Don't be this guy

   / Don't be this guy #41  
My father always used to say: having spare or good used parts is like having a knife in your pocket at all times...you never know when that knife will save you, especially when "Town" is 20 min away...Only keep what ain't broke, if it's broke - can you fix it? if so - fix now (or soon), if not - garbage/recycle bin. I think the worst part is nuts n bolts...when you need only 4 and go to the big box store that has packs of 3 and the cost of 2 packs is just a little under that 25 count package...always go for the 25 ct and end up with way too many extra....
 
   / Don't be this guy #42  
My father always used to say: having spare or good used parts is like having a knife in your pocket at all times...you never know when that knife will save you, especially when "Town" is 20 min away...Only keep what ain't broke, if it's broke - can you fix it? if so - fix now (or soon), if not - garbage/recycle bin. I think the worst part is nuts n bolts...when you need only 4 and go to the big box store that has packs of 3 and the cost of 2 packs is just a little under that 25 count package...always go for the 25 ct and end up with way too many extra....
I hear ya on the hardware, then again "next time" you'll have it.
As far as the "gonna fix someday" stuff, yeah that's a weakness I have. I will say this winter I've tackled a bunch of it (mostly audio equipment). Now what to do with it now that it's fixed... 🙃
 
   / Don't be this guy #43  
peanut containers (for fasteners), cool glass containers, wood of any kind, metal I can cut something out of or cut up to make something, drywall, foam/insulation, nails and screws, copper/brass bits, rocks, cinder blocks, bricks, plants.

Wow! I am that guy.
 
   / Don't be this guy #44  
Yup bits and pieces from several projects. However my biggest vice is I'm a tool junkie. Got tool that don't even know what they do. Picked up power tools that haven't been used. Ya never know when you may need a "biscuit joiner". Picked up at garage sale (never used) $2.00.
So what's the oddest tool that made its way into your hoarder cave? Have more examples but can't find them or remember where I stored them. I don't use shelves any more not enough space. Graduated to the "pile system". Motorcycle parts in one pile. Auto parts. Farm/garden equipment.. you get the picture...
 
   / Don't be this guy #45  
Here's a tip. Select an empty peanut butter jar and label it ¼, ½, etc. for your bolts. When it gets full, they start going in the trash.
 
   / Don't be this guy #46  
Here's a tip. Select an empty peanut butter jar and label it ¼, ½, etc. for your bolts. When it gets full, they start going in the trash.
Maybe 25 years ago I scrounged a couple steel parts drawer cabinets that were being tossed at work. Maybe 30 drawers total, 2" x 4" by about a foot deep. That's where my hardware goes.

+1 on the peanut butter jars, I use them for hardware I'm likely to need outside of my shop...drywall screws and the like. Old paint cans for nails. Spice jars for smaller stuff.
 
   / Don't be this guy #47  
I access one of my properties via an easement across the neighbors' place. It drives me crazy that they are so junky. They never go to the dump but rather toss their junk in piles in the old pasture. That being said, I've salvaged a lot of good stuff from those piles!
 
   / Don't be this guy #48  
I'm a real believer in organized parts and fasteners in my shop. 30 years ago when I built the shop, one of the first things I bought for it was a set of bolt bins. I had three over the road semis at the time, so I was always in need of bolls and fasteners. I have 1/4" to 5/8" in NF and 1/4" to 3/4" in UNC, plus a large assortment of machine screws. I also have a LOT of brass air line fittings and a fair assortment of small iron pipe fittings. A few years ago I started organizing other small parts into plastic organizer trays, Plano #23700's with up to 24 compartments. I have over 40 of them now, most of them in wood shelf units that each hold 10 of them, that are mounted on the walls. Electrical connectors of all types fill 6 or 7 of them.
Now when I'm working on a project, I most likely have any fastener, fitting or electrical connector I will need and not have to run after or order it.
 

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