Top Shop Tips

[Ron P.]

My Wife eats a lot of peanut butter (18 oz plastic jars).  I have a label maker I use to lable the jar, IDing the contents.  They reside in a wall cabinet for all to see.

[dwhatley2]

In addition to keeping all manner of glass and plastic jars and containers, I also keep the lids from aeresol cans.  They come in handy for storage as well as support for smaller pieces.

[Vibart2]

I used to think broken glass na won't happen to me after the 3rd broken baby food jar all glass left my shop. I will agree to the plastic coffee cans & other plastic containers & old style metal coffee cans. I went to Copeland lumber yard before they closed & got a 4' x4' pallet with 4' deep sides filled with plastic parts drawers that they had used in the store. They got shared with friends.

[Warped and Twisted]

I too used to use jars. Now after dropping, breaking, and cleaning up some real messes I now only use plastic containers.

[drjerry1351400]

I recycled all of my glass jar storage containers and switched to the clear plastic peanut butter jars.  These are lighter, don't break and also come with free peanut butter.  The small plastic cups (2 or 3 ounce) that grocery stores use for free taste samples are great for small quantities of glue, stains, etc.  Yogurt cups are also handy since most are not recyclable.

[ToolKing]

I save all "Country Crock" butter containers. I use them to store misc. parts but mostly use the to hold a bit of paint thinner or other solvents to clean my brushes out. Once brushed are cleaned I snap the top on and save for the next time.

WARNING: Do not try to store paint in these containers! They are not air tight and the paint will harden quickly.

Myron

[p_toad]

I, too, am a big fan of the peanut butter plastic jars.  The only work is emptying them out first.  For a while the kids were hooked on cotton candy which came in clear plastic buckets with lids....perfect for bolts, nails, screws.  I have a lot of little hardware in partitioned trays from various companies; some are much better than others - couldn't live without them.  

Can recall my dad using baby food jars - funny since my kids wouldn't eat the stuff.

[Rrandy]

I used to keep all sorts of stuff and the worst part was after 20 years of saving all that "treasure" I still had to go to the store because I never had what I needed. I've come to just really sit down and count what I need in the way of hardware to do a project...I count 42 screws, I buy no more than 50. That way there is little waste and the rest go in a bucket. If I don't go in that bucket for a month, it goes out with the trash. As a result of this I never waste time trying to find enough of the right screws or whatever. This will not work for everyone but it works for me....oops, to stay on topic, for larger containers try the new plastic coffee cans...snap on lids and somewhat of a handle.

[jdsjmail]

I too did away with the glass, too much of a hazard for me.  Started to buy those plastic Glad containers with the "free" lunch meat in them.  I have an old cabinet with 10 drawers that held the old punch cards used in the old computer days.  They fit in just right with or without the lids.  

[builder61]

I really like those plastic oblong containers that Kraft Mayo comes in.  They have snap open lid or you can remove the entire lid.  They seem to "nest" on a shelf better than a round container.