We’re excited to join Mrs. Limestone’s “Junk Drawer Overhaul” series, where bloggers share how they’re starting the year by organizing the messy drawers in their kitchens. We bent the rules a bit and focused on our tool drawers, which happen to live in the kitchen too. It wasn’t exactly a drawer reorganization—our tools had been tossed in the corner of the office after we moved—but it was a fresh start.
You can read more about the full process on A Brooklyn Limestone In Progress. While sorting our tools and taking inventory, we spread every item out on the floor. The result was a neat grid that showed our DIY arsenal at a glance.
Since we weren’t likely to spread everything out like that again soon, it felt like the perfect chance to give you a peek at our collection. The spread includes our go-to tools for a variety of projects and quick fixes, alongside a handful of miscellaneous supplies we’ve accumulated over the years. (Why we have two spare toilet supply lines remains a mystery.)
We broke the layout into quadrants. One quadrant contains the basics: hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, a crowbar, and several saws. After taking the photo we noticed our battered yellow Stanley tape measure was tucked away in Sherry’s purse.
The next section showcases our growing assortment of nails and screws, along with putty and spackle knives. It’s the sort of collection that keeps expanding every time a small repair pops up.
Another quadrant holds painting supplies: brushes, rollers, paint trays, stir sticks, paint can openers, drop cloths, and painter’s tape. There was also a bundle of rope in that area—it fit on the rug, but it’s not actually paint-related.
The final quadrant includes various tapes, glues, putties, caulks, and a few 3M Command hooks. We also have craft paints, brushes, Mod Podge, and even a small tube of glitter that’s leftover from making Christmas ornaments a couple of years back. And yes, the odd toilet supply lines showed up again.
These photos don’t include our larger tools—things like the mouse sander, electric drill/driver, power saws, Kreg Jig, Dremel, and the garden and yard equipment. We weren’t going to lay those out on the rug, but they’re very much part of our tool collection.
Our collection isn’t exhaustive by any means. Since taking the picture a few weeks ago I bought a $4 set of hex wrenches to remove a towel bar because I didn’t have the right size. We also restocked sandpaper when we ran out. And there are items we could probably part with, having sat unused since the single time we needed them—like that lone glitter tube. But sometimes those one-off items come in handy later, so we keep them around.
For the full story of how we moved from a rug full of tools to a semi-organized setup in our kitchen drawers, check out the write-up on A Brooklyn Limestone. We’re curious about your toolkit too: what essentials do you always keep close by? Are there unusual items you’ve hung on to after a single project? Do you store tools in the kitchen, and do you have stray craft supplies or spare plumbing parts mixed in?
Psst—It had to happen sometime. On an autopilot trip home from the hardware store last night, we accidentally drove to our old house. It was fun to see it again and a little surreal to wander through our former neighborhood.