03.23.2016

0830

I like household fixes, I genuinely do. There’s a sense of accomplishment that goes along with it and a better understanding of how your home functions. Plus, a lot of household repairs are quite simple and easy to get out of the way if you have the right tools and techniques. So I do keep a few tools on hand in my toolbox for this reason, but over the years, I also purged my tool collection. I tend to use a few tools frequently for fixes and I’ll borrow others. I don’t think it’s necessary for me to have an extensive collection in my toolbox due to the fact that I prefer to borrow tools on bigger jobs. Plus, owning more tools means I have to put more effort into maintaining all of my tools. Basically, now my small toolbox includes:

Level 1:
Exacto blades with blade refills, electrical tape, Teflon (plumbers) tape, a combination lock, 2 old ID cards as putty scrapers, solar calculator

Level 2:
Pair of trauma shears, long nose pliers, combination pliers, gardening shears, multi bit screwdriver, wind up flashlight, Eklind Ergo-Fold Hex Key Set, DAP Dry Time Indicator Spackling & Nail Hole Filler, biking gloves

Level 3:
8-Inch pliers wrench, ratcheting adjustable wrench, claw hammer, bike tool kit, masking tape, extension cords, variety of screws and nails, (Denim bag: mini level, compact mirror, measuring tape, laser measure)

My denim bag is the bag I bring to site visits for my job. It’s basically tools I need to map out a floor plan or sketch out a floor plan easily. I’m a big advocator for borrowing tools, being that I think it helps a community in creating a stronger bond and it eases the stress of trying to own every tool out there for every single fix-up job. I do understand that not everyone will hand over their tools to a total stranger, but there are chains such as Cresco Equipment Rental, which is an equipment rental store, that allow you to rent most any equipment you need.

I also keep an eye on tools that may dry up such as the nail hole filler, electrical tape and masking tape. I keep an eye on them due to the fact that I have a tendency to not use an item for a long time and then the product dries up and becomes trash. It’s for that reason as to why I only own a few AAA batteries and only four battery operated items. I’m a believer in owning and buying ONLY WHAT YOU NEED in the quantity that you need it in. With the intention of buying only tools that you need, I also think that investing in a good set of quality tools is essential. Quality over quantity works on all levels. Over estimating your need for items will always lead to more waste and producing trash.

For most household fixes, you can either fix it yourself which means, you’ll go out to buy the part that needs to be fixed (which most likely will come in packaging that will be discarded) or you can hire a contractor to do the job and hope that they take all the trash with them. Hiring someone to do the job may cost more, but I guess that’s the toss up of how you want to produce trash. Unfortunately, either way, trash will be produced. One of the only hopes when it comes to those situations is that you hope your maintenance of the home stands the test of time.

The point of this blog post was not to tell anyone to copy what I own or to give a standard toolbox set, but evoke some thought of how we go about owning tools. My father was a big believer in fixing up our home on his own so as a child, I always saw a massive collection of tools and I had to re-organize my thought process of how I was going to approach tool ownership.

Minimize, minimize, minimize, it’s one of the simplest steps towards a zero waste life.