How Do you keep from loosing things?

Case in point. I purchased some o rings for my 924s that seal the injectors to the fuel rail (they come in palcs of 4). I replaced the one that was leaking at the time and because I was short on time put the rest aside to get back to them later as I needed the car to get some place. Well today I was inspecting things and found that another one weeping a little fuel so off comes the injector rail and I was going to replace them all. I know I put them some place. I remember labeling them and everything "so I would remember where they are" and now they have vanished in to thin air. I can get another pack of them at the local parts store for less then $4.00 but it drives me crazy. AND as soon as I finish the job I will find the ones I have been looking for.

Generally speaking I use the cardboard trays that Costco tosses out. They are great for placing parts in. I have one for specific types of items. Electrical, hoses, ignition, exhaust, and so forth. If I don't have a lot of stuff for a specific car I make one tray specificly for that car. They stack up nice and I write on then on the side what they are. Generally this works well but every now and then the system fails me (like these O rings)

The box's I use are similar to these. They stack nice as they have little interlocking tabs. They are about 30 inches long and 18 inches wide.

So how do you keep your stuff organized so you are not hunting for it later?

plastic bins. for example i have one with all gaskets and seals, one with hoses, one with wiring, etc. then i break it down to vehicle specific bins for all the small things associated with a vehicle. for boxed parts i keep them in a cabinet and write on the box which vehicle they are for.

zip lock freezer bags and tote/bins and now that I'm reassembling, I'm finding that I wasn't nearly as organized as I thought I was.

Bins! (Big ones)

One for each car, mostly keeps me out of trouble.
If it's too big to fit in the bin, even I have trouble losing it

I always used to lose miscellaneous little things like injector o-rings, drain-plug washers, and the like. I always hated having to buy cheap-assed little things that I knew I already had, but had misplaced.

Now, I have a drawer in my toolbox dedicated to these items. Some are in plastic organizers, and some are in zip-lock bags, but they are all labeled for which car they are from.

The boxes that things are in get labeled with a Sharpie.

This does not help any when you THINK you put your packet of piston rings in with the pile of pistons and rods, but it's really in the box labeled "MC2 HEAD STUDS/NUTS OIL PUMP REAR MAIN SEAL 82.5MM RINGS" because you don't think to look there because why would someone put the rings in THAT box instead of keeping them with the pistons, so you waste three hours of an alotted four tearing the place apart looking for them.

Plastic bins. Old kitchen cabinets. Book shelves.

Anything small that's not already in a box, I put into plastic bags, often with a post-it inside with the contents written on it. Partly for me to remember, partly to help anyone who has to go through my piles of crap if I die. Since I have bins and boxes of parts for a half-dozen cars, keeping it all straight is a challenge.

I like Loc-Tite Red to keep things from loosing.

To avoid losing things, I like the plastic shoeboxes size containers. I fill those with similar things and then I can pack them together in larger bins which prevents things from getting knocked asunder when I'm rooting around for something.

If I can manage to keep other people away from my stuff is the best way

My shop space is my parents garage. They moved. I'm scared to go home and discover what has grown legs.

It helps if you take the time put a good bit of thought into where you are going to leave them; you are more likely to remember the thought process. For something like O-rings, the trunk or where the spare tire is would be a good spot. You can fill the spare tire space with miscellaneous parts/tools and then just put the spare tire in the trunk if this stash grows large enough.

I think this belongs in tech tips, what do you guys think? There's some great ideas in here.

I reuse my sandwich bags from my lunch.

I have a large ziplock with a bunch of smaller, recycled ziplocks stuffed into it.

I think through my project the night before, labeling as many bags as I can ahead of time with a sharpie ("intake manifold bolts", "water pump bolts" etc)

If it is something small,like your injector o-rings... I leave them in a bag in the glove box or trunk... (Ok, so I don't do this. But maybe I should.)

When working on a project, I found that using HF organizer bins were really helpful. I filled the organizer in order, left to right, top to bottom, and labeled each compartment. When reassembling, I just worked backwards.

Bins here too. opaque with lids, so I can keep them in the spare bedroom closet without it being too obvious that the room is full of car parts. Although if we're being honest, the front bumper sitting on top of the stack of wheels is a bit of a tell

+1 on the organizer bins, I wish I had thought of that. I'm still looking for a set of 4 rotors I saved 5 years ago, I know I put them in a really safe and easy spot to find. Most of the time I use zip lock bags and a sharpie for small stuff but it all goes on a shelf and I have to dig through the whole mess. I usually give up on the pile just before I find what I need and go buy it again. I have also come to the realization that if something is less than $5 for a package I should use what I need and toss it then when I need them again just go back to the store and save the 2 hours I would have spent looking for the item.

i have 2 of these. one is used for small engines i have apart and spare parts. the other is for all automotive stuff.

I like Mitchell's bin idea. I think I'll try that for my next project. Or maybe reorganize all of the nuts and bolts currently in magnetic trays from when I tore apart the TDI. Maybe that would be the incentive to get me back to wrenching on it again.

In reply to The Canadian:

I have two of those - one for metric hardware and one for SAE hardware. Eventually, I'll get a 3rd for misc automotive hardware.

^ I have a smaller version of this that I use for things like O-rings and small screws, washers, nuts, whatever fits in the small drawers.

But then I usually forget I have them and end up buying more anyway.

I try to take off things then sub-assemble them as much as I can so the fasteners are in their specified parts. Anything that must be loose goes into labelled plastic bags. Then into boxes per sequence.

The best system I had was the time I was building my Improved Touring car and had everything in an MS Access Database with coded boxes and bins. Worked great but difficult to maintain discipline to ensure database entry was made and is updated.

I use these ones from Home Depot for small parts, and keep similar items together.

I have totes, or cardboard boxes for vehicle specific parts. When I get a new bike I start a new box and put the old parts that I want to keep, and new parts to be installed in it.

How Do you keep from loosing things?

I never turn them lefty-loosey.

In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:

Beat me to it.

I like to keep small parts in loose piles around whatever project I'm working on. That way when I kick said pile of small parts, the time I have for wrenching turns into a scavenger hunt. Will I find all of the pieces? Who knows!