Neat tools of the trade...

I'm a home care nurse now, and have to carry all sorts of things in as small of a bag as I can get away with (it still weighs 20 + pounds!). That includes several different types of tape. Tape gets grubby quickly, especially in the bottle of a highly-occupied bag.
What I found for that works perfectly. I found tiny round sealed containers like Tupperware. They fit the rolls of tape wonderfully, and keep it looking clean.
And for my alcohol swabs, adhesive remover swabs, and skin prep swabs, I use those tiny square plastic containers that travel amounts of makeup remover pads or cotton pads are in. I find them at Target, and they fit the swabs perfectly. I like things to be neat and organized rather than just thrown in.

I'm not sure what area of nursing you are in, but in the ICU there is a great tool. It's called a Levalign. It's a telescoping level to zero transducers to the patients phlebostatic axis. It's a neat little tool for CVP's, ICP's,etc.

Jess

I've got a roll of paper tape that I use for dressings on a sticky tape dispenser. It's the only way I can find the end of the tape at times.

I LOVE my fanny pack... keeps my pens, EtOH swabs, gauze, tagaderm, IV catheters, pigtails, sealed syringes & needle tips, stethescope, ect handy! My pts comment all the time & think its a great idea! I love not having all my pockets crammed full & having my scrubs hanging all funky.
~MJ