Me and my screws today, hardware Ladies and Gents

Me and my screws, I am talking hardware. I have been Loading a 26foot semi trailer with a camp that i semi prefabbed here in CT It will head north to central ME on july 9th. Because the kitchen cabinets are pack all the way forward,I decided to fill them up with stuff. Worked on my workbench for few hours today  I have one great bench, got it from a job site   Sooo I started packing up hardware. If you can name , i probably have one or two  I could not bring my self to throw out a single SCREW!  the nearest general store is 84 miles round trip.  Most coming out of the woods,great ride on a nice day,but,,,,,I have three 3 gallon metal drums,seals intact, and each weighing about 50lbs each,,LOL ..larry

We all have a few five gallon pails of assorted nuts, bolts, screws, nails, washers, bits of wire, etc; that we know the moment we throw it away, we NEED it. One other one my father taught me (for us real shopping was an hour each way then and now, it still is, more like two hours each way) was buy a few more JUST IN CASE. So if you dropped one or did a slight redesign, you have. Here we have the Fastener Fairy, she-who-buys-whole-boxes of vital fasteners, and bulk bolts, nuts, washers, by the multi-pounds. In return we have a supply on hand (the mister really went all out and built a nice storage cabinet of wood with plexi inserts on the trays that sit on the shelves...).

The only thing worse is the confessions of a beadaholic (raises hand). When I moved I dumped all my egg carton flats into 5 gallon pails. 5 pails of massive tonnage of 'bead soup'. That took a while to sort after I moved.... you only score points Larry, if you can actually get into your supply and root around if needed, heh.

Yup, I'm guilty too. I can't toss perfectly good screws and nails. Whether it's replacing a busted switch plate cover that comes with new screws, to buying a doorknob which comes with a strike plate and new screws or taking something apart and having leftover screws after reassembly, they all go in a bin cause I know all too good and well that one day I'll need that one certain screw and I'll likely have it. And I've experienced that more than once, which reaffirms my belief to never throw away fasteners.

I always felt my dad was the master of keeping spare hardware on hand. He not only kept it all, he kept old plastic containers from spree candies to store them in. Only one size and kind of hardware was in each package. The package under the candy label (which peeled off) was clear so you could see what each one held.  Unlike those draw units most places sell, you could carry your container of fasteners with you. The pop tops were small enough to shake a few fasteners out at a time but large enough to be able to easily slide more into the container.  I think they still sell sprees in the same kind of container.