The Homestead Tool Kit - Part I

August 24th, 2007

25 necessary Items for basic repair and maintenance - Part I

BucketBoss

Are you forever missing ‘The’ necessary tool for what should have been a simple repair job on the cabinet doors that won’t shut, or the screen door that won’t close properly, or the bathroom fixtures that leak? Or are your tools scattered in so many different places across the homestead that you just can’t find the right one when you need it?

We used to have both those problems on a constant basis around my place, until a thoughtful friend gifted us one Christmas with the most useful tool accessory I’d ever seen, which has since become so indispensable that I got another one just for the outdoor and gardening tasks. It’s your basic 5-gallon white plastic bucket such as for wallboard mud, roofing tar or paint, plus a leather “tool-belt” with pockets and loops that fits onto the bucket like a collar. Both of these items can be purchased at hardware and home supplies stores, or you could create your own from old, emptied buckets and well worn tool-belts.

We have all 25 of the items on the “must have” list, plus several others we’ve found ourselves often needing for various and sundry repair and maintenance tasks. Not all of them fit in or on the bucket, so we keep the rest hanging just inside the door of the shed. If you need to dig holes or split wood, you know to get the bigger tools before you start, just as you know to get the lawn mower when you’re planning to mow the lawn.

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