Some cost effective way to organize your workshop
3 lb coffee cans are thrown away from various businesses, nursing homes and restaurants or even visit your local recycling center. They may have contained, of course, coffee, or green beans, tropical fruit mix, etc.. If you can find a consistent and steady source, you'll be rewarded with a great storage bin. These are handy sizes and particularly useful are paint cans, which are the same size, they also generally have a handle. The metal ones are being replaced more and more with plastic paint cans. 5 gallon paint buckets are also great for storage of large items, such as hammers or pry bars.
Be sure to use a dark permanent marker to identify the contents of the old coffee/5 lb cans. (Warning, sometimes the ends can be sharp)
Shelving doesn't have to be expensive, often old cheap furniture which you can find discarded, made from MDF or Particle board can be saw into shelving.
A good investment is a set of small parts/hardware drawers, also you may want to find a source <contact me for link to my labels at istock photo> for labels or you can always make your own.