Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Even The Simple Things - Small, Watertight Organizing Boxes

    Do you Fish? I used to do a lot of fishing many years ago with my Grandfather. Not much after that. I still look through the fishing aisles when I shop. While walking through a local Walmart, I spotted a couple of watertight folding fishing tackle boxes that were on the clearance shelf. I had been looking for a way to store a whole bunch of auto fuses with different amp values and had been looking for a multi-compartment plastic box. Aha! These were better than perfect, they were small, lightweight AND watertight. AND they float too! It got me thinking about what else they could be used for.


Re-purposed Fishing Gear!
I constantly find myself looking for small parts (big parts too, but that's a whole 'nother story!) and spending far too much time looking for them. Sometimes (most of the time!) I spend more time looking for parts than I do actually fixing or modifying anything. It can be VERY frustrating. A couple of years ago I went on an "organizational kick." I began to re-pack and re-organize everything onboard my RV so I could find it. Plastic boxes played a BIG role in reducing the clutter and making it somewhat easier to find stuff. I STILL haven't labeled each box with its' contents, but Real Soon Now, I promise. Hey, they are transparent so I can see into them.Well, sort of.

A terrific example of easily disorganized parts are fuses. They come in various types and sizes for so many things onboard an RV. It's ALWAYS a good idea to have a bunch of spares handy, just in case. *Quick note: Do NOT keep replacing a fuse with a larger amp value if it continues to blow. You WILL cause a fire or, at the very least, melt a bunch of wires. That's bad. Replacing them is not fun. I'd rather be RV'ing! The little box I found has 4 larger compartments, 4 medium sized ones and 24 smaller ones. The first two sets have individual lids and the smaller ones have a big lid over them all. The entire box is hinged and has a secure latch to keep it closed and a lanyard so you can carry it, or more likely hang it someplace handy.

I wish I could find bigger versions of this box! While you could put all sorts of things inside this small one, it only measures about 5" x 3" x 1.5" so it's somewhat limited in space. Still, you could put lots of small bits in it and for only $2.50 each, why not? Sewing notions? Vitamins? Screws, Washers, Nuts & Bolts? Watch Batteries? I could go on for a long while. What can you think of?

Be Seeing You...Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"

www.thewanderman.com.

#rvt743

2 comments:

  1. Rich
    Neat little box. I used to use this type box, but abandoned them as they would pop open and spill their tiny contents everywhere at the worst possible time. I still use a couple to house fuses and electrical connectors, but with at least one rubber band around each to keep them tightly closed. Now I mostly use Zip Lock bags. They stay shut, conform to what's in them and what they are in and are see thru. All of my electrical stuff except fuses and connectors are in Zip Locks inside two plastic storage bins. The bags with the sliding zip locker are my favs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Monte,
      I use those ziplocs too! Of course, when they are filled with tiny parts and the seam rips...same problem. :)

      Rich "The Wanderman"

      Delete

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