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by Peter Brett - February 2006
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01444 440188
– It Lives Up To Its Name
I don’t think the TIDYMAKER will replace the old-fashioned hook, because for hanging some things a hook is a time-honoured solution. However, the hook, once placed, is not particularly versatile. It will only hang a limited range of things. In the past, I have modified the hooks in my workshops and sheds to hold particular objects, and once they are so modified they won’t hold anything else securely. Or you can get a range of specialized hooks that will hold specific things in specific places, but then those things are confined to those places until you change your hooks around.
The TIDYMAKER aims to get us to think in a completely different way about our methods of and our reasons for hanging things up. It is a simple idea and yet an effective one. A single TIDYMAKER consists of a moulded plastic hook-like fixture with a couple of holes in it for attaching it to a wall or board. Underneath the hook are a couple more holes through which a strong cord with beads on it is threaded. The cord looks like the kind of cord that we use to raise and lower window blinds, with the beads spaced at regular intervals. Once the hook fixture is fixed to a board or wall, the beaded cord cannot slip through the holes. So, in order to hang something up, you take the cord, put it around a suitable part of the object you want to hang up and then lodge one of the next beads on the loose end of the cord in the plastic hook. This will grip the bead tightly and voila, the object is hung up. To remove it, simply unhook the bead and the cord is released.
For some users a hook is all they want and all that they will buy, but for others, the TIDYMAKER may be a very good solution for all sorts of reasons.
Firstly, it will hold a wide variety of items, anything from a lawnmower to a power drill. It doesn’t seem to matter what shape the item is, if it can be hung, TIDYMAKER will hang it. Secondly, TIDYMAKER will hang items up to 30Kgs in weight. Many ordinary hooks cannot boast that sort of strength, they would simply bend.
Thirdly, TIDYMAKER will hang things in whatever order you want. Since each hook is the same, it is very easy to change the order of things on the hooks. Gardeners, for example, may want to hang a hose or watering can closer to the front of the shed in summer, but might change the order of things when the winter comes. For a TIDYMAKER, hanging a spade or fork is as easy as hanging a watering can.
In my own workshop I tried out TIDYMAKER in a number of different situations to see how it functioned. I have seen a number of customised ways of hanging up sash cramps for example, but I have always shied away from the effort of making one of the systems. I prefer to be making real things rather than making my workshop. A row of TIDYMAKERS took only a few minutes to put on a piece of three by one, five minutes to hang the board on the wall, and then I had a row of neatly hung sash cramps.
I don’t usually hang my power tools up, but TIDYMAKER can make a brilliant job of hanging the tool and the cord so that it doesn’t dangle all over the place.
In my now completely boarded loft, TIDYMAKER enable me to hang a few items from the rafters as well as allowing a quick and easy way to hold a run of electric cable above head height when I was working up there. When I don’t need the cable anymore, the TIDYMAKERS can be unscrewed and put to other uses.
Once I started thinking about all the possible situations in which TIDYMAKER could be used it is clear that there are as many uses as you have the imagination for. I reckon that it could even be used to hold items like spades and shovels in the back of the classic builders&Mac226; white van. Certainly it would be a safer option than flinging them into the back of the van where they could be thrown around in the event of an accident for example. On site, a run of TIDYMAKERS could be used to support a length of pipe or cable, keeping it from damp or out of the footway. TIDYMAKERS can be as temporary or as permanent as you like because they are strong and also easy to move.
All these benefits also mean that the Tidymaker is an excellent way for people to keep their professional workplaces or workshops tidy, in addition to keeping shed, garages and cupboards in order at home.
I grant that there may be some users who simply prefer an old fashioned hook, and might not like the beaded strings hanging down, “looking untidy”. There is also more action required to hang something up with a TIDYMAKER. You can’t simply stick the object on a hook. To my mind, there are a number of reasons why a judicious mix of old and new would actually be more convenient for many users. For me, the facility to hang things where I want them at the time is a useful one. The flexibility of the TIDYMAKER is such that almost no matter what I want to hang up, the TIDYMAKER will accommodate it. A small investment in a flexible system like this is a gamble worth taking because it could bring back hanging, but in a nice way!
Independent Review by Peter Brett
Airstream Communications