it's just so daunting a task that we last for a few days then give up. Then it's worse because he just drags everything back out and when we work up the nerve to tackle it again we just are re-doing what was already done. Organizing is a process, not something that is ever "done". The Shaker motto is: "A place for everything, and everything in its place" ... you need to start by making a place for everything, even if it's temporary, so that you don't backslide too badly. ORGANIZING METHODS: There are two basic ways to handle tools ... each has its strong and weak points. Which would suit him better? Discuss this with him, because having a system that works the way he works is critical to his maintaining it. 1 - Group by function, so all wrenches are hung together, all hammers, etc. Advantage - Fewer duplicates. Disadvantage - Have to pick tools to take to the job if you can't bring the job to the bench, have to put tools back at least weekly, or it all falls apart. WORKS BEST FOR naturally organized person, a "handyman" who works in a single area, one who has wall space to make it all visible. Pegboard and hooks would make this work. BIG pegboards. 2 - Sort tools into labelled, task-specific toolboxes so the "plumbing" box has the pipe wrenches, the washers, etc. The "wood work" box has the rasps, the wood chisels, etc. (a variant of this would be to have different workbenches or drawers or pegboards, each with the tools for that task) Advantage - Faster to pick and store. If you are working on a faucet, you grab the "plumbing" box and it has the pipe tape, the washers, the wrenches, the valve-puller, the fittings, and the commonly used screwdrivers for faucets. At the end of the repair, you replace the used supplies, put it all back in the box and put the box on the shelf. Disadvantage - Duplicate tools needed, usually the common types. You can get around the duplicates by having one box of the generic tools: screwdrivers, common wrenches, a good hammer, etc. It means grabbing two boxes for any job - the generic tools and the specialty box. WORKS BEST FOR "handyman" who works in several locations and can't take the work to the workshop. I got used to this working on rental properties. Also works well for the person who finds the first method to be too "nit-picky" ... just dumping it all into the box may be enough organization for them. ======================= It may make sense for any power tool to have its own toolbox with its blades or bits, chuck key and extension cord, and ear and eye protection, etc. When I grab the "multi-tool'" box, I get everything I need to use the tool. When I grab the door planer box, I get everything. Ditto for the drills, the circular saw, etc. ======================= GETTING THERE - for either system - starts out by finding and sorting it so you know what you have. And it assumes you have some shelf space. FIRST STEP: Get a bunch of bins - shoeboxes work well - label them with categories and start tossing things into them. This is a speed exercise. You are doing a fast top-level sort, trying to clear the clutter into small chunks of clutter. Pliers and wrenches Screwdrivers Hammers Drill bits, hole saws (anything you attach to a drill) Scrapers, chisels, sanders, rasps (anything that shapes wood) Fasteners - all rivets, screws, nails, bolts, etc. (recycle plastic jars for this) Power tools and accessories (blades, guides, etc.) Files and rasps Painting tools Drywall repair Demolition (sledges, prybars, wrecking bars) Put the boxes on the shelves. MAINTENANCE for this phase is just tossing things back in the right box. It may be enough of an improvement that you can stop here. SECOND STEP PREP: If you are going for the "all on the wall", next you put up the pegboards and also shelves for boxes of things that can't be hung. If you are going to do the project-specific boxes, find toolboxes. Any box should be large enough to hold ALL the tools for that task, but not much bigger. My plumbing box holds the torch and a small snake as well as the wrenches, so it's honking ginormous. THIRD STEP IMPLEMENTING: Here's where the project box method makes it easy. Any time you have a certain kind of project, grab the box for it. If there isn't a box, go through the bins from Step 1 and collect your tools and fill a box for it. If you are using method 1, sort each box into finer categories if it makes sense: phillips versus straight versus funny-shaped screwdrivers ... pipe wrenches versus Hang them up by type. ============= As time permits, sort out the fasteners into smaller categories. The trick is to NOT get too finely divided with the main containers because that is its own sort of clutter. If I grab a box that says "drywall screws" from the shelf and inside it there are 17 containers with various sizes, that's great. If those 17 containers are on the shelf, no matter how nicely labelled they are, I have to look at every container to make sure I have all the drywall screws.

The electrician's repair report was enough to get the insurance written-- and he didn't have to do anything else So we closed He came out to the house the day after and showed us some of the problems with the main electrical box and pointed out some other problems in the house And he was upfront about what was more cosmetic vs borderline problamatic Basically it is a 40+ yr old house that has had remodeling donein stages and needs to have the electrical box cleaned up and updated When the sellers did the kitchen remodel they added a new smaller panelffor part of the new fixtures but they didn't move any of the crowded circuits over to balance the load Some of the circuit breakers are looseand need to be replaced with more modern version probably shouldn't have passed inspection but required replacing--like the double tapped breakers But the electrician also said that the kitchen remodel had been well done--so that is positive Some of the things we are changing include relocating some ceiling fans and light switches and changing out some light fixtures and plug covers--which are mainly cosmetic vs dangerous but prior owners had open/unshielded light bulbs screwed into the closet fixtures which is dangerous--especially with all they had crammed into their closets on the top shelves they had taken out the porch light fixture on the ceiling of front portch--and covered the junction box with cardboard they painted-- so you couldn't really see anyone at the front door w/o opening it because there is not enough light at night... Having that corrected... 'they also had some small transformers like you use for landscape lighting on back patio with extension cords handing out of them--right by where the BBQ grill is-- looked messy and dangerous--so that is getting cleaned up Yes--I probably overreacted-- but our RE agent has been in business for more than 10 yrs he has seen enough home inspection reports to know when something is going to be a problem I can't believe that the guy doing the home inspection didn't tell him at the time that those breakers wouldn't pass insurance requirements... anyway-- a house with an electrical problem is not so bad in the scheme of things... we flew back from FL Friday and found out Monday that friend of our son--young man we have known since jr high--died very unexpectedly after going to ER for what he thought was bad case of flu... left wife and three children under 3-- so that was terrible news... difficult to take pleasure in your own happiness

Nancy, I love those clever shoe-storing ottomans; I wish I had the need for yet another ottoman. I confess to having an out-of-hand shoe situation, and I really need to address it before DH throws them (and ME!) out on the driveway. Fact is, I like shoes. A lot. My problem is I don't have one of those humongous walk-in closets with dedicated shoe storage, it is smaller, and I have had to improvise- with tiered racks, with those hanging shoe thingies, and just shoving them here and there. Mostly they end up in various places after I wear them. I am fooling myself if I think that I will dutifully bring the ones I wear the most back upstairs. I told DH the other day that I was going to address this situation, and I will. I am thinking about sticking a little tiered wired rack into our front hall closet, and will line up some of the most often used shoes there. That is the closet he throws them in when they assault his visual space. OR maybe I will install shelves, low to the floor, where I can make the most of the space. I will need to ponder this. I also want to see ML's kitchen reveal!

USB was originally only specified for 5V and 0.5A -- and even that was only available, if you plugged in an "active" device that had a small CPU in it. That means, you could never run more than about 2.5W through it, and passive devices would only get 1/2W. That's enough for the USB-powered alarm clock on your nightstand. But it would be painfully slow for charging phones. Very quickly, cell phone manufacturers decided they needed more power, but the legal framework in the EU forced them away from proprietary connectors and towards USB connectors. They worked the system by coming up with proprietary solutions for negotiating higher currents with the charger. You'd typically see increased current from anywhere in the vicinity of 1A all the way up to maybe 2.5A. Anything higher than that, and the connectors and wires would risk getting damaged. These tiny little devices really weren't meant for this. The specifics depended on the manufacturer (Apple, Sony, Google, Motorola, ...) until eventually a single standard became popular. But at best, you'd get about 12W. That's still not a lot considering how much power a phone needs, and it definitely isn't enough to charge computers. Qualcomm realized this, and came out with yet another proprietary solution (Quickcharge) that it licensed to a lot of other companies. It increases voltage instead of current. This is safer for the wires and the connectors, but it has the potential of damaging the electronics in your device. So, it requires a much more complicated protocol to negotiate the needs/capabilities of all the components that are involved (i.e. charger, mobile device, and ideally also cable). Quickcharge initially only supported 10W, but gradually went up to 36W, and there now even is a specification for 100W. But I am not sure if anybody implements that. Eventually the organization that standardizes USB woke up to this need and implemented their own system. It's called USB PD (power delivery). It is much more elaborate than Quickcharge and only works with USB-C. But it also gets a lot of things right that Quickcharge couldn't do because of limitations in the USB-A system. These days, all modern equipment seems to have moved towards USB-C and takes advantage of PD. Only older designs or devices that need very little power still use USB-A. In fact, since PD is spec'd all the way up to 100W, you are now seeing many new laptop designs using USB as the power connector of choice. No more bulky proprietary chargers. I simply carry a single universal charger when travelling, and it charges all the devices that my family brings with them. On the other hand, if you have a specific low-powered device that you want to use in a particular location in your home (e.g. string of Christmas tree lights, task light, alarm clock, ...), then by all means, install a USB-enabled mains outlet. These things do have a purpose. They might not be the universal charging solution that you should spread through your home, but on a case-by-case basis they can be very useful.