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How to organise screws

Updated: 23 October 2026

The drawer is a mix of 4 × 40 mm woodscrews, a handful of M6 machine screws and the wall plugs from last month’s bracket, and you cannot see which is which without tipping the lot onto the bench. How to organise screws, in a lidded assortment box, comes down to one rule you can finish this afternoon: sort by the choice you make at the bench, write that choice on the cell, and leave the cell below the wall of the divider. The boxes themselves are compared on the [assortment box comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/assortment-box). If you buy through our links, a qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. This is not a lab test, and the fill level below is a rule of thumb. Updated 23 October 2026.

The drawer is a mix of 4 × 40 mm woodscrews, a handful of M6 machine screws and the wall plugs from last month’s bracket, and you cannot see which is which without tipping the lot onto the bench.

Our top picks

Stanley FatMax Stanley FatMax deep organiser 1-97-518

Best overall

Stanley FatMax Stanley FatMax deep organiser 1-97-518
9.0/10about £22.79
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Stanley Stanley SortMaster 1-94-745

Rank 2

Stanley Stanley SortMaster 1-94-745
9.4/10about £9.99
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Amtech Amtech S6463 double-sided box

Best value

Amtech Amtech S6463 double-sided box
8.6/10about £13.35
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On this page
  1. 1.Sort by the choice you make at the bench
  2. 2.Labels that still make sense next month
  3. 3.Filling and carrying without mixing
  4. 4.Jars, drawers and when a box is the wrong tool

Sort by the choice you make at the bench

Start with the question you ask when you are holding the drill, not with the order the packets came in. Wood screws stay away from machine screws, self-tappers and wall plugs, because a 4 mm wood screw and an M4 bolt are not substitutes. Put one size in one cell. If the box has fewer cells than you have sizes, group by diameter and keep length as the second line on the label.

Labels that still make sense next month

Write the fact you choose with, in words you will still understand after a month away from the job. 4 × 40 CSK beats assorted, and it beats a colour dot you have forgotten. Diameter and length are the minimum for wood screws. For machine screws add the thread, such as M6 × 20. Wall plugs can say the drill size, such as red 6 mm, if that is how you pick them. Sticky labels that tear are a real complaint on the Amtech reviews, so press the label onto a dry face and do not cover the latch. When the label no longer matches the contents, tip that cell out and refill it.
Stanley FatMax Stanley FatMax deep organiser 1-97-518

Testsieger

Stanley FatMax Stanley FatMax deep organiser 1-97-518
9.0/10about £22.79
View offer

Filling and carrying without mixing

A rule of thumb, not a standard: keep the contents below the top of the divider, and keep one size in the cell. SortMaster reviewers say small items slip under movable dividers and that a divider can lift out when you retrieve a screw. Amtech reviewers disagree about the same gap. Some praise it for panel pins. Others say very small parts migrate. Move those pins to a cup, or to a small tin in the one-off cell. Which layout keeps parts apart is on the double-sided box or removable cups page. Close every lid before you pick the box up. On a cup case, the lid should bear on the cups. Rain and clipping are on the parts organiser for a van page.

Jars, drawers and when a box is the wrong tool

Jam jars are fine on a fixed shelf. A labelled jar of one length is often clearer than a tiny cell, and you can see rust as soon as you unscrew it. Jars are poor in a vehicle and poor in a drawer that gets pulled hard. A lidded compartment box is the wrong tool when the fixings are too long for every cell, or when you only own three sizes and a jar shelf is already labelled. If the question is a child who has swallowed a screw, or a load strapped in a van, stop. That is an urgent service or a restraint problem, not a better divider layout.

Common questions

How should I sort screws in a box?
Sort by the choice you make with the drill in your hand: type first, then diameter, then length. Keep wood screws, machine screws and wall plugs apart. One size per cell is the rule of thumb. If you have more sizes than cells, group by diameter and write the lengths on the label, and expect to look twice. Do not sort by packet colour or by which shop you bought them from.
What do I write on the label?
Write diameter and length, and the thread when it is a machine screw, such as 4 × 40 mm countersunk or M6 × 20. For plugs, write the drill size you actually use. Put the label where you can read it with the lid shut if the lid is clear. There is no official colour code. A code you do not write down on the lid will be meaningless next month.
Are jam jars good enough?
On a fixed shelf, yes. A labelled jar of one length is simple and you can see rust. In a car, a van or a drawer that slams, jars tip and the lids are doing all the work. Use jars for the sizes you always take from the same shelf, and a latched box for the sizes you carry. A jar that has already mixed two lengths is not storage. Tip it out.
What do I do with one-off odd screws?
Give them one labelled cell, or a small tin inside that cell, and empty it when you buy a proper pack. Do not drop a single odd screw into a sized cell for now. That is how the drawer becomes mixed again. If the one-off cell is full, you do not need a bigger box yet. You need to throw away the screws you will never use.
Where do long screws and drill bits go?
Long screws need a cell you have widened, or a deep cup they can stand in. Drill bits want a shallow row you can see, not a cell buried under wall plugs. If the dividers only move in one direction, you may not be able to make a long cell at all. In that case keep the long fixings in a separate tube or jar, and do not force them into a square compartment that will bend them.

Related pages

Assortment box buying guide

Assortment box

Best parts organiser UK: who should skip each pick

Double sided organiser vs removable cups, which one

Parts organiser for a van: rain, latches and clips

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Updated 22.10.2026.

  1. General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. GOV.UK: General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. Stanley UK SortMaster 1-94-745 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. Stanley UK FatMax 1-97-518 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. Screwfix organisers (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. Kistenberg NORS14 KNO35255S (retrieved 22.10.2026)