Well, I guess we won’t have to worry about running to the hardware store this winter because the house we bought came with a lifetime supply of nails, screws, washers, nuts, bolts and a ton of other manly man bits and bobs. Giddy up!
I know you are all totally jealous. š
Not only did we score a sweet collection of hardware any old man would be proud of, but about half of the loot was in an assortment of old coffee cans. Clearly, grandma wasn’t picky about her coffee brands. This is Yankee country after all, and I’m sure that whatever was on sale at the grocery store, was the flavor of the week. š
But even more amusing than the variety of cans, was the fact that these old coffee tins fetch a pretty penny online on sites like Ebay and Etsy. Who knew? I found one listing for a set of 8 similar coffee tins on Etsy for $59.99! Who buys stuff like that? Seriously.
We’ve got nails in jelly jars…
And baby food jars…
And trays full of man bits.
I don’t know what would be faster… driving to town for a nail, or searching half the day through the various tins, jars and drawers for just the right one.
All I know is this…
The HH, he is now officially in the Old Man Club.
Lucky, lucky me. š
Have a great Thursday everyone, I hope your day rocks.
~Mavis
Mel says
My husband was in the process of turning our basement into a nail museum, but they were just scattered everywhere. I bought organizers and spent a whole day sorting them and putting them away.
Dj_1973 says
Nice! I have been known to pick up the occasional mid-century advertising object on Ebay. And ai remember when the coffee aisle like like that. Not surr how thatās possible since 1999 was last year…
Dj_1973 says
I canāt type on my tablet, sorry.
Brianna says
Good to know you can sell a hardware collection with a house. My dad built a second 4 car tandem garage 10 years ago and I have been helping him ādownsizeā It over the past month. Well, he refuses to part with all of those bits and bobs because you never know when you might need a spring or a bolt or whatever. If I ever have to sell their house I will include it and all of the lumber for the next resident. They only live 20 minutes from town, so I really do not understand why keep it all. It is the rodent droppings I have found in the bottom of each bin that makes me queasy. He has two 9ā tall bookcases full of such hardware.
Benno says
It may be 20 minutes from town today, but back in the day, when you had to hitch up the team, and there weren’t any big box hardware stores plopped down everywhere, going into town for a nail in its own disposable plastic packaging each time you needed one, wasn’t possible.
Lynne says
Just yesterday, I was wishing I’d kept my dad’s collection of nails, etc. as I headed to the hardware store to buy a few nails for a project. I could not find a single nail (other than the little ones used to hang pictures) in the house. I was tempted to buy a box of big, sturdy nails myself, just in case. My dad was a pipe smoker, so most of his nails were kept in old Prince Albert pipe tobacco cans, although there were a few old peanut butter jars and a few coffee cans in the mix. Thanks for the blast of nostalgia, and I’m sure you and HH will find a use for some of the treasure in those cans!
Tamara says
Waste not, want not! š
Virginia says
Well, since you like things simple, neat and tidy, you might choose to sell most of what you donāt want or need on Craigslist. Iām sure theyād be snatched up quickly.
I wouldnāt, however, use the words āa tray full of man bitsā in your ad. You might just might just find several police officers at your front door with search warrant in hand! š
Pj says
Thanks for the laugh!
Christina@BargainBlog says
LOL I nearly spluttered out my hot chocolate when I read that…hahaha
Virginia says
Geez, Iām done typing comments on a cell phone with my thumbs. I get to the funny part and ruin it with a typing error!
Linda Practical Parsimony says
I would drive to town to rummage around in bins of old nails. And, I have. There was a salvage store in my small town. There were rows and rows of tables with bins and boxes. When I needed something, I could go and rummage through all the dirty nails, screws, and bolts or the table full of water faucets to fit my clawfoot tub. I had a smaller collection than yours in my basement, full of nails and stuff. I had old Crisco cans from when they were metal and plastic pb jars. I did not want glass in the basement with concrete floors.
Susan says
Unrelated, but also: I noticed when we were house hunting (in MA) how homes had a yardstick hanging on a nail on the in their basement. Also: lots of manual pencil sharpeners mounted in the stairwell basement.
In my family, these would be “woman things” since my daughter is a carpenter!
Joely says
I live in MA and yes, my house came with a manual pencil sharpener in the basement stairwell (20 years ago!).
p.s. Mavis-I love the antique sanka decaf coffee cans!
HollyG says
We have one in our laundry room along with the hand-crank, retractable clothes line.
Christina@BargainBlog says
Don’t those old wall-secured pencil sharpeners remind you of school days? I love it! And I’m with you about those incredible Sanka cans in particular.
Kara says
Ha! We’re in the middle of North Dakota and have a wall mount pencil sharpener in our basement stairs.
Growing up in Minnesota, we had one on the wall in the pantry, right above the swing-away crank can opener.
Carole says
that is a gold mine. We have a similar collection. I love that stuff especially for craft projects. Never get rid of that stuff, you never know. I made a set of “steampunked” skulls for Halloween all out of the “stuff in that can” I love it.
Elle says
Oh my hubster would be soooooo jealous! I cannot show him this blog post š
Sheri says
That is all too familiar in the house I grew up in. I inherited some of the habits of keeping every nut, washer, screw, etc. It has come in handy for sure. I also have the tray. I painted it, lined the drawers with felt and use it for my jewelry.
Dianna says
I learned how to make my mom and grandma their coffee (instant of course) using Brim and Sanka. So many fond childhood memories. Also I use to spend summers at my grandparents house and my grandpa had a whole wall full of nails, screws and bits. If I close my eyes I can see it so clearly….and smell it. I feel like all spots that are like that have a certain smell.
Lana says
You made me miss my Dad so much! His collection was in Hershey Cocoa cans, the ones with the pry off lids that were all metal. He had shelves full of them but everything was sorted and labeled. You guys are very fortunate to have all that. Hardware has been sometimes hard to find this year.
Jeanine says
And the price for screws and nails…forget about it! We have a small collection, not even as close as Mavisā .
Pauline in Upstate NY says
Mavis ā that stuff is priceless! (As is your HH…) Donāt you dare discard any of that hardware ā not only are todayās prices MUCH higher, but the quality sometimes leaves something to be desired. And, since we custom-blend a coffee mix at home, I am still hoarding a few of those metal coffee cans to keep it in, though I had to settle for the plastic snap-on lids. If you seriously donāt want all of those old coffee cans, offer them up as a freebie on the blog! And, yes, I *am* showing this post to my very own HH. On our homestead, things like that are known as āPGSā (perfectly good stuff), and an *amazing* amount of it has come in handy over the years. Great post!
Holley says
My husband’s grandfather owned a hardware store when he was young and his dad also worked there. When my father-in-law passed away we inherited all those cans/bottles/jars of man bits! We have used MOST of it!!! He’s been gone for about 25 years now. Even my children ask daddy if he has such-and-such before they go to the hardware store! Good memories! Enjoy!
Linda Sand says
My grandfather nailed jar lids to all four sides of a 4×4 piece of lumber that he made rotate. That way he could always find and unscrew the right jar of whatever he needed for his current project.
So HH’s winter project is to sort and label all those bits?
Kippy says
A local large hardware store was closing. Neighbor bought all of their screw and nail inventory on last day of business. Put them in his basement but did not organize it. When he needed a nail etc. he never could find it in the basement stock so ended up going to Home Depot.
Baby food jars with their metal lids screwed under a shelf are terrific space saver for nails, screws and fasteners.
Ellen in Clackamas says
This reminds me so much of my Grandpa! He had a little shed devoted to just such āman bitsā. Cans of nails and screws and washers. I donāt know where they all came from because I can never remember him going to the hardware store.
Sandy says
Coolest ever! I live in SoCal in a 1915 house-came full of odd bits and pieces of days past. In fact-an entire 20 ft workbench with drawers full. I have yet to go through them all.
Cheers to treasures!
Nan says
You will be surprised how handy that organized tray thing will be
We have the one that my Dad had in this garage and every time my husband needs a certain bolt screw washer etc. sure enough he finds it every time and we always say thanks Dad!!! And I have a collection of old cans coffee and others on my open selves in my kitchen Love them!!!
Elise says
Just remember old nails with a vinegar water solution turn into iron mordant in just a couple weeks useful in dyeing. I am getting ready to do marigolds with iron water mordant which I hope give me a rich. Rowan for the wool I have been spinning.
Judy says
Well the funny thing is my Dad owned a Hardware store and he used to keep baby food jars. He would then screw them to the ceiling in the basement and keep his goodies in there. I must have over 50 jars screwed to the basement ceiling, but they sure do come in handy. Just unscrew the jar when you want a nail or screw, then screw it back when done. Very clever, I think.
Christina@BargainBlog says
I LOVE those cans. It reminded me that my Mom used to drink Sanka all the time. Haha I haven’t thought of that stuff in years.
Nancy E. says
I bet that hardware was the selling point for HH!
Kathy D says
My dad did that with the coffee cans, and used to attach the jar lids to the underside of shelves so the jars could just be screwed on when you find what you needed. It wasnāt just old men, or was most men. No need for plastic trays or bins.
Kathy D says
Gah! Hit send then saw typo.
*it* was most men.
Amanda says
1) Why did the previous owner leave all this stuff?
2) Did you know they were going to leave it? Iād be pretty pissed if I bought a house and didnāt know there was going to be stuff left behind, and then I had to organize it. How could they even tell what was what, since there arenāt labels on the containers?