We sell what we consider an almost perfect tool for holding little screws and metal parts during a repair: the FixMat, complete with an erasable pen to label each little square of items.
It is “almost” perfect because we cannot go back in time and remind you to order it before you’re 10 steps into a repair and realize that you need somewhere to put the 0.8mm screws, separate from the 1.1mm screws. And it’s important to use the right screws, especially on devices like an iPhone, where going too deep can cause phone-bricking long screw damage.
Lacking the optimal mat, fixers get creative. Here are some of our favorite ways we’ve seen folks keep their stuff together.
We started thinking about this when Mark Turetsky tweeted his solution for all the screws removed in a MacBook Pro battery replacement: cupcake liners.
Zoom or squint to see the labels he’s put inside each. As a reply points out, this is only possible if you don’t have cats, young kids, or stiff breezes in your house, but it’s effective and cheap (and recycle-friendly, if you use plain paper).
If you lack for baking gear, you’ve got plenty of common household options. Just ask people who left comments on our repair guides.:
- Many votes for sticky notes, whether using the sticky strip to hold the screws, or used in concert with clear tape.
- Ice cube trays, which make sense.
- Double-sided tape/adhesive, laid out on a strip of cardboard, putting the screws head-side-down into the sticky stuff, in order of the guide steps.
- Using colored markers to color each screw to match the step/bracket it came from. This might make not having an organized system a bit more manageable.
I also asked for people’s repair organization tips on Twitter and got a wide range of answers, from back pocket to 16-box Container Store organizer. A few highlights:
Ziploc quart baggies with the slide zip. (yes, I wash and reuse them several times over so as to not make as much waste) And how do I store the baggies? In a cookie jar!
— Lauren Dragan (@LaurenDragan) September 29, 2020
If at all possible I put the screw back into the component it came out of once I remove it. When that’s not possible I put them in the shape of what I took them out of with each aligning with it’s corresponding hole…then I usually bump them and they end up on the floor.
— TronicsFix (@TronicsFix) September 29, 2020
Index card system at work. Source: Instagram user fixervincent pic.twitter.com/sTvdQUpYoE
— Fixers Collective (@fixersbk) September 29, 2020
At community repair events bits and bobs from electrical appliances pulled apart are carefully placed in little plastic holders made from the bottoms of 2 litre milk containers. At home screws are scattered all over the allocated work area. pic.twitter.com/PLy7Et6SrY
— Mend It Australia is Karen and Danny Ellis (@MendItAussie) September 29, 2020
I have one of these stuck to the side of the fridge that I use when I remember it’s there. https://t.co/VRMOUb9KYJ
— John Miller (@theediguy) September 28, 2020
Everything goes in here in the garage, organized by type and size. Then when I need them in the house I just bring the tiny box in. It’s small, and nothing gets lost https://t.co/zIxTJWNh2j
— Amanda Adams (@aladams39) September 29, 2020
Other suggestions include egg cartons, quarter baking sheet, a drill case, kid-size bowls, and laid out on a table in the shape of the device.
Again, we must point out that, especially if you’re already ordering parts and tools from iFixit, that a FixMat is actually made for this job. Alternately, if you have a Pro Tech Toolkit, there’s a magnetic pad underneath the case with the driver and bits that can be used to hold your screws in place.
What did we miss? How do you keep the screws and little bits organized during your own fixes, big and small? Let us know in the comments. We always have time to spread the word about unexpected organizers.
crwdns2944067:024crwdne2944067:0
I save the plastic bottle tops from anything that has them - water bottles, milk bottles, etc. These work especially well for very small screws like those out of watches.
jj york - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
Magnetic parts trays help me A LOT~!
darith2000 - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
Take a picture of the thing you’re taking apart (back of the laptop), print the picture in color, then sit each screw you take out on the picture where it goes. Once the back cover comes off, take a picture of the inside, print it, and repeat. Put those pieces of paper and screws on another table that won’t get bumped.
eric - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
Those pill organizers for keeping tack of what pills you are supposed to take in the morning and evening of each day are great for if you’ve got toddlers or cats. They aren’t the best if the screws get to be long, but I’m sure there’s something in the recycling bin that would work well to hold those screws.
Julian - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
Plastic organizer boxes with a lid, and removable dividers work great! I’ve written numbers in the bottom of each compartment, and made a few bigger compartments for things other than screws. Then I can simply make notes like “1 - Bottom case screws” on a sheet of paper. What’s really nice is if a project sits for a few days, or if you have to move the dissasembled product around, there’s no chance of the screws getting knocked off/out of the box, since it has a lid that latches. Works great in a repair shop where you may have several projects going, and some may wait days or even weeks on replacement parts. Just have a box for each device and keep everything nice and tidy.
Paul Saas - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0