I buy frozen ravioli that's packaged in plastic trays with recessed compartments, one for each ravioli (raviolo? raviolum? @Hypatia's Protege, can you offer any guidance on that?); the empty trays are ideal for organizing parts during a project build, just the right size. The price is right, too.

 

Leaded components get tossed into a small tray during "work in progress". They get sorted and put back into their proper storage months or years later.

SMD parts get put on sticky tape and labeled ASAP once removed from the PCB.

Wow and I thought I had too many parts on hand.

I just got to love what people will think once I pass. I have no heirs and will be giving all I own to charity. Whoever is cleaning out my house will probably think I was some kind of mad scientist.

 

@Hypatia's Protege, can you offer any guidance on that?);

Stop trying to stir up trouble! Don't you know that is akin to repeating Bloody Mary three times in a mirror?

 

I buy frozen ravioli that's packaged in plastic trays with recessed compartments, one for each ravioli (raviolo? raviolum? @Hypatia's Protege, can you offer any guidance on that?); the empty trays are ideal for organizing parts during a project build, just the right size. The price is right, too.

And you get a good meal, too!

 

And you get a good meal, too!

Actually he can't stand the ravioli but the trays are good for parts.

 

When I have resistors out for breadboarding, I separate them by value in boxes. One for less than 10k, one for 10k+, one for 10k only (happened to be breadboarding some discrete flip flops and NAND gates and I needed a lot of diodes and 10k resistors).

 

When I have resistors out for breadboarding, I separate them by value in boxes. One for less than 10k, one for 10k+, one for 10k only (happened to be breadboarding some discrete flip flops and NAND gates and I needed a lot of diodes and 10k resistors).
View attachment 172961

THIS is something I must do! So far, all my resistors are in a ziplock bag. They’re taped together, which results in them becoming entangled. Sorting by a value range and using a box with compartments is brilliant. I also have to tag them. I started labeling them on the tape, but more than half are unlabeled. Time for a trip to the office supply store for stickers.

 

Here's an anti-static container with anti-static foam that I used to hold parts that I used recently or am likely to use:


I have a couple dozen of these plastic boxes that had EPROM sets from some manufacturer. I'm putting together a box with various counter chips so I don't have to keep going through boxes of tubes:

 

Three of these are anti-static "bug trays". They don't need the black anti-static foam, but they came that way when I bought them on eBay. The upper left tray isn't anti-static.


These are the "bug boxes" that hold the individual trays:

Each box holds 6 trays and they interlock side to side and top to bottom.

 

You know you're doing well when your MISC bin isn't 10x the size of your other bins. Hats off to you, sir.

 

You know you're doing well when your MISC bin isn't 10x the size of your other bins. Hats off to you, sir.

You ain't seen the size of my other bins yet.
Sometimes I have to order in quantities of 25, 100, 1000.
DIP ICs stay in their antistatic tubes.
SMDs are shipped in reels, tape, or antistatic bags. They all have to stay in their antistatic shipping containers.
Storing and remembering where I kept them is a nightmare.

And then there are drawers and drawers of passive hardware, switches, sockets, connectors, power components, transformers, etc.

Here is your dream workshop. We can all only wish and dream!

Edit: It's not mine. I can only wish.

 

Hmm those photos look way too tidy to me... clearly not been used for some time!
For SMD storage, these are ideal:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...504.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dBPAXnx
Sadly there are 100 different Chinese copies (of the original Chinese copy), so sometimes it can be hard to get some that exactly match, and connect together!
And when you get really bored, you can make pretty little sticky labels and train a silhouette cutter to cut them out!


For bigger components these type of racco units are very good:
https://www.conrad.com/p/raaco-1248...c_lxxdtI7FIkl3x6UGNbKc_q5oyV02VoaAgWnEALw_wcB

 

Wow and I thought I had too many parts on hand.

I'm sorry, this is not a concept I understand, please explain?!

As to what happens when we pass... I think we should go back to the old viking ways, put it all in a boat with the body, and set fire to it! How better to be remembered, as the plume of thick black smoke rises over the sea to cause havoc with air traffic....."...that'll be from the good old days when you could use lead in solder lad!" people will say!

 

I am now entering the modern age of SMD components... do you guys have a solution for organizing them? It's going to turn into a huge mess soon...

 

I am now entering the modern age of SMD components... do you guys have a solution for organizing them? It's going to turn into a huge mess soon...

Yup see my beeeeautiful photos above!
Oh I should explain they have little catches on each box so when you flick them the lid springs open:
https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/1200x900/427-00.jpg

 

Could you post a close up inside one of those boxes.... The printed labels are too nice...

 

Shucks how can I possibly resist such flattery!

The problem is when you buy a new value of resistor that fits between the ones your already neatly labeled.... hence some of the dog-eared labels that had been pealed off a few times!!

 

I keep all SMD resistors and capacitors (on tape) in their original shipping bags.
I simply stack them in order according to decade in compartment boxes, similar to this.

 

pmd I'm going to need to confiscate your storage boxes... maybe I can 3d print some... where did you find them?

 

Just some of the hoard. Doesn't include the overflowing drawers, stacks of books, toolboxes, boxes of junk in the garage, etc. Yeah when I die they will have no idea what to do with all of my radio and electronics gear. I keep what I need handy and store the rest. The resistors are kept in the 2 plastic boxes in 3x4 ziplocks w/ about 20 max per bag. Small parts boxed in 2x2s. Anything more than that or not used often gets stored away. In the resistor 1kΩ+ box I keep the 1k,10k, 100k on top of the pile. I keep a bag of trimmed 560Ω handy in the plastic box w/ the LEDs for current limiting so I won't have to dig in the resistor box. The parts cabinet on the right is a recent addition the wife bought me, so I haven't filled it up yet.