after your build, how long were you organized?

[rieferman]

So, it's been a few months since I "finished" (you're NEVER truly done right?) my build and my workshop has been staying really organized. I haven't done a huge project since the build, but I've definitely done some work that has involved pulling out multiple power tools, saw horses, sockets, etc. etc. etc. And still I'm organized. And I love it.

But, and here's the rub, I've never ever in my life been able to keep organized in any of my workshops. I'm wondering if the honeymoon is going to end, or if my new ability to stay organized is just a byproduct of having the right space to fit my needs.

So, after your build, how long were you able to stay nicely organized?






oh, and GO PHILLIES!!!!!!!!!

 

[zmotorsports]

My home shop is going on 15 years old and still organized. Granted, the more equipment and tools that I have collected take up more space, however, even though there is no wall space left and every inch of the surrounding walls have tools or equipment lining them the shop itself is still very organized and everything is in its place. Even when in the middle of a major job it stays organized even though I may have tools and equipment on the benches or toolcarts. A clean and organized shop is a happy shop. Mike.

 

[Tscott]

I am still in the middle of moving into my shop and am in the process of wiring and all that fun stuff. I am finding that with a larger space than I used to have it is easier to keep things organized. I feel like with the smaller garage I was getting frustrated with the lack of space and storage. It took twice as long as it should have to put something away so it seldom got done. In the new shop I now have the space to leave a mess in one area and not have it affect my ability to work in another. So the definition of a mess is directly proportional to the size of your shop.

Tom

 

[Red Green]

So, after your build, how long were you able to stay nicely organized?

oh, and GO PHILLIES!!!!!!!!!

In my shop, shortly after the concrete dried the organization started to go down hill. So you are all ready doing better than I did.

yeah Go Phillies

 

[Gary S]

My garage didn't get organized until almost 2 years after I built it. As soon as the walls and roof were up, I put my vehicles in it, but the wiring wasn't done, the insulation wasn't in, and the walls weren't finished. That took me almost 2 years to get that all done so during those two years I had no shelves or cabinets. Once the wiring, insulating, and walls were finished, I put up my shelves and cabinets. Since then it has been organized like I want it.

 

[dipper]

Now that my VCT floor is in the final stages (after 2 years) it isn't too bad staying kind of organized. I still have to do my drop ceiling (hopefully this winter) and the garage will "officiallyl" be done after that. Big projects or small, keeping things clean and tools put away always go a long way to staying organized.

oh yeah....go Yankees!!!

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

The Workshop I have now is a Detached 24x24. Ive been in it for over 5 years now and spend alot of time in it, and the only time its been disorganized is when I was putting up the insulation and walls. My previous workshop was a 8x12 barn roof style shed. In this shed I kept a 6' tall Craftsman Toolbox, A MIG welder on a large cart, a small built in work table, 8'x2' fold up work table, Vertical Air Compressor... Also had power, A/C unit and cable TV plus it was where I kept my motorcycle. Lets just say I didnt have enuff room to leave a mess. Everything had to be put away each night so I could stuff my bike in there! Luckily I took these good habits with me when I actually had a real work shop! 24 x 24 is also packed but well organized!

 

[ironroad 9c1]

30x30 stayed clean for about 10 min

 

[rsanter]

I go back and forth between organized and a total mess. for me it dosent matter when I moved in but rather what stage of a project I am in.
between projects I clean things up and the stuff that I dont need/not using goes into storage.
when I am in a project it can become qeite a mess because I have to pull things out to get work done and I can sometimes run out of space rather quickly.

for one, if I am doinf woodworking or having to do a bunck of grinding, that dust gets everywhere. even if you cover things up it still gets in any little hole.
the mobile equipment gets rolled into the driveway and blown off. sweep up as much as I can and then use a yard blower to blow the garage out.
put everything back in and all is good again

bob

 

[supertooljunkie]

I have a two car attached garage. Been here a little over five years and I seem to have never gotten it organized. Gotten close, but seem to find new stuff to bring home, or go out of town for six months, and it all goes SNAFU again. I envy all of the beautiful garages I've seen on these postings. I hope to be home long enough to get it somewhat in order.

 

[Kevin54]

I pretty much stay organized all the time now unless I have a project going on. It seems that the older I get the more I like things organized. I remember growing up how my dad would yell at me for tools laying out. So now I have reached that age and stage in life. I do find that if I have something that I know I am not going to use, I'll swap it to someone else for something, or give it to someone that needs it. Paybacks seem to return sooner or later.

 

[rieferman]

ironroad wrote:

30x30 stayed clean for about 10 min

woah, who said anything about "clean"? Seriously though, I'm a sweep with a broom at most guy (freaking saw dust is a crafty foe though).

kevin54 wrote:

It seems that the older I get the more I like things organized.

You know what it is for me? I think it's that during the build I got so exhausted by the useless steps I took when something was not in an easy-to-get-to spot, and I just started realizing how much energy and time I was killing. Now, I get out what I need for this project phase, and when that phase is done, RESET.

 

[Jack Olsen]

That's where design comes in. You've got to make it as easy to reset everything as possible. For me, that means nothing stored on the floor and cabinets for everything. I want to be able to put everything back where it came from, haul out the trash and blow out the floor with an airgun.

Otherwise, the next project takes twice as long. You spend all your time looking for tools/pieces/etc through one pile after another.

 

[ironroad 9c1]

well to my credit I am in the stages of getting reorginized, unfortunatly alot of good deals on short blocks have fallen in my lap so now i have 8 engines all in my way.

 

[e-tek]

I'm with Jack. I keep organized, plus I continue to add organizational pieces and re-organize as I go. Of course it's a persoanlity issue - some people like to be organized and place a priority on it....AND SOME GUYS - LMAO - ARE JUST EFFING SLOBS!!!

 

[tcianci]

Effing Slob here, although the place looked great during the time the epoxy was drying and when I moved stuff back in!

 

[ddawg16]

My garage is somewhat of a mess right now....but mainly because we moved everything from the temp 'garage' on the back side of the house into the new garage to protect it from the elements.....

But now I am in the process of making cabinets and other storage solutions for all the stuff we have....at least it will all stay dry this winter while I build the storage....

But I must point out that if there is one thing that made the most difference....it was the roll around tool box. Because of it, I put tools back once I'm done.....and because I can roll it to where I'm working....it's a lot easier to put those tools back....funny thing....it seems like each week I have more tools than the week before....didn't buy anything....but I have been finding a lot of stuff that I havn't seen in quite a while.

 

[Cardboard Man]

I'm the type who likes to clean up as I go along. I can't stand to work in a pile of junk where I'm tripping over things every time I turn around. If I'm working on a project that spans several days, I always put my tools away at the end of every day. It may seem like extra work but it makes me happier when I go back out to a clean shop. Another trick I picked up over the years is if I have regular repetitive tasks, I keep the associated tools for those tasks grouped together. I keep the chainsaw file with the saw instead of in the drawer with the other files. I have a drawer in my toolbox that has all the tools for chaining oil so that I can open one drawer instead of 2 or 3. I also build in time at the end of a project just for clean up. If I know I only have an hour's worth of shop time I'll work for 50 minutes and clean up for 5 or 10. It's the little things that save time and steps that make for better organization.

 

[chadster1]

My garage is also my warehouse, shipping-receiving and assembly area so it seems like my gargage is NEVER organized the way I would like it. Hopefully when I finally do get my shop built, I can move a LOT of stuff to the shop and organize better.

 

[bluesman2a]

I actually get more organized as time goes on. We moved in our current place back in 2007. Spent almost a year getting the shop squared away. Last summer did a big Gladiator cabinet install, so that took lots of little stuff and gave it a new home. 90% of my stuff is on casters, lots of it is on bakers racks, so it's easy to redistribute as necessary accross my 5 bays worth of space.

My main 2-bay shop cycles with projects, with clean-ups in between.

Right now my big issue is that I've got several large projects going on at the same time and it's hard to find a stopping point to clean. Setting up gears for a friend's Jeep. Restoring an old bandsaw that is in many pieces. Just bought a new mill that needs to be cleaned up. Putting tube fenders on my truck-bed. Repainting my truck bed.

It all adds up to a big mess at the moment.

 

[Nutty 5.0]

Staying organized is ongoing. You put in more ****, than you have to be more inventive with storage to keep it that way. Its just a reoccuring nightmare lol! My wife brings home a bike, I have it in my way for a month, find a hanging from ceiling solution.

And clean, yeah that's impossible if you actually use it to work in!

 

[rieferman]

One thing that I planned into my build was better lumber storage. I save all my cut offs and partial sheet goods so I would always end up with a crazy mess. Now, I used dead space under my stairs to create one shelf for full sheets, one for partial sheets, one for cutoff sticks, and there's room for one more shelf for more fragile pieces like trim cutoff etc.

ddawgs point about wheeling his toolbox around is a good one too. I inherited an old (1940's) steel shop cart recently (still need to head out to Pittsburgh to get it) and there would be room underneath for drawers... hmmm...

 

[sberry]

Just built 1300 more sq ft of shelve.

 

[APEowner]

I really hate working in a disorganized shop so I'm constantly cleaning and organizing as I go. I tell myself that it's more efficient in the long run but it's really probably just a personality disorder.

 

[61scout80]

Organization and cleanliness is my goal. I have a lot respect for people who are organized and actually use their tools.

I'm slowly working towards it, and my mindset is changing. I get angry when i grab a dirty tool out of the box. I get embarrassed if I have someone in my garage and it is sloppy. I have been a slob for the first 29 years of my life, and i want to fix that.

I have a lot of tools that have spent most their time with me in a plastic wedge shaped box designed to fit behind a pick up seat. These tools where given to me by my father when i left Pa. He was a mechanic for most his life, and knew if i was going to make it i would need to be able to repair my own stuff.

So, for 2 years i worked out of that plastic box. Even did an engine swap in a 1 car garage with that plastic tool box. I was grateful to have the tools i needed, but frustrated when i knew i had something and couldn't find it. I would often be dumping every tool i owned on the floor to hunt for the right size socket.

Last year my wife got me a craftsman 2 box stack for my birthday. This thing is like heaven to me. It gives all my tools a home and I can find them when needed. I was smirking ear to ear when I finally emptied that plastic box and cleaned all my tools. When i put my tools away in this box after a project it actually makes me happy. It feels good to be organized.

I still have a ton of stuff strewn all over my garage. but with the use of this site and some low dollar cabinets, shelves and so on I'm slowly turning my garage into a place i can be proud of.

After i get my parts cherokee out i plan to build some work benches and cabinets. having an immobile vehicle in my 2 car attached garage is hurting my organization dreams.

Unfortunately i have not mastered keeping organized while working on something. I'm forever looking for that tool or part i had 3 seconds ago....

 

[61scout80]

Just built 1300 more sq ft of shelve.

My house is 1302 sq ft, that much space in shelving would be sweet!!!

 

[honda-boy]

When we move into our clubgarage. I'm going to keep track of this, that people leave all there stuff laying around or in the way. I'm giving it about a month before I have to complain.

I hate it when I can't find the right tool right away. So I'll be building lots of storage shelves and cabinets.

 

[Indycars]

I'm the type who likes to clean up as I go along. I can't stand to work in a pile of junk where I'm tripping over things every time I turn around.

I'm with you on this one Cardboard Man!!! If its a big job, I have to stop along the way and do some cleaning. My nephew help me when I was racing and I would put up tools that he was using. I'm sure it frustrated him when he couldn't find the tool I had put away.

Rick