store all of your metal tools such as hammers, screwdrivers, pliers, and more.
You can even use a magnetic tool holder to store all of your paint brushes. This will ensure that the bristles don’t get squashed as they can do when paint brushes are stored in boxes. It also allows your paint brushes to dry out properly once you’ve cleaned them.
Racks for Larger Tools
Your larger tools such as shovels, rakes, and forks are a little trickier to handle. These can’t be easily placed on a traditional shelf, and mostly tend to be leaned against shelving.
To save them from getting in the way, you can search for a specific tool rack to keep them all in one place. This is also a great way to maximize your space, as you won’t have a bunch of long handled tools cluttering the area. You can easily reach for the tool you need, too.
You can create your own long handled tool rack using an old pallet or a piece of plywood that has slots in it. Attach this securely to the wall, and you can slot your long handled tools in between the slats. If you have a smaller workspace, you can attach a rack to the back of your door for you to hang these longer handled tools on.
Upcycle Old Furniture
Have any old cupboards hanging around your home that rarely get used anymore? You can upcycle them to use in your workshop. This will be a great way of saving yourself money, as you won’t have to buy brand new shelving.
You can even use things such as mason jars or jelly jars to keep hold of screws and any other smaller bits and bobs which could get easily lost.
Use Ceiling Space
If your space is on the smaller side, you can think about how to maximize it using the ceiling space. There are some tools that you can hang up from hooks along your ceiling. Or you can install a long pole such as a curtain rail, which can be used to hang your tools from.
Once you’ve used our zoning method as we’ve mentioned above, this should make it easier to decide what tools need to be placed where. This means you can make the best use of your ceiling space so that you can make the most of other areas in your workshop.
You can even convert plywood boards to make the most of the ceiling space. This will allow you to store away less used tools until you need them. It can also help to save on your valuable floor space.
Use a Pegboard
Another great method for organizing your tools in your workshop is to use a pegboard. This is a more flexible method than simply attaching brackets and nails to your wall, as you can easily move the nails around the pegboard to suit newer placements of your tools. You can also better adapt the storage method as you add to your tool collection.
Pegboard is also a fairly cheap method compared to buying new shelving that you might not necessarily be able to afford. You can easily fix pegboard to your workshop walls or even the spare areas of your shelving units.
If you want to get really clever about things, you can create a cupboard using a pegboard. Not only can you then use the front of the pegboard for storing all of your hand tools, but you can also use the space you’ve now created to store any larger tools out of the way.
How do you store tools in a small space?
It’s all well and good talking about installing all this fantastic shelving and racks in your workshop so that you can better organize your tools, but what if you haven’t got a lot of space? Then you will have to think smart about how you use the space you’ve got. If you haven’t got a lot of floor space available, you will need to make use of your vertical space.
Shelving
Shelving is of course the best way to do this. Make sure that you measure your space before you place any shelving in it. This will tell you how much room you have to play with. You can choose the best set of shelving that uses the free floor space without having to compromise on absolutely all of the floor space in your workshop.
Next, you should choose shelving that will take advantage of any height your space has. You can then store all of your tools on these shelves according to the methods we’ve mentioned above. Lesser used tools on the top, more frequently used tools in the middle, and heavy tools on the bottom shelves.
If you can’t fit any traditional shelving into your small space, you can look into using a transportable tower stack. These are essentially tool boxes that can be stacked on top of one another. These should also allow you to organize them so that you’ve got all of the necessary tools kept in one place.
Use Your Door
Don’t have room for tons of racks as well as your shelving? You can use the back of your workshop door to hang up any longer tools. This shouldn’t get in your way when you need to use your workshop, either. You can attach your tools to the back of the door using hooks or brackets.
Depending on how many long handled tools you have, you may need to pick and choose which ones you want to hang on the back of your door.
Ceiling Space
As we’ve already mentioned above, making use of your ceiling space is a great way to maximize your available storage in a smaller workshop. You can install a plywood shelf or just use the eaves to help you store away anything that is best suited to this space. You should measure the ceiling space that you have available to see how you can best use it to your advantage.
It’s probably best to avoid storing any heavy equipment up there, though. It’s best not to risk anything heavy accidentally falling down and hitting you in the head!
Wall Space
If you can’t fit shelving into your smaller space, you can try and adapt the walls to suit your needs. Why not try applying baskets or plastic containers to the walls so you can pop any hand tools in them? This open concept storage is often preferred by many over cupboards as all of your tools are within easy reach.
You can secure the baskets or containers using a power drill, or you can opt for a slatted wall system. This should allow you to slide the baskets or containers onto the wall just where you need them. You can also pack more tools per square foot using this method instead of using cupboards. That’s definitely a plus if your workshop or other storage space is on the smaller side!
In Summary
There’s no need to get frustrated looking for a certain tool ever again. With the methods we’ve discussed in more detail above, you should be able to easily keep all of your tools in the right place. You’ll be able to reach for the correct tool just when you need it most so you can get on with the job at hand!
Of course, you should make use of our zoning method before you start to organize your workshop. It will also be a good idea to measure the space you have available before you place anything in your workshop, as it will give you a better idea of how much space you have to play with.
We hope that you now have a better idea of how to organize your tools both on your shelf, as well as in your workshop in general!
