Gold Mine? Old Jam Jars Full of Bits

[Colin Morgan]

Do you have a dusty row of old jam jars in the garage?  

Mine go back three generations. They contain a chaotic mixture of fasteners - all shapes, sizes and threads.

[JonE]

my entire attempt at A7 organisation is based around value Peanut Butter containers. White tops so you can write on.

[Colin Morgan]

Labels? I just look through the glass. If I want to find something, I might have to shake them a bit - and if that fails, tip the jar out into a shoe box lid.

[Mike Costigan]

I've got rows of old dried milk cartons - all carefully sorted; the trouble is I can't now remember which cars they were for, so I now spend ages going through UNF nuts looking for a suitable BSF one, or vice versa. Sometimes I recognise, for example, a Triumph Herald window winder bracket, so know not to look in that one, but I'm not usually so lucky!

[Ivor Hawkins]

I have a huge range of different tins and jars with no identification as to what’s in them...I’ve been looking for a metal Speedex badge on and off for the past six months, but I did find all the bits for a Lucas vacuum wiper motor...

[JonE]

glad that's still on your mind, Ivor :-)

My attempt at separating 5/16 things from metric has been woeful. I now have pot for standard metric of the nearest looking size, pot for BSF, and....huge bucket for "odd" (which are always the best looking ones)....

[Duncan Grimmond]

I also use white peanut butter tubs but I'm looking for small containers to fill the wasted gaps between them!

[Steve Jones]

I've a variety of used coffee jars, sweet tins and yogurt pots that contain all manner of things not helped because I rarely through much away. However, a few years ago I found 18" x 12" x 3" boxes with hinged lids and internal plastic dividers that can be moved about to suit in Lidl. I think they're made for fishing tackle. I have four and use them for 'new' things! One contains BSF and BSW, a second Metric, the third UNF and UNC and the fourth fibre washers, self tappers, electrical connectors and the like. Because of their size and shape they stack neatly and take up little space. I've found them something of a revelation after years of hunting for items I know I've got.

Steve

[Malcolm Parker]

I use the glass jars that Lidl use for table sauces.   They have gold coloured lids that you can write on with a black marker pen.  They are kept in a Bisley multi drawer steel cabinet of a type that every secretary used to have to contain stationery, letterheads, envelopes etc.  When you open a drawer there will be about a dozen jars looking at you and the system works very well.   I still have several old St Bruno baccy tins which don't work quite so well.  The lids can take some shifting and I never know what I will find, usually rusty old tin tacks.

[Peter Sweeney]

Trouble is when I organise and tidy up. I can't find anything.