My dad was a mechanic, one of the best aircraft mechanics in the northwest. One thing I always admired was his toolbox. To say he kept it organized is an understatement. Everything had a place and it was organized to an unbelievable degree. He wasn't one of those guys that had a painted outline of each tool so you would know where a particular tool went. No, he had his tool box organized so precisely that if you took out a wrench the other wrenches would define a hole in the shape of the missing wrench. Screwdrivers were laid out in the screwdriver drawer so that a missing screwdriver left a gap exactly the size and shape of the missing screwdriver to show you where it would go. As I said I always admired his toolbox.

Over the years, I tried to keep my tools as neat and organized as Dad did, but that's just not me. I'm not that organized, nor as obsessed about getting them back exactly where they came from. (Also I'm not working on airplanes. If I leave a screwdriver somewhere I'll find it in a few days and it won't make anything crash.) I'm an artist, not a mechanic. Believe me, I tried but they'd always end up a jumbled mess in the drawer. In 2003 when Dad passed away I inherited some of his tools. After that, I tried even harder to keep my toolbox organized, because now some of them were 'Dad's Tools', but it didn't work. I always ended up with a drawer or box of jumbled tools that I had to dig through to find whatever I needed, and that just didn't seem right. Dad certainly would not have been happy to see that.

This week I think I settled on a way to keep the tools organized, somewhat, but in a way that I can keep straight. I got six bins, one for each kind of tool. This then is how a writer keeps his tools organized.

The Dr. Seuss Toolbox

I have a bunch of tools
I keep them in the hall
For when to fix a faucet
Or when to build a wall

It's the way that I keep them
They way they're organized
Might seem a little strange
To those with untrained eyes

For I have several bins
Six of them in all
They're sitting in the entry
On the shelf on the wall

Screwy Things, Nutty Things, Hingey Things
Then
Cuttey Things, Sizey Things, Other Things
And
Hammers and Power Tools and things that are large
They stay out in the cold on the shelf in the garage

Screwy Things are
Drivers and such
Phillips and slotted
I use them so much

Nutty things are
Sockets and wrenches
To tighten the nuts
That hold up your fences

Hingey things are
Things with a pivot
Wire cutters, and pliers
And one for pop rivets

Cutty things are
Tools with a blade
Razors and, box knives
And saws for some jade

Sizey things are
Measuring tools
Rulers and tapes
Volt meters too

Other things are
Things that don't fit
Neatly within
The other five kits

Power tools in
The garage they are found
With crowbars and hammers
Large things all around

That then is my Toolbox
How I keep them apart
My Dad wouldn't approve
But at least it's a start





Have a good week
D&M