Cleaning your garage/shop

[Bennylava]

I think its kind of an odd question to ask, but I wanna know the answer. Who cleans your garage/shop at your house? I'm guessing for 90% of you, its you. For me, its me. But does anyone here pay for some kind of service where they come clean everything up?

I had to know

I don't know anyone who genuinely enjoys that aspect. We all just wanna do the fun stuff, the work. Afterwards there is always a big mess. Its like the cleanup after the party. You look at it and you're like "... aw man.."

 

[ryan20021982]

To be honest even if someone would clean mine for free I wouldn't want them to just because I would be looking for tools all the time, because if your like me you have little things that you keep in odd places because you use them all the time or for specific things.

 

[MrBalll]

Agreed. I know where everything belongs so I like to put it back.

 

[justanengineer]

It often happens that I make a mess, then the wife starts cleaning and to ensure things are put back correctly I end up stopping my work to assist. To be fair, she usually starts cleaning when she comes out to the garage to hangout and doesn't have a project readily available, which isn't too often.

The rest of the time I clean by myself and no, I have no interest in having strangers in my garage unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Cyberbear]

I'm more than a little fussy about my tools and who handles them. Too many times in a moment of weakness I let someone use a tool and it's always frustrating when it's not where it should be, damaged, etc., not to mention allowing any strangers to know what I have in my shop.

 

[slip knot]

I have a cleaning lady come in and clean the house. the shop is mine and I clean it when it gets so cluttered that I cant find anything. Every 3 months or so it gets a top to bottom cleanout.

 

[LXCam]

I have guys here all the time. The only thing I let them do is sweep the floor. I'll happily put all the tools away, just put them on the bench please, thanks!

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I wouldn't want anyone to move my stuff around, I can hardly find it when I put it back! I give mine a quick sweep each day when I'm done, and shop vac it once in a while.

I actually don't mind cleaning up at home when I'm done working. I like starting each day with a clean slate. Nothing kills productivity more than starting the day off walking into a big mess from last night. I also work in a warehouse and every night after working 11-12 hours we have to go through and sweep the aisles and pick up trash. I think that helped instill that value in me, as much as I hate doing it at work.

 

[Bennylava]

I'm more than a little fussy about my tools and who handles them. Too many times in a moment of weakness I let someone use a tool and it's always frustrating when it's not where it should be, damaged, etc., not to mention allowing any strangers to know what I have in my shop.

Pretty much this for me. Like you guys I have some pretty expensive stuff in there, and I find myself watching friends when/if they handle it. I can just see them dropping it or using it in a way that wears it faster or breaks it. I'm even paranoid about my mechanic friend who I will often pay to come by and assist with stuff that isn't a one man job.

And he knows all the tools and equipment well, and I still find myself worrying about him breaking something. Paranoia? Maybe. But I can't afford to be replacing tools and equipment that work fine. Like the handheld part of my HP-60 extractor. Its clear plastic and if someone were to drop that... well who knows. Maybe it breaks or cracks and I'm out $350

http://www.mytee.com/products/mytee-dry-upholstery-tool/

 

[jask]

I have been called a tool Nazi a few times, but there is a correct way to use them, a correct place to put them, and they are mine so no... you can not.
The job includes getting ready and cleaning up, and that is part of the job even if nobody is paying.

what was the question?

 

[nadogail]

Every two weeks, the part time housekeeper sweeps and mops the floor and cleans the workshop bathroom.

 

[mmb617]

My wife might sweep the garage bay she parks in from time to time, or if I move the cars out she'll sweep the whole garage, but that's about it.

On that rare occasion when she might use one of my tools from the garage I can rest easy knowing she will return it exactly where she got it. She seldom needs any of my tools as she has a basic set of her own in the kitchen junk drawer.

I would not want anyone else cleaning the bay where my tools are stored. I have enough trouble remembering where I put stuff let alone having someone else do it.

On that subject, does anyone else do this - Let's say you've kept a tool in one spot for years. Then one day you think it would make more sense to keep it in another spot, maybe with tools that have a similar function, so you move it. Invariably every time you need that tool you'll go to where it used to be. So you eventually move it back to where it used to be, therefore insuring that when you need it in the future you'll look for it in the new location. I've concluded that once a tool has been in a location for any length of time it should never be moved no matter whether a move seems logical or not.

 

[dlcwent]

"On that subject, does anyone else do this - Let's say you've kept a tool in one spot for years. Then one day you think it would make more sense to keep it in another spot, maybe with tools that have a similar function, so you move it. Invariably every time you need that tool you'll go to where it used to be. So you eventually move it back to where it used to be, therefore insuring that when you need it in the future you'll look for it in the new location. I've concluded that once a tool has been in a location for any length of time it should never be moved no matter whether a move seems logical or not."

I couldn't agree more mmb617.

 

[gdpolk]

My dog Lily helps clean up spare bones that hit the floor or food that "slips off my plate" when I have a snack in there. Other than that it's all me.

 

[bcoke]

Clean your shop ..??????????what is that ............if you ain't tripping over stuff you got too much room !!!!!!!! Never ever let anyone do more than sweep or you will be duplicating all your tool purchases when you can not find it.........ask me how I know......I have three "shops" cottage [woodworking and orginal shop] barn [auto,metal,fabrication home to miss elizabeth {1930 model A ford } and GOMER {1930 model a ford pickup in "pyles" of pieces}and the big house's garage [just a workbench 14 feet long for house projects.....I have 4 of everything one in each shop and the one I bought to finish something when I could not find even one !!!!!!!!!!! The shop faries move them around as I often find them together!!!!!!!!!! enough ranting happy DAD's DAY to all..........bcoke

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Tools and whatever mess was made are cleaned up after every project. I have been trying to teach/show my kids this each time we do something.
Every now and then we have the kids sweep the floor, but I guess that is about it.

 

[Train]

My granddaughter sweeps mine sometimes and gets paid in freeze pops. Other than that, the job is all mine.

 

[Boilerhouse]

My plan was to split the shop cleaning duties between the gardener, the chauffeur and the butler but, lacking the funds, I decided to do everything myself.

 

[larry_g]

"On that subject, does anyone else do this - Let's say you've kept a tool in one spot for years.

I've had my tools in the same boxes for years, and normally the box stays put. Move the box and I can't find ****.

On the subject of cleaning, I start the project by cleaning the shop or at least sweeping and putting things away. I've found, for me, at the end of the day my give-a-**** is really low and I do a better job first thing in the morning, so that is what I do.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[kaymccampbell]

I do. Sometimes the kid helps if I'm too tired. If I do something for someone, then they help. My family knows stuff must return to exactly where it came from. Flying tools can be painful, when a cranky old lady has to hunt the drawers for misplaced items. Others get to clean it and hand it to me.

 

[sberry]

I train men thru clean up and put away. I am not paranoid about the tools, I don't like a slob who breaks everything but I have lots of people use my stuff and provide it all when someone works for me.

 

[sberry]

If we need it I will get it and its highly unlikely you need it if we aint got it. I spend some time every day on janitorial and file it up so things are ready to go if needed and I don't have to shuffle much for a pit stop.

 

[WWShop]

I am the only one that uses the garage and I am the only one that cleans and organizes it. Lately my son has taken and interest in the garage, so I let him go into my toolbox. He was helping me change the oil one day and when I was walking around cleaning up I found two cookies that he was eating during the oil change that he left on my mower.

 

[a52-830]

at the end of the session, i find all the tools, and clean and put them away. since everything has a place, and the drawers they were in are "ajar" it is easy to make sure i get everything, but i will admit to missing things occasionally. then i lock everything up. if i dont, the tools start to creep away, between two teenage sons, and the guy who works for me.

they do have their own tools. i know they do, there is a small pile of sockets and wrenches from some project near the workshop garage door (likely from work on a lawnmower), as an example.

originally, i hid my stuff in the basement, and then had a shop in an out of the way outbuilding. things disappeared from there, but it was an effort to get out there, so that helped. now that i am restoring a pontiac, they are down closer, in a separate space from the workshop, and all locked up.

i broom it out on fridays. always a big job, there is a lot of rust and various **** that falls out of a 50 year old car as you pound on it. during the week i push stuff out of the way where i am currently working so that the rolling stuff can get around.

as near as i can tell, no one else has ever done any cleaning in there.

 

[Bennylava]

Every two weeks, the part time housekeeper sweeps and mops the floor and cleans the workshop bathroom.

I didn't want to say this earlier but... yeah this was part of the reason for the creation of this thread. I had to do it sneaky so people don't think I have a butler.

I also have a part time housekeeper, cause me and the wife are lazy after work and don't want to clean. She comes by twice a month and cleans the whole house. I was rolling around the idea of having her sweep out the shop and take out the trash and stuff in there. Maybe do some wiping and dusting. But don't touch anything!

Clean your shop ..??????????what is that ............if you ain't tripping over stuff you got too much room !!!!!!!! Never ever let anyone do more than sweep or you will be duplicating all your tool purchases when you can not find it.........ask me how I know......I have three "shops" cottage [woodworking and orginal shop] barn [auto,metal,fabrication home to miss elizabeth {1930 model A ford } and GOMER {1930 model a ford pickup in "pyles" of pieces}and the big house's garage [just a workbench 14 feet long for house projects.....I have 4 of everything one in each shop and the one I bought to finish something when I could not find even one !!!!!!!!!!! The shop faries move them around as I often find them together!!!!!!!!!! enough ranting happy DAD's DAY to all..........bcoke

I just can't do that. My father inlaw can, as he's one of those guys who knows where everything is. But if you move the wrench 6 inches to the left he can't find it. I'm the opposite, I must have organization (and labels on drawers) or I can't find it. Everything must be in its place for me, or I'll be hunting for it for half an hour. Just the way different minds work, I guess. Plus in the end, it all looks a lot nicer and pleasing to the eye when everything stays clean and put away. I like to look upon potential, even if its the potential for a big mess.

 

[TerryH]

Other people touching my stuff???? I don't think so. lol...

 

[bobcatdan]

The GF doesn't like touching any surface in the shop so I doubt I will ever catch her cleaning it. I just sweep the floor when needed. Put stuff away when a job is done. Clean the benches with a squirt of gas and call it a day. I don't want the shop to look like a dump, but it's not a NASCAR shop either.

 

[gtae07]

Cleaning? What's that?

Seriously, I rarely actually clean beyond sweeping shavings up occasionally. Usually, once I finish a major portion of a project I'll put all the tools back and clean up. But I have problems with the "find a home for this item" part of cleaning; stuff without designated homes winds up in neatly-lined-up random piles.

It's gotten worse lately; now that we have the baby I don't get as much continuous time out in the shop. If I put everything away and cleaned up neatly at the end of each session, I'd never get anything done because I'd spend all my time taking things out and then putting them right back.

I don't have to worry about my wife borrowing tools; we have an in-the-house set of basic stuff (tape measure, screwdrivers, old cordless drill, etc)

 

[maxpower_hd]

I clean my own garage. A place I used to work we had a HUGE space. We used to clean it regularly but had a service that came in once a month to wash the floors with a Zamboni kind of machine. It was just part of the cleaning company's service that did the rest of the company.

 

[bczygan]

A mans shop is his sanctum sanctorum.

No other beings can enter, or know the rituals performed there.

Bill

 

[ItsNemo]

Cleaned up daily after whatever I'm working on is done, including wiping down all the tools and putting them back in their spots. If I have friends helping out they'll usually collect stuff on the bench or sweep or wipe down tools and set the clean ones together for me to put away.

Having a relatively small garage where the workspace is also the parking space for my car means I need to have it completely cleaned up to pull the car back in, I don't like leaving it on the driveway overnight.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

Well; I remember being asked a few different times to check out a problem on a piece of equipment.... My reply was "oink-oink-oink and pig snorting"... Compared to a pig, these guys were worse...

On dirty jobs, the broom and shovel are two of My most used tools... I see no reason to work in a dive, or track dirt and garbage all over the shop.. I attempt to make a simple task of cleanup by cleaning the work area as I work...

 

[BDT/NWMN]

I am the only one that uses the garage and I am the only one that cleans and organizes it. Lately my son has taken and interest in the garage, so I let him go into my toolbox. He was helping me change the oil one day and when I was walking around cleaning up I found two cookies that he was eating during the oil change that he left on my mower.

I had to chuckle when looking at that picture.. Energy stored and ready for the next lawn mowing.

 

[Falcon67]

Clean? Maybe using the Carl Spackler method once in a while.

 

[justsam]

Epoxy floor makes cleaning easier for me. I also have a shed where dirty work like welding grinding drilling etc. get done.

I also find it easier to clean up after projects or repairs that I have deemed successful!

 

[Shiftless]

Clean? Maybe using the Carl Spackler method once in a while.

Nothing beats the leaf blower for getting sawdust out of the nooks and crannies. I use my table saw outside and clean it that way before bringing it in at the end of the day.
I clean the garage that way too.

Carl really knows how to do housekeeping!
Here he is in his casual, at home outfit.

 

[gahrajmahal]

When I teach carpentry class for adult Ed. I find it very interesting who cleans up the shop and who just walks off at the end of the night. I make sure everyone knows the rules and I go over "stopping 15 minutes before 9:30", but I usually stop myself and pick up a broom just so everyone takes the hint, although some do not and seem to purposely avoid cleanup time even leaving early, say 9:00 just so they can avoid cleaning.

There are two schools I teach at and the day instructors make the rules and have the tool budget, so my class and I just use what we have, occasionally I bring in my own stuff. The school that has the best "return rate" for putting the tools back where they came from uses a shadow system inside a tool crib. All the power tools go into a big cabinet, clamps, rules, small stuff usually makes it back because it is easy to find. The other school does not use the tool crib method or the shadow system, so those students usually spend considerable time looking for tools.

 

[MagicMarker]

I keep everything in its place most of the time. I'm the only one who handles my tools. I don't even lend out my tools.

 

[NUTTSGT]

My garage, my mess, I'm cleaning.

Although, the wife has mentioned cleaning the toilet in the garage bathroom but never has.

 

[tomstin]

My garage is the only "my" space in the entire house. "Don't leave your **** in MY garage!" is my message to the family. My wife has the bottom of one cabinet for her boots / sneakers...that's it! I do like a clean well organized, things out of sight, garage.

Two comments my dad has made to me over the years on our garages. Years ago his garage was a mess, looked at me one day and said "You've been out of the house for 20 years now, I guess I can no longer blame the mess in the garage on you!" We had a good laugh over that. Another time he came to my house to help with a project. "Boy you're garage is a mess!" Yes dad, the only time you come over is when I'm up to my neck in a project which is why the garage is a mess RIGHT NOW!

Another expression my dad had that I didn't appreciate until later in life. "That's a while your resting job!" Translated: is when you take a break, instead of sitting down (if you stop you stall), pick up the tools, sweep up a bit, straighten up the mess, it makes it easier when you get back to it.

God I miss him!