Quick note: For now we just have lots of rain and a few wind gusts thanks to Hurricane Sandy, but things are supposed to get a bit rougher later today and tomorrow so we expect to be without power for a while (although we’ll post remotely whenever we can). We hope everyone else is staying safe and dry!
Since pegboards are my new favorite thing, you knew I was bound to write another basement organization post that mentions them (along with some other methods to contain/control things like screws and nails) right?
Here’s how I brought some sexy back to the basement (which I recently started to clean up after a yard sale, a bagster pickup, and some yard tool organization).
Next up on the organization to-do list were my regular tools. We actually made the decision to relocate most of our tools to the basement after years of being weirdos who stored them in our kitchen drawers. We’ll still keep duplicates of a few popular items – like hammers, nails, and caulk – in our sunroom (where everything’s been living most recently) but having the rest of our arsenal neatly hung/stored in one place (aka: the basement workshop) definitely outweighs the extra trouble of walking down to the basement now and then to get a few things.
So we began this phase of basement org by trucking everything down (i.e. drawers, toolbox, etc) to the basement so I could begin sorting. Forgive the sucky pictures. Sherry was using the camera for another project so I was stuck taking phone pics.
First I spread everything out on the work table to see what I had and how I might categorize everything.
Going through everything was kind of a weird, sentimental walk down memory lane. It was just so funny to see old items that were hanging around after projects from the past, like our old kitchen knobs and the clothespin chandelier that we made.
How could we forget those eyeball-ish kitchen knobs?
I also found tools with some memories behind them. Like the Boy Scout pocket knife passed down from my Papa (sidebar: I was the first in the line of my male cousins on my mom’s side NOT to become an Eagle Scout. I started and stopped right at Cub Scout. #blacksheep). And there was the first set of screwdrivers that my dad gave me back in high school (at the time I’m sure I accepted them with some sort of angsty “when will I ever use these stupid things??” type of look).
My dad actually gave me those screwdrivers along with the toolbox below, which traveled with me to college and even to New York – although for most of its lifespan it has held a measly three or four tools. But one reason I’ve kept it is because my dad taped a picture of his family inside. The couple on the right is my grandfather Emanuel and his second wife Helen. His first (my dad’s mom) died when my dad was young. She’s the Clara that our bean is named after.
But enough sentimental stuff. On to the pegboard! After a couple of hours (and a trip to Home Depot to buy a set of pegboard hooks) my tools finally looked like they always should have: orderly and ready to go.
Here’s a couple of closer shots for ya, in case you’re like me and enjoy staring at pegboards full of tools for extended periods of time.
This actually isn’t everything. We decided to keep paint & craft supplies (i.e. glue gun, staple gun, etc) upstairs in the sunroom along with a few other essentials (like picture nails and anchors, along with a hammer and caulk) since we tend to use them more in the house than in the workshop. And I stashed a lot of my project-specific tools in the toolbox (finally it’s getting use!) so I know that’s where to go when I need plumbing or electrical supplies.
I could stare at those pegboards all day. But then I wouldn’t get any actual work done. And sadly I still had this crazy drawer full of screws, nails, and other hardware that was crying out for help.
So I used a similar process to sort them. First I spread everything out on the table and started grouping similar items. Then those similar items went into mason jars together.
I actually had a bunch of mason jars sitting around from a failed project Sherry tried taking on. She was going to repackage our vacation time capsules into smaller jars… but realized too late that the stout new jars that she bought obscured the items inside too much (so taller mason jars like the ones we used originally actually work best). So the too-short jars got passed down to me after she had already spray painted the silver tops a cool midnight blue color. Lucky me.
But Sherry’s pint-sized hand-me-downs weren’t quite enough for my sprawling assortment of screws, so I did have to invest in some (even smaller) half-pint jars myself (from JoAnn with a 50% coupon).
Here’s everything once it had found a jar to call home. Don’t mind the pieces of paper sticking out of them. Those were labels from the hardware packaging that I hung on to so I could remember what was what (since I planned to hand-write my own labels later).
Once everything was labeled and canned, I stuck them up on this shelf that the previous owner had built in above the work surface (don’t mind the edge that looks like it was once on fire – we plan to stain it all soon).
The shelf spacing is a bit much for these tiny cans, but it’s not worth rebuilding the shelves or anything, so I’m just happy they’re here to house my collection.
As for the labels, I just bought some 1.5 x 1.5″ square Avery labels at Staples for a few bucks and hand wrote the info on the front. I debated printing them on the computer to make them look slightly fancier, but I figured that was a system I’d never keep up with.
Eventually I hope to take these two projects a step further by painting the pegboards and staining the shelf as I mentioned (along with some other items in the room like the built-in work table). We think that’ll really help pull things together and make it look a little more workshop-swanky as opposed to old-ignored-basement. I don’t think I’m going to go too over-the-top with things in the basement just because I like to be realistic about what’s worth my time and what’s easiest to maintain over time. Which is why I’ve decided to pass on the idea of outlining my tools on the pegboard, since I feel like it’ll just create frustration when I have to add or subtract a tool and don’t want to repaint the whole thing. But who knows, I could change my tune someday (Sherry mentioned chalk outlines since those are easily changed, but we don’t want chalk dust all over our stuff so we later both dismissed that option).
I was just grateful that the drawers I was bringing back upstairs to the sunroom were looking much more clutter free. So these are the items we kept upstairs since we think we’ll use them more up there while the rest makes more sense to keep together in the workshop.
And while my newly organized tools and hardware supply was making me quite confident about how the basement was shaping up, let us be reminded that I still have this to deal with: the wall o’ paint, spray paint, and other buckets. But that’s a project for another day…
Okay, so who has a pegboard obsession? Is anyone else planning to paint and stain things in the basement for a little more of a finished look? Do you have a hard time figuring out which tools should stay out in the garage, basement, or attic and which ones should be inside and easy to grab? I gotta admit that once we spent a few minutes thinking about what we use upstairs vs. what we use in the workshop it really wasn’t too tough to commit to keeping stuff in the areas that make the most sense.
Psst – We finally have our apple picking photos up on Young House Life (spoiler alert: Clara’s life was made when she got to be a worm, well, a caterpillar).
Vanessa says
I am even jealous of your basement organization! :)
je says
Love this, John! What’s your hourly rate? Our basement leans much more towards your before photos…
Stay safe and dry today! We’re in PA, and last night my school was cancelled for today and tomorrow in anticipation of the storm. I’m just crossing my fingers that we don’t lose power so I can get some work done during it.
YoungHouseLove says
You stay safe too Je! And my hourly rate is… hmmm… a cookie per hour?
-John
Tracey says
I was going to suggest a photo as well.
Glad to hear Sandy isn’t causing too much trouble for you. Hope your family home in Rehobeth will be ok too. We are expecting 8-10 inces of rain and 60-70 mph winds gusts here in SE PA.
We are off of school for the next two days. We’ll have to see if that’ll be more if the electricity can’t get back on quickly enough.
Could be worse. They said if it were cold enough this would be 5 ft of snow. I’ll take wind and rain. Thank you.
YoungHouseLove says
Yikes! Stay safe Tracey!
xo,
s
Diane says
Box rooms! Who knew?
Kelly says
To expand on what we did, we have some extra lids that when we want to bring the jar to a different area of the house we simply unscrew it from the shelf and then screw on the spare lid we have. :)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s smart!!
-John
Chelsea {Whatcha Makin' Now?} says
Claaaaasic Peg…my most favorite skit! I love the use of the jars for nails, etc. Nicely done!
ELLEN says
All that beautiful organization makes me swoon…seriously planning to purchase some pegboard in the near future to upgrade my tool storage area in the garage!
Nina says
If you ever need more space on those shelves, you could always screw the lids to the underside of the shelf above (sounds confusing) but giving you two layers, one floating and one resting on the shelf below!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s another idea!
xo,
s
Cindy says
Try chalkboard paint pens. They come in colors (red/green/yellow, etc.) and they don’t leave chalk dust. When you add or replace the outline can be easily removed and if a new tool is added, it can be outlined. Your current organizations indicates a lot of room for some additions without having to redo all the outlines.
YoungHouseLove says
I heard a few places that those stain if you leave them up too long (which I worried I’d do). Anyone else have this issue?
-John
Louisa T. says
John, one thing I would suggest is you might want to add a small lip to the front of each shelf to keep the jars from getting jostled off. My dad had the same system and it got to be like a weekly thing for him to go work down there and have to clean up broken glass. Even with them beginning on what appears to be an exterior, below grade wall, it will vibrate more than you realize (especially with the earthquakes up that way. Ha!). Just my little contribution. (I didn’t read through all the comments, so I apologize if someone has already posted about this.)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip!
-John
Louisa T. says
Wanted to add; Y’all stay safe up there. We feel your pain even though we are way down here in Georgia. Our daughter works with the youth program on a cruise ship and is right now sitting in the middle of the Chesapeake on the ship for the duration. No sleep for mom the next couple of days.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! Hope she stays safe!
xo
s
Lucy says
WOW! This really appeals to the organizer in me. Apparently I love anything in ball jars, including nails!
Sam M. says
My house came with a pegboard in the garage – it was so awesome to get all my tools hanging in one place. Has made all the DIY projects since just a little bit easier.
Katharine says
I cannot tell you how many times my sister and I will comment on something by saying, “Claaaaasic Peg!” and shrugging our shoulders in an exaggerated full body-laugh kind of way! It made my morning seeing the title of this post!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahah!
xo,
s
Christina @ Homemade Ocean says
Dannnnggggg your basement is going to be so spick and span!
meryl rose says
I LOVE pegboards! We have one up in our garage too and I’ll let you in on our wonderful organizing secret: I put a small label behind each tool so that when something is missing you know exactly what should go back, but it doesn’t look cluttered or too busy with tool outlines (a frequent way to keep it organized and know what’s missing). I LOVE it.
http://www.picardyproject.com/2010/05/actually-labeling-pegboard.html
YoungHouseLove says
Wow, that’s awesome!
xo,
s
KathyG says
Been there, done that with the outlining and then adding tools. Don’t do it! Looks cool, but not practical for the long run.
LOVE this idea – I am betting this is John’s next move! ha
Question, anyone have problems with the pegs falling out each time you take a tool off? Are there peg and board sizes that I am not aware of? I solved it by putting dabs of adhesive-silicone, but it just doesn’t seem like a step I should have to take.
YoungHouseLove says
The kit I bought came with anchors to hold them down – I just haven’t installed them yet since I plan to paint. So yes, things have improved in peg board development- haha!
-John
Jillian {Her Split Ends} says
Obsessed with the screws on a shelf…so FANTASTIC!! All that organizing makes my heart flutter…now i want to leave work, go home and organize EVERYTHING
Cheers
~ Jillian
http://www.hersplitends.com
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Jillian!
-John
LauraC says
I really like the mason jars. Someday my husband and I will tackle his workshop . . . right now we have a leak from one of our basement windows, what a headache (and Josh is stuck in Boston, supposed to be home today but his flight was cancelled of course).
My dad had a system of nails and screws in baby food jars. He nailed the lids to a board that he fastened to the ceiling (it was low) then screwed in the jars to the lids. So they were just hanging over your head out of the way of everything. You could just reach up and unscrew whatever you wanted. My 10, 12, 16 year-old self thought it was cool. And I guess my adult-self still does since I’m sharing it with you!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, that’s a really cool system too!
-John
Krystal says
The basement is looking great and organized! I love the mason jars for nails and screws. And the pegboard. I remember helping my dad build his workshop in our garage when I was younger, and he was so excited about his pegboard too. As soon we got it hung up, my mom said something along the lines of “Do you know what you want to hang up there yet or should we start sorting through everything?” and my dad replied, “Oh, just wait!” before he ran off to his truck and returned with bags and bags of new tools…because his pegboard apparently required bright, shiny, and MATCHING tools to put on display. When I asked if he planned on donating or selling his old stuff he replied, “No, that’s stupid, what if I need them?” The man seriously cracks me up (and drives my mom and I batty with his tool hoarding).
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
denise says
Apparently the love of pegboards is one that runs deep in the male gender! We redid our garage workshop for my husband this year and one thing he insisted on having was pegboards. After putting up two large pegboards and sorting through the tools, he spent countless hours arranging and rearranging the items on the pegboard. It was kinda cute since I’m usually the one who gets all worked up about organizing!
YoungHouseLove says
Ha! It’s like guys are secretly into organization. Shh, don’t tell.
xo
s
Chris says
Space is at a premium in our very tiny 50’s kitchen, so we put pegboard and baskets on the inside of our skinny pantry door and moved all the spices out of the drawer they were in, and hung my measuring cups and spoons there too. So freaking excited. Next up, the hall/junk/supply closet that is a hot damn mess.
YoungHouseLove says
So cute!
xo
s
Shannon Summers says
OMG, I had never seen that SNL skit, I have been laughing/crying in the office all morning watching it. Classic Peg! Maybe one day on younghouselife you can do a round up of all your favorite youtube/viral video favs! I’m quickly becoming envious of your basement. It’s really coming together, keep it up!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that sounds like a fun post idea for YHLife!
xo
s
Kate says
We’ve done pegboard in the garage and in the kitchen. (http://1500sqft.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/whats-cookin-in-the-kitchen-part-9/)
I’m so jealous of your basement work space! It makes projects go so much more smoothly when all of the tools are easily within reach.
YoungHouseLove says
That looks great!
xo
s
Carole says
I love me some throw pillow and painting furniture posts (for realz), but I honestly think this is my favorite post so far. I just love watching things like this get organized. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. You’re doing a great job so far.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Carole!
-John
Vanessa says
Looks great!
Eve says
Hope you guys weather the storm with minimal damage! We’re looking forward to heinous wind and power oranges here in upstate NY later today (just in time for me to go to work).
John, as I did with your prior deck post, I’m going to use this post to light a fire under my husband’s arse as to why it would be nice to have the garage slash workshop slash storage area relatively organized. He thinks I’m trying to impinge on his “manly” space. I just want to be able to open the garage door without cringing and to find stuff if I ever need to. (battle of the sexes, anyone?)
Eve says
LOL – power outages, not oranges! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we knew what you meant! I think I’d rather have power oranges than outages!
xo
s
jeannette says
your father’s passing the torch to you, in the form of a tool box, and your accepting the dad thing by naming clara, and organizing the tools, is like a good roots story. seeing the graduated sizes of the wire cutters (?), wrenches and clamps makes me think about my grandpa’s tool shop, and also my father’s, and also how order is the first law of heaven.
nice post, thank you.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alexanderp143063.html
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Jeannette. So kind of you to say that.
-John
Holly says
You will be in our prayers..as will everyone in Sandy’s path… be wise and stay safe!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Holly!
xo,
s
Amanda says
Love pegboard – the previous owner was also apparently in love with it, and has covered all of the walls in the unfinished part in our basement with it. I was in major purge/organization mode the last four days, so our entire storage area got cleaned out and organized (think matching clear boxes – double bonus for protection in case the area floods with Sandy). Hubs also got a new workbench/shelving unit, and we have pegboard behind it. Now I just need to stop by HD or Lowe’s and pick up some of the little holders…
Erica says
I laughed out loud when I saw your title with the picture in my blog feed. Hilarious. Best title ever, and I was looking for this very video to show my husband the other night. Thanks for linking to it :-)
RachelSD says
Love this John! Reminds me so much of my childhood garage– my dad had pegboard up and outlined all the tools in sharpie (I never understood that… what if he lost/got another tool??) and had all of the random bits in old mason, jelly, and mayo jars.
Only your setup looks a LOT better. Great job!
Christine says
I love how pegboards are still the best organizational thing out there— even in this day of expensive Rubbermaid and Container Shop storage ‘systems!’ I, too, love looking at them. One of my favorite things to visit at the Smithsonian is Julia Child’s kitchen. Ms. Julia used a pegboard in her kitchen to organize all her kitchen stuff. And if it’s good enough for Julia…
Christine says
…uh, container STORE! not shop. duhsville.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I knew what you meant!
xo
s
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah hers was awesome!
xo
s
Krystle @ Color Transformed Family says
I love the hand written labels. I think they will become sentimental as the years progress.
Jennifer says
This is awesome! I think I have garage envy! I’m ready to head down there where it’s safe and dry from Sandy…but I try to leave the garage & basement for the hubs..He will LOVE this! PS I don’t outline tools either. Commitment phobe here!
ruben says
Wam Bang Thank You Peg!
that looks pretty good John. good purchase those mason jars. keeps everything away but in sight and it looks like a pharmacy.
Good Stuff!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha. Wam bang thank you Peg = hilarious.
xo,
s
mribaro says
Do you already have an idea what color will you paint the pegboard, the shelves and (if) the walls?
YoungHouseLove says
Something manly! Haha. Sherry’s really encouraging me just to do whatever I want down there, which is a fun change. Maybe navy for the boards? Not sure yet.
-John
Starr @ The Kiefer Cottage says
Our basement is very dank, very dark, and very scary. I’m not sure there’s hope for making it much nicer than “not frightening”. But we do have shelving and a few cabinets (from our kitchen demolition) that have helped. Our workbench is apparently not to code because it blocks the electrical box, but such is life with a seventy year old home that’s only had three owners (including one whose DIY projects spark nightmares. Literally. Spark.). Maybe one day the basement won’t be a horror-movie-set.
RE: pegboards, I love them and want to put one in the kitchen. Just haven’t figured out where.
Teresa says
As far as having wasted space on those shelves with the smallest jars, rather than re-configuring the space to hold more, you can just stack another set of little jars on top….they are short and the lids lend themselves well to stacking without slipping off.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s another solution for sure!
xo
s
Melissa says
What if you painted the peg board with chalkboard paint and outlined your tools with a chalk marker? It looks like chalk without the annoying chalk dust. And if you did painted it in a blue chalkboard paint color it would look like your tools were blueprint-ish. Perfect for a workshop!
YoungHouseLove says
That would be fun too!
-John
Bethany says
stay safe in the storm, you guys!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Bethany!
xo
s
Emily F says
I love pegboard!! And Mason jars!! :) Good work on the organization!
We don’t have a garage, or a basement workshop – but we’ve been using an extra, extra room for our storage and tools. You have definitely inspired me… I think that my project for this weekend will be tool organization! With pegboards!!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds fun! Send pics!
xo
s
Erin says
This looks great without going over the top – it’s a basement/workspace after all! While organization and a clean workspace is the goal, I don’t think its worth the time/effort to paint the pegboard or outline the tools. Really – how many tools do you use at one time that you won’t be able to figure out where they go when you are finished?
Keep doing what you are doing – it’s looking great! And i’m loving those baby mason jars. I’ve never seen them that small!
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, I think I’ll paint the pegboards just for fun but the outlines would constantly be changing and I have pics for reference (and the hooks stay where they are, even when tools are removed) so I’m hoping it’ll be a pretty easy system to keep up with.
-John
Vicky says
Wow!!! That looks amazing!!! Fantastic job! Someday when we get a garage (we have a condo now) this is how I would like ours to look, with peg boards and canning jars, can’t wait to see what you’re going to do with the paint supply area! Keep up the good work!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Vicky!
-John
candace says
I love a good juicy organizing post! Anything with mason jars and peg boards gets me so inspired! Please keep safe with the storm!!!
Peggy McKee says
In the past, I have vetoed pegboards because of the hooks. Just as I’m trying to put the tool back, i bump the hook and it falls out of the pegboard. Has pegboard hook technology improved?
YoungHouseLove says
The hooks I got from Home Depot stay just fine (the kit I bought came with anchors to hold them down – I just haven’t installed them yet since I plan to paint). So yes, things have improved!
-John
Shellie says
It’s probably pretty awful of me to admit, but hearing about the storm the first thing I thought of was “Ohh no, but YHL has a book tour date in NYC Thursday!” I was hoping if you have an amazing turnout at NYC Flor they will bring you to their San Francisco store.
Again, shame shame on me for not caring about the thousands of people in harms way…..
Cristina says
My husband is tall. He built a work bench in the garage for “his height” and then hung peg board on the wall above his work bench. Since the bench hits me mid-rib, I cannot reach back to get anything off the peg board (maybe he planned it that way). So I have to stand on random stacks of lumber and try to knock things off as I need them. All this to say, make sure you have a stool handy in case Sherry needs to get at any of your tools.
Dallas Landrum says
The guys in my scene shop (I work at a large children’s theatre) were about to throw out a perfectly good-sized piece of pegboard, about 3.5×6, before I nabbed it. Painted it, hung it on the wall next to the tall, thin pantry, and hung our pots, pans and cutting boards on it. LOVE pegboard. I kinda want to make a headboard for my son’s room out of pegboard. I might be nuts.
Cassondra says
I really appreciate the idea of figuring out what’s worth the time investment and what’s not. In renovating our entire house it’s easy to get caught up on something trying to make it perfect, but some areas just aren’t urgent and I have to remember to move on!
Nora says
This was a really fun post to read and your organization looks GREAT! Now I want to go clean out our garage! :D Thanks for sharing.
Katherine says
Y’all might know this already since you are so close to D.C., but in the National History Museum in Washington they have Julia Child’s kitchen on display! The reason I am telling you this is because she put all of her cooking equipment on pegboard just like you did in your basement EXCEPT she outlined each utensil in black so she would know what went where when she put everything back. Just a suggestion! Looks great!!
– Katherine
YoungHouseLove says
I love that kitchen! John decided not to outline them since he likes the flexibility of changing things up (he’s hoping for a few new tools for his upcoming birthday, hahaha!) but who knows where we’ll end up!
xo
s