Duct tape and a hammer.
Any skilled handyman can do anything they need to with those two items. And if you if you find something those two can’t do? Well, then its not worth doing.
What really got me started was going to Wal-Mart and picking up one of those 101 piece toolbox sets for like $19.95. It’s not the best quality stuff, but it gets the basics out of the way.
I suggest a drill. Really handy when you want to install things into walls, like those wall mounted CD racks from Ikea, etc.
I reckon screwdrivers (Philips and flathead), small hammer, big hammer, pliers, needle nose pliers, adjustable wrench, Stanley knife (aka boxcutters), various screws, various nails, rawlplugs, epoxy glue, wood glue, wood filler, metal tape measure, spirit level, power drill, big frigging flashlight. Anything else (power sander, saw etc) you can borrow from your father-in-law. Fathers-in-law have generally accumulated mo’ betta tools than you during a lifetime of DIY, tool-buying and shed-building ;).
How about a really good Home Repair Basic’s Book?
Ditto on the home repair book.
Also, a good Craftsman toolbox – the red one with the hinged lid and three bearing-loaded drawers. When doing repairs I get 10 kinds of crabby if the toolbox is one of those flimsy plastic jobs that doesn’t close properly, or whose hinges have snapped off, or whose drawers are permanently misaligned.
In addition to all the other great suggestions, I recommend a pair of vise-grip pliers. I use mine a LOT! I don’t have that much hand strength (especially for gripping between thumb and fingers in my right hand) and being able to lock down on what I’m working on helps me out tremendously.
If she’s going to be doing much working around the house, one of those Workmate workbenches is really useful too.
Please excuse my profound ignorance. What the heck is a “PB Blast”?
You know the real irony of this thread? We’ll suggest every tool under the sun, but when s/he goes to fix something, s/he will have to buy something anyway. It’s the Eternal Rule of Building Stuff.
GMRyujin is right. My dad and I used to build things all the time and no project was finished without at least 3 trips to a hardware or home improvement store.
That said, the handiest tool I know of (for wiring and electric work) is an all-in-one wire cutter/stripper/crimper. We used that one all the time during robotics last year.