Bob Hackett
I personally think many people limit themselves by not thinking in terms of how something like a bench or other tools can be made most efficient/effective by allowing them to interact with the entire shop.
As an example; a tool tray may be an effective place to store tools but only while working at the bench. When you move away from the bench then the tools contained in that tray need to be transferred to something else so they can go somewhere else.
For me the answer has been totes or tool holders like racks. With racks or tool holders you can readily see when a tool is missing because the space it took up is empty until you replace it. A tote or rack can be moved anywhere, even to a friend`s shop. If you plan it right you can even find a way to hang a tote or rack off at least 3 sides of your bench and that makes your tools far more accessible that any built in tray ever thought about being. Whatever system you use to hang your rack or tote off the bench can also be used to place a ledger/cleat anywhere in the shop you may work and those tools will still be organized and handy when you need them. When you`re not working in that area then there is less stuff hanging off the walls and taking up space.
Now that tool storage cabinet you`ve been putting off making just got way easier to plan and make. It just became a simple box with a series of cleats (easily moved I might add) to hang racks from and the bottom is now a shelf to hold one or more totes.
Think about things like tool storage as an integrated part of how your entire shop functions rather than isolated spaces and you`ll be less self limiting. You`ll also spend far less time hunting for misplaced tools as well.