Our poor tools. Remember how they used to live in our kitchen?
Well, they obviously had to move when that whole cabinet went kaput a few months ago in favor of a nice big peninsula that we were adding.
Well, I guess the cabinet didn’t go kaput. It just went to live in our sunroom (aka cabinet purgatory) – along with the drawers full of tools, which have been splayed out on our daybed for three months now. Yeah, we’re organized. Not.
Come on, let’s bring back “not.” And slap bracelets.
Anyway, as Sherry and I embarked on three weeks of photoshoots in our house for our book (you can survey some of that chaos here) we learned that space was at a premium. New things like this giant white backdrop…
… and this crazy photography equipment…
… suddenly needed room to come live with us.
So see this giant cabinet that used to house or tool drawers? That guy was taking up valuable real estate. And after pushing him around to get him out of the way, we realized it was just time to do something real to remedy things.
Rather than find a new piece of furniture for storing our tools, we decided to try to retrofit the existing cabinet. At least for now. Heck, it’s free because we already own it, so why not? Our first step was to chop off the upper part that once housed the wall oven and some cabinets. To get that going, Sherry and I just tipped it on its side and used a straight edge to mark our cut.
Then I broke out the jigsaw to make big slices across each side, right where the top drawer ended….
…leaving me with two separate pieces. Too bad Sherry didn’t lay down on top of it and reenact some Vegas-worthy magic act, eh? Next time.
I broke the top piece apart with my foot and a hammer and put it out in our recycle pile (the ReStore wouldn’t want it but we’re going to call our local recycling center to see if they take clean wood scraps). But the leftover drawer base found a new (temporary-ish) home tucked away in the corner of the sunroom. Remember all of our kitchen cabinets used to be this ugly with these eyeball drawers, so there’s definitely room for improvement in the form of leftover primer, paint, and hardware for sure.
But for now it gets ‘er done. Meaning our tool drawers – for the first time in over 3 months – can actually reside in functioning, pull-out drawers. Gasp. It’s like we’re real people again all of the sudden (don’t mind the drawer sitting on top of it, floor space is precious with this many people and cameras and tripods and reflectors – so up it went).
I won’t show you the inside of the drawers this time because those could still use some organizing. But at least that tall cabinet that we were dragging all over the house is finally gone! So maybe this should count as a Dude Get On That Already challenge since having drawers full of tools all over the daybed in your sunroom for OVER 100 DAYS STRAIGHT is definitely deserving of a “dude, get on that already” statement (picture me hanging my head in shame). Ah well, it’s finally done. What have you guys been retrofitting or hoarding for way too long? Does anyone else have a cabinet purgatory going on in their house? And where do you keep your tools? They seem to be things that get stored in a wide variety of places (the garage, the basement, the kitchen, a guest room or spare room, the attic, the shed, etc). Spill it.
Psst- We announced this week’s giveaway winner (and laughed at all of the impromptu poetry you guys shared) – so click here to see if you’re the big hundred dollar flower winner.
My husband bought me a rolling red 2-tier Craftsman toolbox for my birthday 2 years ago. BEST GIFT EVA!
Oooh, that’s awesome!
xo,
s
Great remedy!! I’m sure you’re glad they have a home!!
PS… isn’t it slap bracelets?? LOL
Ohemgee, you’re right! Haha.
xo,
s
I saw some of those a couple of weeks ago. And yes, I was tempted….
The store I work at had some slap watches a few weeks ago! How fun!
Niiiiice!
xo,
s
That’s a great idea! Are you guys planning on painting it white? Any hardware updates?
Totally! Both are possibilities for sure!
xo,
s
We need to get some kind of tool organization system going for the new house. My husband’s tools are still strew about his mother’s garage until we can get them in our new garage.
I’m just wondering why you kept the drawers on the daybed instead of just keeping them in the large cabinet once it was moved into the sun room? You always seem to have a logical plan for almost everything so I’m just intrigued by your thinking on this one.
We were just crazy. No other reasoning. It was easier to move around without the drawers in it, so maybe that’s it since for shoots it moves around so much?
xo,
s
old kitchen cabinets + tools = genius! we did this last month in our garage reorg: http://makearteveryday.blogspot.com/2012/01/home-garage-reorganization.html
you can see the nasty old kitchen cabinet the previous owners left behind and how i made it pretty. ish. i’ve since added new drawer pulls and am about to get a new wooden top. that’s where we keep all our tools now and it’s great to have a work surface.
Wahoo! Love garage reorg!
xo,
s
Yes! Let’s totally bring back snap bracelets! And wearing more than one pair of socks, in layers, over black stretch pants. (Or was that just me?)
Hah, I was more into black leggings with a bodysuit. Cheers to that memory!
xo,
s
Oh my, bodysuits. Who ever thought it was a good idea to have bascially adult-sized onesies?
Slap bracelets ARE back. My sister-in-law (age 7) got a slap bracelet watch for Christmas. Boy was I surprised!
sweet. little things like that are always good- meanwhile half our basement is begging for a tool reorganization!
maybe this weekend…..
also, we have lately acquired many ceramic animals- mostly by my husband no less who doesn’t read the blog… creepy. as of now we have a garden gnome, a ceramic GIZMO!!!, a blue dinosaur/ potted plant holder, and an owl that you can put a candle in. rock on! i do have the urge to spray paint them all though… oh.no.
I hope you guys keep that exposed brick – as is.
*fingers crossed*
It’s definitely fun. We wish it didn’t run out half-way up the wall (sort of chops up the room in a weird way…). We’ll have to see where we end up!
xo,
s
Smart fix! We keep all of our tools (not like we have a lot) in the closet of our spare bedroom. Joe has a tool box and all that stuff gets a shelf in there. Most of the time, an occasional tool is left in the living room or kitchen (can’t help it that I’m busy crafting!).
This looks exactly like something that resides in my parents’ garage. Wonder if they performed a similar cabinet-surgery many eons ago. This would be great with a butcher-block or something on top to provide a durable crafting surface!!
PS… I picked up Mindy Kaling’s “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” and LOVED IT and promptly decided to lend it to everyone I know. I was just reminded because this comment composition is happening right next to the link to the book in your sidebar.
Haha- it’s so funny, right? We got it as a Christmas gift and love it!
xo,
s
I went to high school with her, and she was just as funny then! Love seeing all the current success she’s having!
We were at Disney this weekend, and they were selling snap bracelets all over the place. So I guess you get your wish on bringing back snap bracelets!
Our tools are in the garage. I’d keep some (MINE) in the house, but the hubby always absconds with them. So I give up and just accept that I have to find them in the garage.
Haha, yessss. They’re already back at Disney. Now we wait for them to permeate every other area…
xo,
s
Also, I saw snap watches like two days ago at Paper Source. They’re definitely making a comeback.
Must go now, have plans to shop for scrunchies this afternoon.
I’ve seen a couple of my elementary students wearing slap bracelets recently too. As a teacher, I can’t say I’m a fan of them coming back because they can be distracting. But as a child of the 90’s, I’m a little bit nostalgic about them. As long as they don’t come with stirrup pants, haha… or heaven forbid, Tamagotchis.
LOL – I haven’t heard the term Tamagotchi is soooo long. Wow, that’s a blast from the past.
-John
I had 5 tomagotchis on one keychain once. Left them in my dad’s car, and he said he came out on his lunch break to try and keep them alive. That is some giga-pet dedication/fatherly love right there.
YAY for this 90s discussion! :)
I am 26 and I bought a slap bracelet a few weeks ago. My husband and I were at his favorite sports store and found one with our favorite baseball team on it. I could not resist, even if just for the childhood memories!
We’ve even got slap bracelets in Perth, and we’re normally ages behind any trends (for example, I’m only just seeing chevron print stuff in shops here now).
Haha, no way! Well it’s good to know they’re still going strong!
xo,
s
I see the bucket on the top but I am a little confused, does the cabinet have a real top? My tools live in the detached garage and a drawer in the kitchen (only after I got the great idea from you).
That’s a drawer sitting on top to make a false top for now. We’ll add a wood top someday – maybe when we paint and change the hardware?
xo,
s
the eyes!! the eyes are back!!!
Bwahahaha. Here’s looking at you, kid.
xo,
s
Very resourceful indeed. However, have you guys considered getting a two-tier toolbox? Craftsman makes some good and relatively cheap ones and it really does help keep tools organized… (I don’t work for Sears or anything, just love my Craftsman toolbox…)
We actually have one of those that we keep in the attic of all places- we just couldn’t find a spot for it, so putting tools in cabinet drawers (which is also what we did in our first house) just must be our “reflex” – isn’t that weird?
xo,
s
You guys must have ESP! I was just wondering about how you organize your tools. I was going to add a comment and ask, but now I don’t have to. WOW! That is cray town. This is like the second time you guys have posted something way relevant the day after I was thinking of it. Thanks!
That’s so funny Robin – you must have been sending us tool vibes.
xo,
s
My wonderful husband just organized our tools yesterday in the garage. We had the work table just sitting there for the past couple of months, but it’s finally in place with all our previously strung all around the house tools in their home.
It feels so much better!
I know right now you’re using those tools as often as you’re using your daily silverware, but are you planning to move that new toolchest into the basement eventually? Or are these your “first floor tools” so you don’t really need to run out and down to grab a screwdriver or drill? And hey, how about some casters on it? That would sure make it easier to roll around for photo shoots…
Oh yeah, we probably use all of these too much to be in the basement (especially since we have to go outside to get it the basement).
-John
weeelll… my current tool storage situation is quite sad.. all of my tools are in a large plastic (think Old navy bag, but plastic) living on the floor of my master closet. It’s a hot mess in that bag too. We have a ton of stuff in a shed outside, but I honestly don’t even know what all is out there. The important stuff I use all the time is in my closet. I’m seriously in need of a place to keep and organize all of it!
Oh, please bring back “not!” (I’ve been known to make attempts on my blog, but it’s not catching on.)
And slap bracelets… well, slap bracelets are making a teeny, tiny comeback in the form of watches. At least, in my sixth grade classrooms they are.
http://www.amazon.com/Top-Trenz-TZ102-Slapwatch-Any/dp/B004ROXCR8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328895305&sr=8-1
a few years ago now, I worked as a kitchen&bath designer at big orange and I snagged a couple cabinets and a corian-like top with integral sink from a display as they were just going to end up in the compactor. First they were stored in our garage for maybe a year, then we sold the house and they went into a storage unit for another 2 years, then into unfinished space in the new house for approx 6 months. Finally we painted and installed them with a few other bargain finds and now I have an awesome sink and storage area in my studio. So pick-up your chin- 3 months is lightning fast in my book.
When we moved in our first house a year ago, I repainted the kitchen and laundry room cabinets. Somehow the master bath vanity got left out of this lovefest, so last weekend I started in on painting it a deep chocolate to better match the decor. Mainly because I realized that the paint had just been sitting there for over a year and I thought daily about how ’80s my vanity looked–time to do something about it!
Even though it’s probably a legitimate carpentry term, I still got a chuckle from when John said he used a “straight edge” to mark the cut because I flashed back to middle school when the math teacher made us use a compass and straight edge to make angles and lines.
That was a good idea to cut the top off. That actually would make a nice dresser or night stand in a bedroom with the height it is.
Psych! Don’t forget to bring that back too. ;)
Love it!
My tools are everywhere! Smart idea. Sure beats trashing that cabinet!
Looking good!
I love how you reconfigure before trashing what you already have and buying new. (Like you did with your shoe rack.) It just makes sense!
Katy
Well at least you know where all of your tools are. If all that was happening at my house I am pretty sure they would have become permanently misplaced!
We keep ours in an antique armoire. Which makes us sound all classy & fancy. NOT!
(I’m a Gen Xer, so “not” never really left my vocab. Fortunately I was too old for slap bracelets.)
The armoire is a hand-me-down that I still need to rehab. It’s been 3 years. Talk about Dude Get On That Already…
Have a great weekend, y’all :)
Why don’t you mount locking wheels underneath so you can roll it around to your work location? You don’t want Clara pushing it into a window.
Our tools are in the garage, either on a wall mounted pegboard, or in the workbench drawer. I modeled it after my fathers’ and grandfathers’ garage setup. Every tool has a home, wasting no time when you need ‘X’ tool right away!
BTW, I enjoy your blog and your sense of humor. Thanks!
Slap bracelets aren’t just at Disney anymore. My niece has a few of them, but some of them are extra fancy with watches on them too. Remember how for awhile there was a backlash against them because supposedly kids were cutting themselves with them? Maybe that was just where I grew up though, who knows!
I would put some casters on that sucker because you’re always moving it around. I saw them for $3 at Home Depot. I’m thinking some plastic versions would be even cheaper.
My collection of tools is still growing but I’m definitely taking notes. Thanks!
I was just going to suggest some locking casters!
Great idea!
xo,
s
Yay for organizing!
We organized and uncluttered our entire office about three weeks ago and today I went through a small pile of unprocessed mail and got it all done *without* first just slamming it into some cabinet and forgetting about it for months. I think it is just as important to maintain the order you have once established and find places and routines for things which make it easy for you to put it back right away and not let everything pile up again and again (Not that I think you do that, but I think it is important to mention).
By the way, I love the use of “kaput”. In german it’s correctly spelled “kaputt” but I learned that it’s fairly common in america to spell it with a single t… how funny!
It’s amazing where people keep their tools. We have this amazing buffet (its actually called a huntboard) that my in-laws had made in the Philippines when they lived there and had it shipped to the US. It has three large drawers that are perfect for…you guess it…tools! What I love best is that guests would never guess that we have such chaos going on inside such a beautiful piece of furniture!
LOVE SLAP BRACELETS. Why can’t all jewelry be so fun?!
I could not live in the chaos that is your house right now! I get all nervous and twitchy just looking at the photos. Strange people and all their stuff all up in my space…..nooooooo! I don’t know how you do it. Curious if there were any other alternatives for locations for the shoot?
Both us and the publisher thought it’d be really great for the book to feel like “our home” so we quickly nixed the idea of doing lots of photography in other houses. And we did talk about doing some stuff in a studio, but when they realized our sunroom gets such great light we decided it would make life easier if we didn’t have to truck all of our supplies somewhere else.
-John
Slap bracelets came back in the form of cute watches, just Google “Slap Watch” for a look.
Hey guys,
What day will you be at the Portland Home Show? I’d like to come down on the day you are there and hear you speak but the website doesn’t yet specify when you’ll be there.
-Charisma
We’ll be there on Wednesday the 22nd!
-John
I have a small condo, so i have a big black case under the bed and the random stuff is in the built in drawers in my small dining table.
Did you guys think that it would have been easier to use that cut off version of your old cabinet instead of buying new (really cheap!) ones from the ReStore for your kitchen peninsula cabinets? Seems like that would have just been easier!
The height is wrong on this cabinet – it’s taller than a normal base cabinet would be. Plus we didn’t have a spot for a 27″ wide cabinet base. But good thought!
-John
Great idea! My tools are always missing esp. the screwdriver and the tape measure which I use approx. 37 times a day.
PS Slap bracelets are SO back. I saw slap watches last week at Target.
PPS I am waiting for shirt clips to make a comeback. That will be a sight to see…
http://compare.ebay.com/like/380330835019?var=lv<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar
Haha- I totally remember them! Today I’m rocking a long cardigan that’s tied at the bottom. Holla!
xo,
s
Awesome retrofitting! I am trying to retrofit (without removing any tile) one of those shower towers with rainhead, handheld, and massage jets onto my one-size-fits-all shower. *fingers crossed*
Aside, your site is still glitchy for me, esp. the comments. It will show 48, then 19, then 24. Weird. :/
Hmmm, that’s very strange – although we know sometimes the comment count is a caching issue with some browsers. Also, we often approve things in bulk so don’t be alarmed if the count jumps dramatically in just a matter of seconds!
-John
Any future plans to paint this baby, or put some wheels on it? That would probably come in handy! Can’t wait for the book to come out!
Yeah, it’ll probably get some paint on it at some point. We’ll probably try to figure out its final resting place first.
-John
tools live half in our coat closet at the front door and half in the mini shed that also houses the water heater out back. john, what brand jigsaw and model type do you have? hubby’s bd is coming and he wants one.
Mine’s a RYOBI. I didn’t do any particular research on it, so I can’t really say the pros or cons of it versus others – but it’s been working out fine for me for the last few months!
-John
Oh man, my tools are all over everywhere. It is hard to find what I am looking for most of the time. I have them in cardboard boxes, tool boxes, in piles, in drawers, etc. I had finally gotten all my tools organized in the basement at my last place, but then I moved! Now my new basement is a big open blank canvass and I just throw tools all over. Some are in the garage too. I really want to build myself a basement work room with a door (to keep the mess in and my cats out) but that is still a ways down the road! I have to figure out something better soon though, or I might go nuts!
There is this neat place in the town we live. It is basically an old factory that has been turned into shops and an indoor soccer field and what not. My kids and I were walking around the other day and my 7 year old spotted a slap bracelet watch. He recognized it as a slap bracelet, so I guess they never really left.
Our tools are kept under our bed. Yay for under the bed storage solving all the problems of our small apartment!
I also saw HAIRY slap bracelets in a boutique in Salt Lake last month. Creepy. Who wants hair on their wrist? I also just recently saw on pinterest the sticker earrings. I had totally forgotten about those! Love me some 80s :) Love how you up-cycle everything!
GROSS!
-John
Oh, I need to send you a pic of my tricked out mobile workbench I built last year. It’s awesome! You should totally build one!