My wife is "allergic" to glass anything, something from her past. . . I don't use them in the metal shop, just in case. But in the wood shop, now, I have dozens of small jars of parts. (Jelly jar size) Having been a "pack rat" since childhood, I have tons of junk stuff stashed away. Lots of electrical parts, my (ex)profession, just in case they are needed some day. Cardboard boxes for the big stuff, jars (both glass and plastic) for the "normal" (middlin') size stuff, and jillions of pill bottles for my modeling parts. So much so that I have cases (plastic) to store the small pill bottles by function. Stored in a barn storage shed, the cardboard boxes don't last more than a couple years. Between the climate(?) and squirrels fuzzy tailed rats, the cardboard breaks down. Really important stuff is stored in plastic totes.(bins?)
Over the years, I have tried several systems where the lids were fastened to the underside of a (sometimes rotating) shelf. With the exception of baby food jars of a consistant size, none were worth the trouble. Since I have no children, and the women I have dated had school age kids, I've had no real access to them. I drink a cheaper brand of coffee and recently it comes in squared canisters. Then there are the #10 food cans. I have found, for the size of my "collection", shallow shelves give the densest storage. Especially with odd sized containers. Shelves can be arranged to swivel out of the way, several deep.
One side of my shop looks like a supply house.(laugh) One of my personal "problems" is that when I have a need for some item, such as hex head machine screws, I buy a package of a hundred at little more cost than to buy eight or so at the hardware store. Over time, I have a selection that rivals that supply house for items I (used to) use. So much so that my memory is slacking up. And odd items for my models, many no longer made.
.
www.kijiji.ca
