5 Essential Tools Every Household Should Have

By Angela Elias

Updated on 1/23/2016 at 7:10 AM


Jason Pickens

Even with countless hours of HGTV binge-watching under your belt, your handy skills may still be less than stellar. Furniture designer and expert woodworker Jason Pickens believes the best thing to start with is a small set of versatile tools. Instead of storing them in a toolbox, Jason insists that storing them in a sturdy canvas bag is the way to go. "Toolboxes are big and bulky and rust your tools," Jason warns. Here are the five tools you can always find in his bag!

  1. Hammers: a tack hammer and a double-sided rubber mallet, to be exact. The tack hammer is great for putting nails in the wall, while the double-sided rubber mallet makes projects that require a gentle touch (think assembling wooden furniture) a breeze. No one likes a banged-up surface!
  2. Pliers: a standard plier is an excellent all-purpose tool to have around the house to tighten bolts or pull a nail. Jason recommends getting one with a long handle, which will give you more leverage when you go to pinch something.
  3. Screwdrivers: while screwdrivers come in all sorts of sizes, a number two Phillips and a number two flat head are what you'll end up using the most. A good tip? Make sure the size of the driver fits the screw so you don't strip it every time you go to screw.
  4. Box-Cutter: the box-cutter is incredibly useful for cutting and opening things. Jason always looks for options with a retractable blade and changes the blade once it gets dull.
  5. Tape Measure: A 16-foot or 20-foot tape measure is your best bet.