And the prize for the messiest toolbox goes too…Well, it could have gone to quite a few of the entrants of our first Get Organized (aka Messiest Toolbox) Contest. There are some very disorganized techs out there!
For this contest, the good people at Mechanic’s Time Savers offered to donate $1,000 in organizational tools to the winner. That’s serious organization!
Our contest guidelines were simple: provide us with a photo of your disorganized, messy toolbox or cart along with a short description of why you think you should be our winner.
We received entries from technicians all across the country — from Washington and Colorado to Virginia and Texas to California and Ohio, even Alaska. The photos on this page are just a few of the ones we received. 
There were great stories from readers and their loved ones about their passion for “wrenching” with “once-adequate toolboxes that are now overflowing with the excess of tools amassed over the years.” These desperately disorganized techs — or their frustrated, but thoughtful coworkers — described to us their wishes to be the lucky winner, get organized and try to stay that way.
“I am in desperate need of some type of organization. All of my 3/8s go into a pile in one section, 1/2s into a pile in another section, etc. It takes me minutes to find sockets and wrenches. Being organized, I could just reach in and grab it. My life-long dream. Been wrenching for over 35 years and have never been organized. I would be proud to set an example on how it’s done with new organizational products.” 
“My toolbox is very messy because I don’t have a lot of room. I have every thing stacked on top of each other. I lose a lot of time trying to find the tool that I need.”
“One to two days after straightening up it is right back to this mess.”
“I would love to have a toolbox where every tool has a specific place (home) so that when you’re done they can be put back, which would keep my box clean and organized. I hope that I can be your winner so that my work life will stop being so cluttered.”
“I have tools scattered everywhere. Between my toolbox and three roll carts, I’m always losing track of where I put things. It would help me to have a little more organization.” 
And simply, “I need help.”
So, while it was a tough decision, we did pick a winner — Enoc Rios from International Motor Group in Union, NJ. Click here for his story.
And if you aren’t Enoc, you might want to check out Mike DuBois’s “Getting Organized from the Ground Up” article (click here). He’ll get you started in the right direction.
