12 Magnetic Gadgets From Harbor Freight To Help Organize Your Shop

For anyone looking to upgrade their shop or garage without spending a fortune, Harbor Freight is one retailer that's always worth checking out. Whether you're shopping for a few cheap workshop essentials or looking to make a larger tool purchase, Harbor Freight's wide range of products shouldn't be overlooked. It isn't just tools either, since the retailer offers plenty of highly rated gadgets and accessories that can come in handy for both work and leisure.

Among those gadgets and accessories is a selection of affordably priced products aimed at helping out with a task that can seem endless: keeping your shop or garage organized. Even if you put everything back in its proper place and spend hours cleaning up, it never takes long before tools, materials, and debris end up everywhere again. These 12 magnetic Harbor Freight products aim to help you keep things organized for longer, and their usefulness is backed up by hundreds of satisfied reviewers.

While some buyers might recognize the brand for its value-oriented tool cabinets, U.S. General also makes a wide range of other useful workshop products. One affordable pick that gets consistently high ratings from buyers is the 5-outlet magnetic power strip, which costs $33.99. It features two USB-A ports in addition to its five outlets, and it can be easily attached to tool boxes or shelving thanks to its pair of integrated magnets.

Its magnetic design means that it can be moved around a shop if needed, but the strip also features mounting holes and can be fixed in place on nonmagnetic surfaces. Although it was primarily designed for the workshop, it might also come in handy around the house, with one reviewer saying they "bought it for my kitchen to use with [a] metal pegboard" and another saying they "stick it on my garage fridge." Overall, the strip has received more than 3,400 reviews from Harbor Freight customers, with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars.

Rescuing small parts that fall behind workshop furniture or get trapped in awkward corners can be a thankless task. Using a gadget like the Gordon magnetic flexible pickup tool can make it less of a chore, with its magnetic head featuring an LED light to quickly spot any wayward parts or metal debris. Its flexible arm can reach around fixed furniture or into a vehicle's engine bay, with its 19-inch reach meaning that most corners of the shop should be accessible. The pickup tool is available from Harbor Freight for $8.99.

Reviewers are generally impressed by its capabilities, awarding it an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars from more than 500 reviews. One reviewer on Harbor Freight's website called it a "must have for the garage," while another confirmed that it was "great for finding screws under my workbench." It's another tool that might be useful in other situations too, with one reviewer noting that the light makes it good "for inspecting limited space areas in a house."

One of the U.S. General brand's most popular products is its 18-inch magnetic tool holder, which has racked up more than 12,600 reviews to date. Across all of them, it's achieved an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars.

It latches onto surfaces using a magnetic strip, with one reviewer saying they were "surprised about how strong the magnet is." However, there's nothing stopping buyers from using other methods to attach the holder either, with one reviewer noting that since "the backs of these magnets are flat [...] they could also be hung using adhesive strips if you had a sufficiently flat and solid wall."

According to the brand, the holder can secure a maximum load of 6.5 lb. Anyone with more tools to store can buy several without making a big dent in their wallet, since the holder retails for just $4.99.

At the time of writing, the Icon magnetic tool mat is still a relatively new release, and so it hasn't yet accrued as many reviews as some of the other top picks here. Still, the early reviews of the $24.99 mat are almost unanimously positive, with around 160 reviewers giving it an exceptional average rating of 5 out of 5 stars. The main reason it's so popular is the strength of its magnets, which one Redditor showed off by using the mat to lift a 25-lb weightlifting plate.

Reviewers on Harbor Freight's website have been similarly creative, uploading photos that show the mat securely holding everything from fans to trailer hitches. While its exceptional magnetic strength is the main thing to know about the mat before you buy, it's worth noting its size, too. It has a relatively small coverage area of around 11 by 9 inches, so larger workshops might benefit from multiple mats. One reviewer even said they'd "bought eight of these so far," adding that "they are indispensable in every aspect."

The Central Machinery 17-inch mini magnetic sweeper is a simple but effective way to clear up metal debris in the shop, but that's not the only thing it's useful for. It can also be used to search for screws, nuts, and other small parts dropped outdoors and might be particularly handy if the ground you're searching is grassy or covered with leaves. According to its maker, it has a magnetic pulling force of 4.5 lb, which should be enough to quickly pick up spilled metal items from the floor of a shop.

Some reviewers suggest that using it outside in long grass is more challenging, but that's hardly a dealbreaker for anyone primarily buying it to tidy the workshop. Generally, reviewers are sold on the capabilities of the $13.99 sweeper, giving it an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 2,600 reviews. One reviewer calls it a "fantastic tool for the price," while another says it was "just what I needed" for cleaning up a garage floor.

Another U.S. General product that's designed to make everyday shop tasks a little more convenient is its magnetic power and air tool holder. It retails for $19.99 and can be securely attached to the sides of tool carts and chests thanks to its top hook and trio of magnets. Each of those magnets is encased in rubber to prevent damage to the cart it's attached to.

Buyers aren't short of praise for the holder, giving it an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars from over 720 reviews at the time of writing. One recent reviewer says that it's a "great storage option to get your power tools off your work bench," noting that the holder is "very sturdy and [...] easy to mount anywhere." While the holder is designed to be attached to the side of a cart, one reviewer reported that they were "actually using this in the bottom drawer" of their tool box instead.

Some of Icon's product range is worth buying and some of it is worth avoiding, but its magnetic work light arguably falls into the former camp. It's available from Harbor Freight for $39.99 and packs up to 800 lumens of illuminating power. The magnetic base means that the light can be attached to the walls of tool chests or carts, making it easy to find when you need it. As well as being useful during jobs, the light could also help locate and retrieve any small parts that go missing around the shop — unless they're in a really awkward-to-reach place, in which case you might need the Gordon magnetic pickup tool mentioned above.

More than 3,100 reviewers have left their thoughts on Icon's rechargeable magnetic work light, and most of them are thoroughly impressed. At the time of writing, the light has an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. A number of those reviewers highlight the light's versatility, with one reporting that they have "one of these in multiple places around the shop," and another saying that they "use them in the garage, shop, and office, [and] they've all held up excellently."

Sometimes, it's the simplest products that can turn out to be some of the most useful. For example, the U.S. General 6-inch magnetic parts holder is little more than a strong magnet attached to a dish, but that hasn't stopped plenty of reviewers from raving about it.

The $4.99 holder has attracted more than 1,500 reviews from buyers, with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars. One reviewer says that it "fits in my tool kit, making it easier for me to keep track of [...] sockets and drivers," while another adds that it "definitely helps out in the shop with keeping small hardware together."

Like many of U.S. General's magnetic organizers, the parts holder is available in multiple colors. Buyers therefore have the option of buying a holder in the color that matches their cart or tool box, or buying several holders and color-coding them based on the types of parts they'll be holding.

Retailing for $22.99, the U.S. General 1/2-inch drive metric magnetic socket holder is an affordable option for keeping tabs on your sockets. It's also available in 1/4-inch and 3/8-inch drive sizes. The holder has room for 19 sockets and is designed to attach to magnetic surfaces in a tool box or around the shop. It's received strong reviews from buyers, with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars from over 420 reviews.

It's another simple but effective holder, and it's versatile, too, with one reviewer saying that the "magnets are strong enough to keep this holder attached to even vertical surfaces." Another says that they're "a huge step up from the peg-style socket trays," although they concede that the "downside is that my old plastic peg trays accommodated more sockets."

Buyers who are tight on storage space might not find the holder quite as appealing, since one reviewer sums it up as a "great organizer [but] not a space saver." They added, "I really like these" but "they take up more space than a typical rail style [holder]."

The hood of Pittsburgh's 9-1/2-inch magnetic parts tray sets it apart from other organizers, since it doubles as either a handle or a small shelf to store tools when the tray is mounted vertically. The tray is 9.5 inches long and 6 inches wide, making it suitable for holding a variety of nuts, bolts, and screws. A reviewer on Harbor Freight's website also adds that they "use one to keep my 10mm socket from running away!"

Even some larger items can be securely stored using the tray, since it offers up to 11 lb of magnetic pulling power. According to one reviewer, it can hold "tools like wrenches and sockets," which "helps keep things handy and in one spot." Many customers also highlight the tray's $9.99 retail price as a reason for their purchase, with over 970 of those customers sharing their thoughts about the tray to date. Overall, they have given it an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars.

As well as the usual bevy of tools and small parts that need to be kept on hand in a busy shop, it's also useful to always make sure you know where your gloves and tissues are. With the U.S. General magnetic glove/tissue dispenser, that'll be difficult to lose them. The dispenser attaches magnetically to the sides of tool carts and chests and can hold up to 4 lb without slipping. It's inexpensive, too, with a retail price of $14.99 at Harbor Freight.

A common theme across many recent reviews of the dispenser is that buyers hadn't realized how useful one could be. One reviewer said they "didn't know I needed this," while another calls it "seriously convenient" and a third says it's a "great addition to my shop." Some reviewers have also found other uses for the dispenser, with one saying that it can be easily attached to a smoker and so it "keeps gloves in reach when working with meats." The dispenser has received over 3,000 reviews overall, with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars.

U.S. General also sells a magnetic socket tray, but depending on the spare space in your tool box, the 3/8-inch magnetic socket rail might be a better fit. Much like the brand's tray, it's also available in three sizes: 3/8-inch, 1/4-inch, and 1/2-inch. The 3/8-inch rail retails for $21.99 and holds 16 sockets. It's cheaper than equivalent socket rails from big-name brands, but that doesn't mean its build quality is any less impressive.

In fact, according to most reviewers, the opposite is true. It has received an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars from more than 1,100 reviews on Harbor Freight's website, with one reviewer calling it "easy to use [and] awesome value." Another says that the magnets are so strong that they're "super overkill for lighter sockets," claiming that they hold their "deep-well impact sockets while thrashing around in a tech cart all day without issues."