A good toolbox organizer can play a vital role in streamlining your workflow in the garage or on the job site. Proper organization increases the functionality of any toolbox by ensuring that the tools you need are always within reach. No more digging through piles of hammers, wrenches, and pliers—now just quickly find, select, and get to the task at hand. In this guide, we’ve identified eight handy toolbox organization solutions and tested six of them, from inexpensive plastic trays to full-fledged modular systems.
Our favorite is the GearWrench 3-Drawer Tool Box because it’s well-built, reasonably priced, and has several shallow compartments to keep clutter to a minimum. Even without the organizer, this tool box provides a great way to organize items. But if you work with a large toolbox or a large toolbox, one of the other options we tested might be a better choice. Keep reading to learn about the best toolbox organizers for any purpose and project.
We’ve tested a variety of tool organization ideas that promise maximum usability at home or on the job site. The following designs and accessories will help you create an organized toolbox for any project.
An organized toolbox starts with the box itself. The GearWrench 3-Drawer Portable Tool Box has four compartments to give each tool its own place. Each drawer is 2 inches tall and slides smoothly on ball-bearing tracks. The hinged top compartment is 2.5 inches deep and closes securely with a pair of steel latches and a keyed lock on the lid.
We were impressed with the build quality of this tool chest. The powder-coated steel isn’t particularly heavy, but it feels sturdy. The drawer slides and top hinges move smoothly and feel sturdy. The handles, locks, and latches held up to the weight of the tool chest and showed no signs of flexing under the 40-pound load of sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers, and other assorted tools.
This tool box is perfect for organizing your essential hand tools. The overall size and capacity are perfect for our DIY toolbox. The drawers may not look deep at first, but they are perfect for storing a range of frequently used tools, such as wrenches, ratchets, and pliers. The shallow depth eliminates the temptation to throw more in. The top compartment has enough space for smaller items like drills and screwdrivers, but you can add accessories to keep track of where they are.
Our testers said, “It’s hard to organize your tools without a well-organized toolbox. The GearWrench Toolbox isn’t revolutionary in design, but it ticks all the right boxes: efficient layout, solid construction, and a reasonable price.” — Mark Wolfe, product tester and reviewer
Organizing gadgets and parts can be a challenge, and it’s easy to create a mess. KeFanta’s 42-piece tray set can be used to create an effective tool organizer that can store screwdrivers, drills, pliers, Allen keys, and more at an affordable price.
The polypropylene trays come in three sizes to hold everything from nuts and bolts to nails and other fasteners. They’re also very durable: a set can support up to 100 pounds without losing its shape. Plus, the trays are non-slip and snap together, allowing you to custom assemble them to fit a drawer or toolbox.
These toolbox organizers are much sturdier than we expected, and they integrate with most tool storage systems. We use the smallest tray to organize screwdriver bits. The medium tray is designed to hold screwdrivers, as well as small tools like craft knives, precision screwdrivers, hooks, and picks. These organizers fit perfectly in our toolbox drawers and even seem to withstand grease. Available in four colors, the KeFanta 42-piece set can also be used to organize household items or store arts, crafts, and hobby supplies.
The Bucket Boss may not be a tool organizer by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a versatile and affordable tool sorter that could be the perfect solution for many DIYers and home professionals. It’s made from durable 600D ripstop polyester (a material that won’t tear even if cut or punctured) and fits snugly over almost any empty 5-gallon bucket.
There are 56 pockets of varying sizes to accommodate a variety of tools and hardware, from drills and screwdrivers to pliers and wrenches. Three interior loops can hold hammers and power tools, or they can be used to carry the organizer when not on the bucket. Even when hooked up, there is extra storage space inside the barrel for other items. Like many of the best tool organizers, this box has the versatility to be used in a variety of industries and at home.
We especially like using the Bucket Boss for backyard construction. It allowed us to purchase almost all of the hand tools, power tools, and hardware needed to extend the deck. All of the hand tools fit in the pockets, and we kept our cordless circular saw, drill/driver, and extra batteries in the bucket. Throughout the day, we had easy access to tape measures, pencils, drill bits, and other small items that would otherwise clutter up our tool bag. At the end of the day, the bucket was filled with all sorts of cut ends, loose screws, and sawdust.
What our testers said: “I’ve used tool buckets for years, but never a storage bag. The Bucket Boss is much sturdier than I thought, and it has more than enough pockets to hold all my stuff. It’s a major upgrade.” — Mark Wolfe, product tester and reviewer
Wrenches can get tangled up in an open drawer, but this key organizer will keep them neat and tidy. The Ernst Manufacturing Wrench Pro modular organizer fits most wrenches, separating and aligning them so you can quickly find and select the one you need. Included are locking pieces that hold up to 20 wrenches when stacked in a row, plus self-adhesive labels for standard wrench sizes (6mm to 38mm or ¼” to 1½”).
The compact design fits most toolbox drawers and trays with a clearance height of 1 ⅞”. The stepped shape accommodates offset wrenches, combination wrenches, open-end wrenches, stub wrenches, adjustable wrenches and ratchet wrenches. The base of the system features non-slip spike grips that minimize movement inside the drawer.
The Ernst Manufacturing Wrench Organizer has made a huge difference to our toolboxes. The locking mechanism works as expected. However, our unlined boxes have nothing to catch the pins on, so components can slide around during transport. Despite this, the organizer held up well, and we were able to find the right wrench right away and easily identify which one was missing. It’s a simple but effective system.
Few tools are as annoying as a pile of scattered sockets, but the Olsa Tools Portable Socket Organizer eliminates this problem. It features a ball-bearing clamp that can hold 20 ¼-inch sockets, 30 ⅜-inch sockets, and 30 ½-inch sockets. The socket guide is mounted on a steel base plate and features a folding handle for easy removal and transport from the toolbox.
The Olsa Tools tool organizer is easy to use. The spring-loaded ball-bearing lock allows you to slide the sleeves on and off with minimal effort, while still holding them securely. Reconfiguring the collet to combine sizes and types is as simple as pressing the track lock to slide the clamp from one track to the other. Deep sleeves will fit the clamps, but they may interfere with the tray’s installation in a shallow drawer. We stored ours in the deeper top compartment of our toolbox, which also left extra room for ratchets, extensions, and other accessories.
This setup is easy to use and makes it easy to tell if a socket is missing. The 80 clamps in the set don’t match the number and size of the blades in our collection, but the good news is that Olsa Tools sells extra clamps in packs of 10 or 24 to fit any blade size.
If the tool organization systems we tested don’t quite fit your situation, we have a few more suggestions. During our research, we found the following products and found that each has certain features and benefits that are also worth considering.
The Craftsman 18-Inch Tool Chest is an example of where we think tool chests and tool organizers intersect. Unlike some portable tool chests that only offer a tray and little else to organize tools, the Craftsman has multiple dividers that can be removed and rearranged to suit your needs. The cantilever design opens completely, allowing easy access to both drawers and a spacious lower section.
Additionally, the Craftsman 18-inch tool box is made of structural foam, making it durable yet lightweight, so it is still highly portable despite its impressive size and capacity. It also has an international IP54 water and dust protection standard. The rust-proof metal buckle ensures a secure closure during transport.
Using foam is a great way to make a DIY toolbox organizer. Foam can be custom-made to fit existing toolboxes and toolboxes, and then cut to fit all types of tools, from sockets, wrenches, and pliers to drills and other power tools. It’s important to choose the right type of foam, though, as some types tend to tear or wear out quickly.
Onreva uses Kaizen foam, a closed-cell laminated polyethylene that is strong, durable, shock-absorbing, and vibration-damping. It is also easy to cut with a sharp utility knife or craft knife. This organizer set comes in a three-pack of 18″ x 12″ x 2.2″ foam sheets.
Power tools are bulky, especially if they require a spare battery or two and a charger. So the toolbox organizer that will hold them needs to be big enough. The Milwaukee PACKOUT Rolling Toolbox certainly fits the bill, and it has a host of other attractive features.
The impact-resistant boxes have metal reinforcements on the corners for added strength on the job site. The weight capacity is 250 pounds, so it’s definitely tough. The cart has 9-inch all-terrain wheels and a retractable handle. There’s a pull-out tray for small tools and accessories, and valuable tools are protected by an IP65 waterproof seal.
This modular tool storage system also offers great expandability with a variety of matching tool boxes and organizers that can be linked together with the system to form a complete modular storage system.
Purchase a Milwaukee Tool Organizer at Home Depot, Ace Hardware, or Northern Tool & Equipment.
If you already have a toolbox (or even several), one of the easiest ways to make a toolbox organizer is to use foam. Foam is available in different thicknesses and even colors. Foam needs to be relatively dense to hold its shape, so be wary of cheap substitutes.
The key to success when making your own foam tool organizer is planning. Try to keep similar tools together for convenience. Lay them out on a clean sheet of paper and see how you can arrange them to make the most of the space. Make sure the gaps between the tools aren’t too small or the foam may pop.
Once you are happy with the design, you can trace around the tool and use the traced design as a template to cut the foam. Be sure to leave indentations for your fingers so you can remove the tools. You can use a special heated foam cutter, but a sharp utility knife will do just fine. The cut out pieces can also be used as dividers for your toolbox, ensuring that nothing goes to waste.
As DIY enthusiasts and home improvement product testers, we use a variety of tools every day. For this guide, we’ve selected the tool organization solutions we were looking for from the start: a toolbox with enough compartments without being too technical, and organizers that help keep your most complex tools separate and organized. We looked at products from both well-known brands and lesser-known companies, and selected complementary models to test.
As a test, we put together a sample household tool set of the most commonly used items, including sockets, wrenches, drill bits, and knives, then loaded them into a tool organizer and worked with this new tool set for several weeks.
When shoppers choose a toolbox organizer, much depends on the tools they currently own, but it’s also worth remembering that most tool collections grow over time. Additionally, many organizers are great all-purpose pieces, but some are designed for specific hobbies or professions. The following section provides some basic toolbox organization tips to help you refine your search.
Toolbox organizers come in a variety of styles and sizes. One of the most important things to consider is the type of tools you will be storing in the organizer. Many organizers are multi-purpose, and most DIYers will find them useful. Other organizers are more tool-specific.
For example, wrench and socket organizers are often designed for home or professional mechanics. Other organizers may be designed to meet the needs of plumbers, electricians, roofers, etc. There are also storage boxes that have many small compartments for storing screws, nails, and hardware. The modular system allows you to combine everything into one stackable kit.
Capacity (or size) and portability require careful consideration. If the tool storage is stationary, such as a cabinet, or does not move very far, such as a rolling tool chest, then its capacity can be as large as the physical space, and organizers and foam make it easy to organize the tool storage as desired.
If portability is a must, you may have to compromise on the number or size of tools. However, there are plenty of choices. In addition to a variety of small and medium-sized toolbox organizers, there are also toolbox organizers that come with their own rolling carts. For example, the DeVilbiss and Milwaukee systems provide high throughput while maintaining reasonable portability.
It’s also important to consider weight. What looks portable may not be easy to move if it’s full of tools. Not only is overloading uncomfortable, it can also lead to injury.
Toolbox organizers are made from a variety of materials, depending on their intended use. Steel is a common material that provides strength and durability. However, steel is heavy, so it is usually best used in stationary cabinets or mobile toolboxes. Aluminum is lighter and corrosion-resistant, but is primarily used in truck toolboxes.
Plastic is also popular, usually polypropylene or polycarbonate. It is generally lighter than its metal counterparts, easier to shape, does not rust, and has good impact resistance.
Fabrics such as leather, nylon and polyester provide flexibility. They may not fit into a “box” strictly speaking, but they can fit into a bucket, tool bag or tool belt. They are popular and come in a variety of finishes. Again, it’s a matter of deciding what works best for the tools at the hobbyist’s or professional’s disposal and how they work.
While there are one or two exceptions, most toolbox organizers are fairly affordable, especially when compared to the cost of the tools they contain. However, cost savings are only one reason to purchase a finishing system; there are others.
In the article above, we covered many basic ideas for tool storage and hopefully answered most of your questions. However, you may still be wondering how to organize equipment in a toolbox, so we’ve answered some common questions here.
To some extent, the terms “tool box” and “tool set” are interchangeable. If there is a difference between the two, it is that a tool box is usually thought of as a large container, perhaps with a pull-out tray, and that’s it. As a result, the contents are usually a bit cluttered. The best tool boxes are usually portable and may have multiple drawers or dividers to better organize your tools.
There are so many options in the tool organizers above that there is bound to be one that will suit almost any need. However, there are many tool storage ideas that may be better suited to specific needs. Other options to consider include floor-to-ceiling cabinets and rolling tool boxes.
There are many ways to store power tools in a tool organizer, and much will depend on the size and number of power tools you have. For those who already have a tool box, there are various dividers available, or foam can be cut to size. Or, a modular system like the one we featured in Milwaukee can accommodate larger groups of power tools.
Steel remains one of the most popular materials for tool boxes because it is strong, rigid, durable, and affordable.
Post time: Feb-10-2025