Most power hand tools made are now battery-operated. One of the biggest challenges with these types of power tools for the occasional home user is keeping the battery charged. You put your battery-powered drill/saw/screwdriver away and when you need it again a month later, the battery is totally dead and you have to wait to do whatever it is you needed the tool for in the first place.

One way to keep this from happening is to store your tools properly. Instead of just putting them away when you are done with them, take the battery out of the tool. If you leave the battery in the tool, the tool will draw a very small current from the battery. If it's just over the course of a day, you'd never notice it. But if you are the sort who often leaves tools unused for a month or so, leaving the batteries in can kill them, so always remove them from your tools when you are not using them.

If you want to get really advanced in prolonging the battery life of your power tools, store the batteries separate from the tool in the refrigerator. If you're single, this works great. If you are married, this may present some problems. But storing your tool batteries in the refrigerator will greatly prolong their life and decrease the amount of charge that is lost when the batteries are being stored.