My husband is a musician, and a self-confessed gear head. Apparently, you can never have too many guitars, pedals, unusual bit of percussion, leads or picks…

So when he switched from smoking to vaping a few years ago, his obsession with ‘stuff’ found a whole new area of interest: vaping paraphernalia. 

Not for him the all-in-one over-the-counter options with cartomisers[1]and electronic wizardry, here was an opportunity to immerse himself in the world of atomisers, rebuildable mods and everything that came with it – the hardware, the parts, the spares, the consumables, and a whole new vocabulary. The technology fascinated him. He learned a whole range of very specific tasks such as building coils and wicks, and discovered a thriving on-line community of fellow enthusiasts and enterprising manufacturers. Before long he was knee deep in a new collection of stuff.

We live in an open-plan flat in a converted factory and, as anybody who lives in such a space can tell you, it can look untidy very quickly indeed. It soon became obvious that my husband’s growing collection of vaping paraphernalia needed its own storage solution, one that would contain the collection while also keeping it all easily accessible. We accepted that there was no point trying to hide it all in pretty boxes in the linen cupboard; this collection needed a bespoke solution.

After a few weeks of research and discussion, we decided to make a bold statement and so we invested in a bright red two-part metal toolbox, the sort you would more likely see in a working garage or a workshop. We felt our eye-catching choice was in keeping with our building’s industrial heritage and with our contemporary furniture and vintage posters. We were right, it fits in perfectly.

And, importantly, it worked. The new chest absorbed the entire collection and has been in constant use for a number of years. All was well, for a while… 

All storage solutions need regular maintenance, and this chest is no exception. I recently noticed that the drawers were getting muddled and over-stuffed; they looked as though they would benefit from being sorted and re-organised. Hey-presto, I had a mini lockdown project on my hands.

I emptied and cleaned the drawers, including the non-slip lining, and used a tray to sort through the contents of each drawer in turn.

I threw away very little, only a couple of empty e-liquid bottles and some excess plastic packaging, and I used the lids and bases of the original packaging to make shallow trays so this was an effective, zero-cost solution.

If you need help with sorting, decluttering and organising your collections, or any other part of your home or office, why not consider bringing in professional help? We think you’ll be amazed at the difference we can make