Tool Crib

When I took Wood Shop I and II in High School, we had a Tool Crib - the place all the tools were kept, sleeping like babies presumably. In my quest to keep from losing tools for months on end in the clutter of my home, which has happened before - I lost a couple of C-clamps for about two years before finding them behind the stud wall I clamped in place for installation, still holding on for dear life.

So, not wanting to waste something otherwise perfectly useless, I gave the spring from a donated baby crib a new life as a tool crib in the basement. You can see it below attached to the end of the storage shelves I built to help get our piles of stuff organized into one neatly stacked heap.

I used a few zip screws to anchor it and then just wedged in tools in groups according to function. Hammers, pliers, clamps, saws, putty knives, and miscellaneous tools are mounted here and there with the aid of a few extra nails and screws. Almost all of my tools have found a home here except for the major power tools. The heat gun came in a throw away box and has a hanger built into the top end, so it's hanging there at the top of the crib.

It's not very appealing visually, but it's dead easy to find my tools now and was cheaper and less space consuming than installing peg board and hooks to do the same job. And, it's tucked away in the storage area of the basement, out of sight and out of reach of the little ones.