ORGANIZING 201: AROUND AND IN THE GARAGE AND HOME. Sharing ideas and thoughts for all

[drivesitfar]

NK: i like the idea of separate containers for Electrical and i have a toolbox and a toolbelt i used to grab and use all the time. looks like you are GETTING ORGANIZED so keep up the good work.

HiWind: looks like you have the type of shop where you can SEE YOUR TOOLS and STUFF which is great if you have the wall space and room. i like all the tape rolls having their own hooks.

ALL: thanks for posting your little or big Organizing ideas that work for you. anybody else that has their own hardware store at home or more small ideas to share post up pictures and thoughts as you have time.

have a great weekend everybody

 

[MrElectric03]

Ill add this in here for toolbox organization. Learned this from some of the old timers I used to work with in the mining industry.

Wrench storage- This is 2" Spring guard that it used on hydraulic hose. Its one time use so when a hose blows this stuff usually gets thrown away with the hose. Inside a wrench drawer it allows you to nicely stand up your wrenches and make great use of the space compared to the plastic trays. This picture is of my box which is the 44" Harbor Freight top and the wrench in the back is a 30mm snap on wrench.


And something I do with my sockets is bolt the rails to a piece of plywood so that I can remove one socket at a time and easily see of any are missing. Of course I've never found a rail for 3/4' sockets but they are heavy enough that they stand on their own.

 

[Ol'WhiteCap]

I posted my version of small part storage on another thread, but think it might be good here also.
I found these parts bins at our local tractor supply store. On their clearance rack.

 

[slimpickins]

Ill add this in here for toolbox organization. Learned this from some of the old timers I used to work with in the mining industry.

Wrench storage- This is 2" Spring guard that it used on hydraulic hose. Its one time use so when a hose blows this stuff usually gets thrown away with the hose. Inside a wrench drawer it allows you to nicely stand up your wrenches and make great use of the space compared to the plastic trays. This picture is of my box which is the 44" Harbor Freight top and the wrench in the back is a 30mm snap on wrench.


And something I do with my sockets is bolt the rails to a piece of plywood so that I can remove one socket at a time and easily see of any are missing. Of course I've never found a rail for 3/4' sockets but they are heavy enough that they stand on their own.

I think those springs are a good idea! Looks to be quite space efficient.

In my travels recently, I ran across the Montezuma tool boxes. I searched and I know they've been mentioned here on GJ before, but just seems to have been mentioned in passing. They look to be really efficient for space, and I was thinking that one of these boxes could free up about 4 drawers in my tool box.

I pulled that image off http://www.strictlytoolboxes.com. The price of these boxes is prohibitive for what you're really getting. I just want one for the garage and these are supposed to be weatherproof enough to attach to an open trailer. Anyone know of any alternative brands. I was also thinking of making something similar - as a stationary box, not portable.

I posted my version of small part storage on another thread, but think it might be good here also.
I found these parts bins at our local tractor supply store. On their clearance rack.

These are great little parts bins. I have about a hundred of them but I have yet to build a suitable rack for them. One thing I don't like about them is that they are open, and therefore they collect dust. What I do like them for is for containers for bolts when disassembling something and also as a small parts washing container when you just have a couple of things to throw in some varsol. They clean up very well also.

 

[ChaseDE]

Started building out some "mightyshelves" in the garage last night, will take pics when installed. got the idea here. instead of big ugly 2x4's for the front hangers you use 3/8 all thread.

http://contractorkurt.com/2012/02/18/overhead-garage-mightyshelves/

 

[slimpickins]

Started building out some "mightyshelves" in the garage last night, will take pics when installed. got the idea here. instead of big ugly 2x4's for the front hangers you use 3/8 all thread.

http://contractorkurt.com/2012/02/18/overhead-garage-mightyshelves/

Dennis (Denwood) did something similar to this in his garage. You can see the start of his shelving at post 136 on page 7 of his thread! http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=263351&page=7

Those types of shelves are a great use of space that is otherwise unused!

Cheers!

 

[Grumblebum]

A couple of the best things I've done are the tote organisation and my French cleat wall.

These are task specific ones. Like Slims toolbox version. These are mainly materials and not so much tools unless they are specific to that task. Ie, tile cutter in the tiling tub. These clear ones are hidden away in a cupboard.

View media item 57766
The black ones are nice as they don't show any clutter.

View media item 57750
The cleat wall I'm still working on, but the ability to move and change things around is great. Also very cheap to make your own hangers from scrap instead of having to buy fancy hangers that are often expensive (at least they are here anyway).

View media item 64122
View media item 64150
Cheers GB.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: sorry i've been ignoring this thread and ORGANIZING myself. i need to cut some 1.5 inch thick rubber mats i'm putting in my 10x15 garage so my feet and back don't get sore while i'm standing out there. anybody have any good ways to cut rubber mats? i've cut 3/4 inch rubber horse mats with utility knife that works pretty well. i've tried to cut them with a skill saw and didn't work as well, but wondering if a jig saw with a metal blade might work ok. ANYBODY know or have a better method to cut thick rubber in straight lines?

GB: great ideas and i still use clear containers close to the size of your black ones that have separate sort of tasks in them (tile, cement, electrical and plumbing just to name a few). thanks for taking the time to post.

Mr.E: nice looking tool drawers!!

OWC: looks like a great idea and easy to find.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: i just borrowed my wife's side of the garage again for a project to take apart, sand, make a few alterations and re stain my Pergola and job today is to give her garage back to her. I'm hoping to Organize a bit on my side too.

ANYBODY cut thick rubber and have a great method of doing so? i have a lot of tools, but the utility knife seems to work best for me. anybody??

pergola pics just because and sort of ORGANIZING the front yard. it's 4 years old so here's a few before sanding and staining and after pictures.

 

[larry_g]

I've found these mini loaf pans to fit many drawers and hold a variety of stuff including hardware.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[DaveIRL]

can you use cattle mating for a workshop floor. its thick and durable as its made for cattle ye comfortable,

 

[drivesitfar]

Dave: they also call those horse mats if the ones you are talking about that i use that are 4x6 and 3/4 inches thick. i just added 1.5 inch thick gym rubber mats on top so hopefully will improve comfort even more. looks like you were asking if you could use them. yes? i do and not sure if other members do, but fairly cheap and just saw some new ones advertised around Seattle for $37 each. i'm still wondering about the best way to cut the horse mats or the thicker 1.5 inch gym rubber mats i own.

Larry: great idea!!

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: for those of you that just want a decent rubber floor instead of cement in your shop/garage or barn here's what i put down in mine. i actually had 3/4 inch rubber horse mats that i put in there about 10 years ago and my back still gets sore from standing in there for long periods of time so instead of sitting which doesn't do my back much better i found these 1.5 inch rubber gym mats that i just cut and installed on top of the 3/4 inch rubber ones. it should help with the back pain and it should really help with any moisture coming up from the cement to rust some of my old cast iron and steel that doesn't have a good coat of BLO on them.

here's a thread i started on how i cut the 1.5 inch rubber mats and i think my Fein is the best method so i'll cut the 3/4 inch rubber horse mats in my shop to size this winter too.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=342512

Anybody have some great Organizing ideas? how many of you made a drawing or plan before you started filling up your garages, shops or huge barns? any chance you want to share your methods? i have drawn on paper with lines and i've also put cuttings of items that were to scale on a piece of paper so i could move things around. i'll post pictures of that sort of idea if anybody asks cause i need to make another one up for my shop soon.

 

[ChaseDE]

Drawing up and putting an MTO together for a wall mounted folding workbench.

outside framed in 2x6 to give me depth when folded

wall to face 9" deep when folded

3x8 workspace/tabletop when open

pegboard mounted inside the frame, can be closed as long as I keep things on the pegboard within 4.5" deep

just something i am tinkering with, im sure there will be field adjustments

 

[thejunkmanadv]

Here is an updated video tour of my garage. I go over some of my storage solutions, albeit non of them are "groundbreaking" in anyway. I also have a "lubricant and spray can" shelf (as I talk about in the video) that I am not sure how to make more functional and aesthetically pleasing. I would love some suggestions.

 

[drivesitfar]

Chase: i don't know if you have kids or if you put a safety latch or design in your bench to keep it from falling, but i heard that's a good idea. good luck

JM: i made it through your video and everybody should have a garage cat or dog and looks like yours is right at home there. i've hung a cabinet for some of my paints and lubricants, but shelving might be the easiest to see what you have or don't have. metal hanging cabinets are getting harder and harder to find especially vintage ones so since you have a skill at hanging sliders and putting diamond plate as fronts on your cabinets might i suggest you just make a few more. your garage looks great and thanks for sharing.

ALL: i'm still ORGANIZING and i'll post up a few more pictures as i get some of my spaces figured out with the right cabinets and the right stuff so i can find them. maybe the main reason i started this thread is i have more than once in my life have had to go to the store to buy something knowing that i own one, 2, 3 or more of them and just couldn't find them. so i might be my own hardware store once i'm ORGANIZED.

cheers and have a great Friday (Saturday for you guys Down Under).

 

[ChaseDE]

yeah i have kids that have SOME sense now at 13 and almost 10, there will still be sturdy locks on it when folded

 

[drivesitfar]

Chase: they are almost at the age where they KNOW EVERYTHING and won't need you except for money and car keys. so be ready and if you are lucky know that when they hit 30 you start getting very very smart. good luck with the project and of course the bumpy fun ride of raising kids.

 

[ChaseDE]

rethinking my stragedy a bit, thoughts?

instead of a foldout table what about more cabinets there? I already have a 2'x8' rolling bench that i built.

i will have free access to kitchen base and upper cabinets. would putting around in an L like the screenshot be better? once i get the snappy little box on the one set of cabs it starts limiting my workspace otherwise.

how would you guys incorporate upper cabinets? if you could...

 

[drivesitfar]

Chase: while i was raising 5 kids i figured out how to hang bikes from the ceiling and i think now they make some racks that you can use pulleys to move bikes up and down from up there on. if the bikes were gone you almost have room for that bench. maybe somebody else has the bike storage above figured out and can share thoughts and pictures. of course if you use them everyday and you like them there then keep them there.

i like commercial racking cause you can put garbage cans, tool boxes, lawn mowers under them and have tons of shelving above for stuff. if you like cabinets better then by all means hang a few cabinets.

I also built loft storage above the cars in the garage where my bride could store all her Christmas, Halloween, Easter and stuff up out of the way. i used 2x4's and plywood, but i'm going to build some new ones out of Unistrut soon above her car now that i don't work out in there when the car isn't in the garage (I took down the wood lofts when i put in a gym in my garage 10-15 years ago.

my 2+ cents

good luck

 

[thejunkmanadv]

Drives:

I think I will probable just come up with something custom, however I might segregate the shelf with 1x1 wood pieces, or similar, so cans/bottles have their own slot so to speak. Then identifying what I need to replenish might be more appearant.

A door with some hindges and struts that raise up is what I am thinking. Attach that to a face frame that I build to size. This is basically what I did with my sliding cord/hose storage. Still not sure but that is the best idea I have right now.

 

[drivesitfar]

JM: did you make a cabinet yet or are you still in the planning stages?

ALL: YES I'M STILL ORGANIZING and always looking for ideas. GOT ANY??

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: so looking around GJ for some ideas on STORAGE and ORGANIZING i found a few threads with some good information so this might help some of you with these links:

What's on your walls http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39367

Vise and Grinder stands http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252799

What's your workbench look like http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103738&highlight=organizing

Let's see your workbench http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=464&highlight=organizing

show me your long handle and tool storage http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=256275&highlight=organizing

Storing Nuts and Bolts http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79547&highlight=organizing

What do your storage cabinets look like http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110832&highlight=organizing

I need to go clean off another bench and GET ORGANIZED so if any of you have favorite storage ideas or favorite threads please post them here so some of us that don't have huge amounts of time to search can maybe find a thread with a lot of information.

cheers

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: most of you have a small toolbox so what to you think of BRENT'S? he has 4 different grinders on 2 toolboxes and all the grinders have different wheels on them.

maybe Brent will see this and post up a few more pictures as he has time to.

BTW: i still have FSD, but i have one bench cleared off and only a couple Ryobi 18v tools sitting on it today. it's a small step, but i'm working on it.

cheers

 

[drivesitfar]

NSA: while it looks like you posted a lot of that from a book i'm sure some of that might help some of the members.

ALL: i was looking at a few garage threads this morning and i noticed this little trick for hanging your work gloves. looks like clips with magnets attached to the inside of a metal cabinet. i'll probably buy (or find cause i think i own some) of these magnetic clips and hang my gloves on my fridge cause i'm always looking for a pair.

anybody else store gloves or other items like this or similar?

also i might own 30 or so tape measuring tools that i don't seem to have a great place to know where at least one or two are at all times. anybody have a box of supplies they can grab a tape, pencils or other stuff without looking for it?

 

[Matias]

Nice idea for the gloves, might need to copy that, at least for the most used pairs

I have one sliding drawer in my upper toolbox which is dedicated to a couple of tape measures of different sizes, ruler and 90 angle ruler or two, laser measuring device and temperature measuring device. So I could and probably will lable this (thin) drawer to "Measuring". This drawer I use quite frequently.

 

[SteveL]

Need some help that may help others. I have a dedicated woodworking shop in the basement but also do a fair amount of work in the garage on cars, etc. My challenge is that there is no way that I could have two complete sets of tools for both areas so I constantly am going back and forth between the two areas looking for tools. Obviously the stationery woodworking equipment stays in the basement but how does one decide on where to keep the small stuff like wrench sets, socket sets, cordless drills, etc. I will frequently use a tool tote if I have a project upstairs or outside but still find myself going back to the basement shop a number of times to get a different drill bit, recharge a battery, use the drill press, etc.

Anyone have a good solution that doesn't require buying duplicate tools?

 

[gabriele82]

Great!

 

[sgtmac]

Dollar tress sells an awesome square container that fits great in my tool boxes bottom drawe. The screw on lid is big enough so u can put your hand all the way in.

They are clear so you can see all you goodies.

I hope the link below works.



https://www.dollartree.com/Food-Sna...Top-Lids-32-oz-/1149c512c512p304196/index.pro

 

[isb cornbinder]

Don't touch anything. That shop space had personality. I would bet you know where everything is.
I have two lathes, one milling machine, four drill presses, two of them from the 1800s, three welders, a plasma cutter, sheetmetal brake, hydraulic press, arbour press, A Franz Kuhlmann pantograph engraver, eight single cylinder engines, nine big tool boxes and a 1940 Ford sedan. I have most everything except the lathes on castors.
Did mention the really big Ruston Hornsby 740 cubic inch Diesel single cylinder engine in one corner and two Cummins b engines. A little crowded but very organized.

 

[drivesitfar]

ISB: i'm not sure if you are addressing somebody in particular or just all of us. some of us (me for sure) need to GET ORGANIZED without throwing everything out. so to some it might seem like Chaos, but if you can work in the space and find things when you need them it sounds like you have found the solution.

any chance you might have some pictures to post up of all that cool STUFF you mentioned?

NSA: sorry you took my post badly. not everybody is able to just throw everything OUT and not have supplies or tools at the ready to use which was one of your examples of GETTING ORGANIZED. funny you should say i didn't welcome you when i might be one of the members that helps more new members than anybody. sorry you are having a bad day.

ALL: post up pictures of simple solutions to entire shop solutions when you have time. not all solutions are for everybody, but you might have the PERFECT SOLUTION for some of us.

cheers

 

[Lyndon]

Drives

Yep - the toys got thrown out of the pram there, didn't they?

Personally I'm waiting for someone to show how they store drill bits. Say 60 different sizes (metric and imperial), and 4 to 10 of each size. Got me beat.....

Lyndon
Yep - still looking in.

 

[drivesitfar]

Lyndon: this HUOT drill bit box is one idea for you if you have a lot of bits to ORGANIZE.

i also pick up metal drill bit cases all the time at sales if they are empty or full of bits.

 

[Lyndon]

Lyndon: this HUOT drill bit box is one idea for you if you have a lot of bits to ORGANIZE.

i also pick up metal drill bit cases all the time at sales if they are empty or full of bits.

Drives

Thanks for the quick reply (what time is it there?)....

I'd really (NO REALLY) like one of the Huot's boxes, but Amazon won't ship it to me in Australia, and no-one out here sells them. I've been thinking of finding an address in the States (then getting someone to post it to me), but haven't gone hugely out of my way to organise it since our $ fell relative to yours. I believe Amazon is opening up down here next September, so if nothing happens beforehand, I'll see if they stock them then. . . .

Lyndon
Sun's over the yard arm here . . . .

 

[Grumblebum]

Lyndon, check your Amazon again. I just went sniffing and it didn't complain about AU shipping like it normally does. I added these to my cart. Shipping is about $113 AU.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002FSCTO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002FSCSU/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Freight pretty much doubles for getting 2 of each so no real saving if we teamed up.

Thoughts ?

GB

 

[Grumblebum]

Lyndon, had another thought. I have some of these organisers on my bench and they are well deep enough for drill bit storage. Would just require some nifty dividers made up for the different size bits.

http://search.supercheapauto.com.au/search?w="Toolpro+Metal+organiser"

Not as cool as the purpose made huot gear though...

GB

 

[dirt_dobber]

wow - a lot of great ideas in this thread.

 

[drivesitfar]

DD: i agree and if you see any ideas or methods of storage or organizing either on other threads or other websites or a few of your own please post them up.

GB & Lyndon: i think i own 2 of these old Huot drill cabinets, but i don't have a good spot for them yet so i'm using this old cabinet to store my drill bits, blades, hex wrenches, screw bits and so on. it's a fairly well built cabinet and i like the look.

not sure what you guys have available DOWN UNDER, but maybe these two cabinets will give you some more ideas.

 

[slik560]

Love the old antique cabinets....being an old antique myself.

 

[drivesitfar]

Slik: nice posts and made me smile.

ALL: anybody else ORGANIZING after CHRISTMAS to start off the new year a little better than the last? i'm hoping to make a few changes and as some of you know i have an addiction to finding and buying old metal cabinets so hoping to get settled on the ones i'm going to keep and start filling them up so i can FIND MY STUFF.

feel free to post your little ORGANIZING OR STORAGE solutions or big ones if you have any.

i'm also looking for good lumber storage and would like to see more. here's a few that i've found on member's threads and if BJ and CHRIS wants to say how they use them and maybe how they made them all the better. i think i like the Garage dogs picture the best.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and here's an early NEW YEARS WISH TO ALL OF YOU!!