I have a few containers in my garage filled with a mixture of different sizes of screws, washers, nails, bolts, and other types of metal fasteners. Whenever I find myself needing one of these items, I dig through a container hoping to find something that will work. Sometimes I will grab several items that are close in size and take them with me to my repair project.

One afternoon I visited an older neighbor and I told him of a woodworking idea I was thinking about. He invited me down to his workshop in his basement. 😮 I walked into an ideal 5S scenario. He had his tools neatly hung on the wall; he had his drawers labeled and organized; and, he had jars and jars of bolts and screws all segmented into their size and length. It was like walking into a hardware store! If I needed a #5 x 3/4 in. Phillips Oval Head Zinc Plated Wood Screw, he had a full jar of them. I wanted to borrow his jigsaw. He had two different ones. Which did I want? Then he pulls open a drawer and hands me an array of blades to use. I left there somewhat embarrassed at how organized he was versus my tool chest just stuffed with various screwdrivers, hammers, pliers, etc.

This isn't a picture of his workshop but you get the idea. I cannot really appreciate the patience it took to sort all of his tools and hardware and set in order. One of these days I will spend time just organizing one cabinet!