As part of my campaign to get the house in order, I decided to clean out my old toolbox.
Among other things, there was a handful of pennies, which I shook in a jar with vinegar and salt to get off the patina, and a 1970 dime which, if it had been solid silver and not silverplate, would be worth around $1,000.
There are hundreds of nails, screws, hooks and washers, 5 sets of venetian blind mounting hardware kits, and 10 Allen wrenches.
Most interesting are two “mystery” devices stamped with patent numbers. One helps you pin hems, the other is a wire stripper.
There’s a pile of other, unlabeled mystery items, some of which my handyman neighbor has been able to identify, like parts of knock-down furniture.
The punchline is that I was able to complete two projects without having to run to the hardware store for parts, a nice change from the usual over the past several months.