Minimizing amount of tools owned?

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SZR48207

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I've been trying to go minimalist in a lot of areas in life, but it is hard to justify selling off or donating away tools. Hand tools, power tools, drywall tools, painting tools, it all seems to have a future use.

So far I have gotten to the point where I don't have more than 1 of each tool, but I'm curious if there are any good ways to determine if something is worth keeping.

Strangely enough, I find that I'm more likely to toss or donate "multi function" tools since they usually don't perform as well as the standalone version.
 
Unfortunately, my experience has been that about a week after you donate or give something away, that's when you will need it and go looking for it! It's better to have the tool and not need it than to need it and not have it, IMHO.
 
In some cities and towns there are tool libraries. When I had need for an orchard ladder and pole pruner I borrowed them. These places appear to operate from donations. You may find that donating a seldom used tool is helpful to you and others.

To determine if a tool is worth keeping you might ask yourself how hard would it be to borrow or rent said tool? I just looked in my tool box Sunday and saw 2 ball joint separators. I also own 2 different sized pickle forks. As I have friends with these tools and do those jobs much less than previously I will probably donate them all.

The other side of the coin offers this joke:

You hear the one about they guy with too many tools?

Yeah, me neither.
 
If you live close enough to an auto parts store that has a loaner tools, then you don't need to own seldom used tools. Otherwise, tools are something that you should keep.
 
There are some tools that I have multiples of-wrenches, sockets, etc. If I happen to accumulate an excess of them I'll give them away the next time I donate to the ReStore, or give them to friends who want them. On occasion I'll sell something of higher value, such as an extra leaf blower I picked up at an estate auction.

If I have a reasonable chance of using something in the future I'll certainly keep it. If there is very little or no chance that I'll ever use it again-my tile cutting and laying tools as an example-I'll get rid of them.
 
I applaud you for going minimalist. I often think I have way too much stuff, and go through and donate some every so often. I have a pal, who is just the opposite, a hoarder by nature. There's truths to both views. On the minimalist side, I often go through my garage and rid out things I haven't used in a long time, and don't anticipate using in the future, BUT, it always seems I give away something, that I later need. It's not a big deal and doesn't happen all that often, but it's an annoyance to have to go get something, or borrow it, when you had it on hand.
On the hoarder side, they almost always have what they need, but never seem to be able to lay their hands on it. So much stuff requires good organization, which usually doesn't follow with the haorder mentality.

Still, in the end, I like the minimalist approach. Stuff is stuff, not important in the long run, and if it helps someone else out to need what I had, then that's an extra bonus.
 
i recently got back from a trip to thailand, and you can learn from the actual monks, whose possesions are just sandals, their robe and a mat on their back. (although some do have iphones).

That being said, there is a cleanup rule for clothes of if you haven't worn it in a year, time to donate it.

Perhaps apply something similar to your stockpile
 
I have pared mine down to the rolling 15 drawer mechanics chest, the side by side 5 shelf cabinet and the 7 tool boxes in the basement...plus my power tools, carpenter tools and mason tools.

Well, then there is the compressor and all of the hoses and air tools and 3 jacks with 2 jack stands and a hydraulic beam and motorcycle jack.

Other than that....I am a minimalist too....
whistle.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Mike242GT
Unfortunately, my experience has been that about a week after you donate or give something away, that's when you will need it and go looking for it! It's better to have the tool and not need it than to need it and not have it, IMHO.


This is what I have found. I was literally loading up the car with old POTS phone wiring (since we are totally cell now) when my wife called and asked where she could get some for work.

John
 
Originally Posted By: 1foxracing
With the exception of outdoor power equipment I find little use for SAE tools today.


Very true. I donated off 95% of my SAE tools because almost everything is metric.
 
I struggled with this subject a bit last year, in my effort to clean up and organize my garage. I realized that the reason a lot of my old tools take up so much space is I keep them too organized. Hardline, and most other tools, really don't take up much space, if you don't care about organization. Organization only matters for tools in use.

Armed with this epiphany, I reorganized my primary automotive rolling tool chest/box and removed everything obsolete and duplicate. Now it is much more usable.

The other stuff, I now have in another chest, one deep 27" drawer full of mostly SAE, obsolete tools (ignition and carb stuff), and mismatched/incomplete Metric. Occasionally I'll hunt up a sacrificial socket or something I need, but mostly I just dump there as I upgrade my primary toolbox.

When that drawer gets full, it will be time to go to Goodwill.

Large power tools are a no-brainer. They take up too much floor space, and that is precious, so either I use it, or out it goes.

Small power tools, I have a story. I once donated a 14.4V drill driver and flashlight set to Goodwill. For the cost of replacing the 3 mostly dead NiCad batteries, I already bought myself a new 2 battery LiIon setup.

As I was driving out of the GW parking lot, I saw someone carrying it out of the store.
 
Not an area where I can agree, always find one more thing that isn't there when needed. The only way I can say go minimalist is not have an extra set of everything in each car.
 
Tools are something I couldn't begin to give away or even sell, especially since most of mine say "made in USA" and that's hard to come by anymore.
 
I have many screwdrivers that I feel I should get rid of.

My older Craftsman's look like they were used punches, chisels etc and would most likely round a screw.

As far as SAE tools, they annoy me when they come in a MECHANIC's tool set. For a set that is kept in a care, they could easily make these things so much smaller.

12 pt sockets 5mm-20mm, perhaps 3 ratchets or at least a 1/4" and a 3/8" as well as accommodating wrenches are about all that is really needed IMO. Perhaps a set of nice screwdrivers, but that's it.
 
I too have worked at cutting back on tools. When my Dad passed away I combined his tool collection with mine and sold most of the duplicates.

I will retire from my computer job in 4 Yrs and we will move. So again I will be cutting back in a couple of years.

I work on a variety of projects. Many still need SAE so I will not be giving up those anytime soon.
 
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