Not only to most of us here in the US have more than 3, they even sell sets of just 10mm in the discount stores. E.g.
This!
I am LIVING this right now.
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I am sure I have more than 3, but I SHOULD have more than 12 LOL. They are always the first thing to get lost. Socket and wrenches. Doesn’t help that I’m the most unorganized human around lol.
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Not with my tools, they are pretty well organized. Once I learned to sort of eyeball what size I needed, or what the proper tool is. I organized and it stays that way. That helps me get stuff done way faster. Watching people hunt for a tool, or dig in a tool bucket for a socket makes me laugh.
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That’s me for sure. And I absolutely hate it. I am horrible for when I get done with a project that I just pile it up and tell my self I will come do it in a few but that never comes lol. It is something I truly want to get better at and hope to start making strides to that very very soon!
One of my biggest things is I cant “see” how I want them organized. And I get lost in what to do, and end up just not doing anything. One of the real 
side effects of ADHD unfortunately.
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It’s both sides of the ADHD spectrum, frankly. I can foucs for intense, long periods of time, but after that I just reach a point where I have to stop and walk away, sometimes abandoning work in place.
It’s a trait I’m much better at mitigating at work, but a chronic issue for me at home.
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Mine too - almost to the point of illness! 
I have a lot of very obscure tools most of which are used very regularly. The only one that I can think of that has not been used for more than half a century, but is carefully packed in its original box because it’s day will come again is this one: Does anyone know what it is? (Answer at the bottom of this post)
I’ve pretty much fixed that problem - this el-cheapo sharpener has paid for itself a zillion times.
Now for the dust, sadly, and I am ashamed to admit it:-
Both the LR3 and Laser sit neglected - I have one of every kind of woodworking machine in my little space, and these are the only two that have had no use in the last year. With a little over eight weeks remaining until our next four month adventure, the prospects of them having a run are minimal, so I will definitely get serious about selling the LR3 despite my strong emotional attachment to it!
I’ve got a good number of the project backlog out of the way, so late this year or early next, I may very well start work on its successor…
Pic 1 is a Rug Tufting Tool, to make rug hooking semi-mechanised! We hand made our first floor rugs using some cheap disposal wool, but have not found any material to suit our budget since. 
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Agree 1000%
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At work, there are boundaries that make it a little easier. At one point I would be away for a week or more each month, my PA would sift through all my piles of mess, file it all and get it all tidy. I’d return, explode 
because I couldn’t find anything, set about working and piling things up again, then I’d go away… Groundhog Day had nothing on my life back then!
At home, to most, my shed seems super organised, but it’s not what it seems if you look closely. In that vortex you both describe, I bought a few dozen Ikea cutlery drawer liners for a dollar each, then sorted like tools into them. I’m disciplined enough to put stuff back where it belongs, but the filing system is not too logical - because I never got around to sorting that - see @Jonathjon 's post above! Therefore different screwdrivers might be three drawers apart, and crimpers in the same drawer as razor blades - but they are compartmentalised and easy to find and therefore easy to put away.
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Been struggling with organization ever since I started buying hoarding tools and materials… Tried various things, but usually only after exceeding my frustration threshold when finding things frequently starts to take too long.
Few years ago I started accumulating a bunch of stackable latching plastic containers. e.g. Sterilite’s https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B004QJGW6C , 16qt, 32qt, 64qt sizes work for most of the things I do. Stacked on the floor, then eventually on open ply boxes, then eventually some rolling wire mesh shelving. Resisted plastic containers for a while, in part because of price. But being able to quickly pick up and relocate semi-organized stuff gives me peace of mind that seems to make them worth it, in my mind, but not hers…
I try to use the smallest container possible for a group of like things. Even doing that took a while, I struggled to “see” how to organize too, so I used AI to help…
Some Unfinished and finished projects end up in containers too. What I’m doing probably won’t make sense for people wrangling large items.
I like the fantasy of being ultra organized. But, I’ve accepted my tendencies and limited motivation/time/ability to continually invest in such lofty goals. So, for now I’m happy practicing “continual integration” of throwing groups of like things into color labeled containers. Occasionally dividing/combining/resizing containers based on accumulation of things.
Happy to share and explain label details if anyone’s interested. e.g .NET Devs will understand the GC Gen0, Gen1 references used for partially sorting tools based on usage frequency…
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Can I interest you in a nice french cleat system where you can see everything?
I have a pretty good system, everything has its place and the stuff I use most often goes onto the wall. That worked out quite well. If I can’t find something it’s because I got distracted and set it down somewhere without thinking…
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I have a rule- every time I go into the workshop I put 5 things away!
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Where you can find them? 
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Sure!!! Right after you find me the wall space to install it
We have tried the tote thing a few times. Only thing it has really worked ok for is Filament. Everything out in the garage is just a mess in the totes.
So far the only thing that has sorta worked ok for me is Shallow drawers. 6" or less. I have a few that are only 2" deep, one of those is where I keep all my endmills. The shallow depth doesn’t allow me to pack more in than I can still see.
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I have a hard time getting rid of tools. Marie Condo has that book the Joy of Tidying Up. It works well for most things. But I am supposed to pick up an object and see if it brings me joy. If not, I have to get rid of it.
But a drain snake doesn’t bring me joy. I still have to keep it.
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It brings you some kind of joy when its 10pm and a drain is clogged, and you don’t have to call a plumber to come fix it lol
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Please expand on this one.
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Yes please! Somehow I missed that
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you don’t need the drain snake, just some M80’s.
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I really need to get a proper set of sockets. All mine are a mishmash of brands and I’m missing sizes.
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I’ve been putting a lot of stuff up on Facebook Marketplace for free recently. I have a ton of stuff like that, old screwdriver sets that don’t match, tools that I want to replace with nicer ones but I can’t really justify having 2 of etc. It works great for things where they still have value and utility but not enough to be worth selling. It bypasses my ‘I can’t throw this out, it’s still usable and that would be a waste’ reflex, especially when the items in question can’t be scrapped or recycled and would just get hiffed into landfill.
The nice thing about putting it up for free is that most people are genuinely grateful and you can just block anyone who is rude or an asshole without concern because it’s not like you’re trying to get any money out of anyone. It also makes organizing pickups a lot easier because you can just leave it by the mailbox or something if you’re going out.
So that’s a perfect thing to do with things like sets of screwdrivers that are all mismatched or socket sets that you want to replace etc. Same thing with cheap power tools that you want to get a matching battery version of etc.
I’ve got a random assortment of ring spanners, a bunch of doubled-up screwdrivers or mismatched ones, a nice 1/2" chrome socket set I’ve never used, some cheap power tools like an old slightly crusty circular saw, a hammer drill, and 1/4" mains router, etc. Dragging them all out into a pile, taking photos of them all and listing them all either for free or for cheap enough that they’ll go quickly and without hassle gets it done with minimal effort on my part and zero guilt.
I’m doing quite a lot of that at the moment because it looks like the company I’m working for is closing down so I have a lot of stuff at work that I saved from a previous shutdown that I really don’t want to go back to storing. Today’s items that I’m listing: 4 huge Pelican cases, an assortment of extra screwdrivers and a selection of reels of appliance wire.
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