Organization is a goal, not a destination

[Jeff Ivers]

I have always had a desire to keep things organized, whether it be my life, my tools, my shop, etc. At age 73, I can now admit that organization is a goal not a destiny. What do I mean by this? When I first built my shop, I had x number of toolboxes and parts cabinets. A few years back, I thought I could build a parts organization cabinet and better organize what I had stored and take up less space. What happens, is that as time goes by, I acquire additional hardware/parts that won't fit in the designated drawers in the cabinet. Same thing with tools, I recently went through the process of acquiring one new toolbox and eliminating two (although I actually increased storage space). Why did I do this? I had acquired some new tools that needed a home. As long as manufacturers keep creating new fasteners that require different wrenches/bits, this is inevitable. I love having what I need on hand when tinkering or making something and saving a trip to the hardware store. So, I put up with the occasional purging/reorganization steps. I accept that I will never be as organized as I would like.

 

[kbeefy]

Yup. I need to build another rack, my misc hardware shelf is getting overrun.



Built this just for electrical connectors.



I have a pretty big collection of secondhand harbor freight toolboxes for tools.

 

[evildky]

Adam savage had a similar quote. I think it was "Organization is a process not a project." same principle that its a constantly evolving thing that is never "done". Although I'm sure of the more OCD among us may have unlocked that highest level

What works for one person doesn't work for all. What works today, might not work tomorrow. Some things work indefinitely, some things evolve and others completely change.

 

[GN4WHLN]

Yup. I need to build another rack, my misc hardware shelf is getting overrun.



Built this just for electrical connectors.



I have a pretty big collection of secondhand harbor freight toolboxes for tools.

That is more along the lines of a miscellaneous hardware department. I like what you are doing there.

 

[WillyBoy]

My wake-up is when the miscellaneous drawer or shelf has more stuff on it than any of the properly labeled and stored items.
Then it's time to take all that misc. and store it where it should go.

 

[CraigStu]

So so correct. I keep trying, and things get better, but I don't think I will ever be done.

 

[Jeff C]

My wake-up is when the miscellaneous drawer or shelf has more stuff on it than any of the properly labeled and stored items.
Then it's time to take all that misc. and store it where it should go.

I think you have this wrong. When the misc drawer fills up you add another misc drawer. This is very similar to what happens with the kitchen junk drawer.

 

[gtae07]

My "misc drawer" is any horizontal-ish surface.

It is truly mentally harder for me to (a) try and figure out an organizational system and (b) try to stick to it every day. Cleaning up after a taak or project is the one single hardest thing to do. I don't know why. My shop is a disaster and it frustrates me, but the thought of trying to clean and organize is downright repulsive.

 

[rockbaron1]

When someone else walks into my shop they see absolute chaos. When I walk into my shop I mostly see everything where I want to it to be. I wouldn’t consider it organized, most things are in the location they were used last and that’s where I like to find them. So for some people organization isn’t a goal or a destination, it’s nothing at all really. Just thought I’d share my unpopular opinion.

 

[Maxcustody]

I love keeping everything organized. In the house as well as the garage. I enjoy the whole process. With my job before I retired in 2020, we moved 10 x in 25 years. By the time you remember where something is we were moving to a new house and had to figure it out all over again...........................

We will not move again and this is our forever home. It feels good to have everything in place, however, I am always trying to find a better way and system.

 

[LWB]

When someone else walks into my shop they see absolute chaos. When I walk into my shop I mostly see everything where I want to it to be. I wouldn’t consider it organized, most things are in the location they were used last and that’s where I like to find them. So for some people organization isn’t a goal or a destination, it’s nothing at all really. Just thought I’d share my unpopular opinion.

I have a friend that is the same way but he can find anything in a instant. So, isn't that organized?

I can't find a thing in his shop. You open a drawer of wrenches and they're scattered all over the place, metric and SAE combined, yet he can pick out a wrench in 2 seconds lol

 

[mike93lx]

Don't put it down, put it away!

I'm trying, but I **** at it.

 

[stickshift]

My "misc drawer" is any horizontal-ish surface.

It is truly mentally harder for me to (a) try and figure out an organizational system and (b) try to stick to it every day. Cleaning up after a taak or project is the one single hardest thing to do. I don't know why. My shop is a disaster and it frustrates me, but the thought of trying to clean and organize is downright repulsive.

Some people love having a disorganized (in the eyes of others, but not in their own eyes) garage/shop, but since that's not you, I'll offer a couple of tips.

1. When things don't have a home, we default to any convenient location, which is reflected by your statement: "My "misc drawer" is any horizontal-ish surface." Because items don't all have a home, putting everything away after a project becomes a project in itself because you have to make a decision about where each item goes. At the end of a long day, we have reached decision fatigue, and will simply refuse to take on more tasks involving decisions. When everything has a home, there are no decisions required, and this lowers the mental hurdle to putting things away after a project.

2. So give everything a home. Make the most frequently accessed items the most easily accessible.

3. Per the OP, this process doesn't need to be perfect. This is definitely a case where perfection is the enemy of the good. Adam Savage described it as a process of trial and error. Try storing item X somewhere; if it doesn't work out, you can always change it.

 

[RegeSullivan]

Organizing my shop is a three way fight...

Perfect storage vs practical vs future proofing.

 

[gtae07]

1. When things don't have a home, we default to any convenient location, which is reflected by your statement: "My "misc drawer" is any horizontal-ish surface." Because items don't all have a home, putting everything away after a project becomes a project in itself because you have to make a decision about where each item goes.

Many things do have a home, at least theoretically--and even establishing that was a lot of mental anguish...


But even then things rarely get back there. Why?

At the end of a long day,

I rarely ever get a "long day" in the shop. Much more common is that I get some short period of time, and then out of the blue I'm interrupted by some "crisis" like my son misbehaving, or my wife deciding she needs me to do something/help her with something/go do something with her/etc. and I don't get to finish up or tidy up--things get dropped right where they are and I generally try to pick back up right where I was. I get so little time out there I don't want to spend it taking everything out and putting it all away; heck there would be times where that's all I'd get done for the day.

Compound that with whatever level of ADHD I have... I will be working on one part of the project (say, something on the engine) and walk by another part (some electrical wiring that needs to be terminated) on the way to get a tool and suddenly I'm working on that instead.

we have reached decision fatigue, and will simply refuse to take on more tasks involving decisions. When everything has a home, there are no decisions required, and this lowers the mental hurdle to putting things away after a project.

2. So give everything a home. Make the most frequently accessed items the most easily accessible.

Even when every single item does have a home it takes 50x the mental effort to put things away than it did to do the whole rest of the project. Example:
A couple months ago I assembled a stationary bike for my wife. Putting it together was a breeze and it only took a few minutes. But getting it all cleaned... I have a small portable toolbox in the laundry room with basic tools specifically for little in-house projects so I don't have to go back to the shop. Just putting the tools back away and policing up the packaging took three times longer and was the mental effort equivalent of holding a cinderblock at arm's length the entire time.

This has been a problem my whole life. The hardest chore for me to get through as a (besides "clean your room!") was emptying the dishwasher. I'd mow the lawn no problem, clean the bathroom with minimal resistance, but I just hated that dishwasher.

Even now, when I cook I have no problem actually washing the dishes and I typically don't mind the actual cooking as long as everyone leaves me alone while I'm doing it. But tidy it all up, put everything away... there's a mental block somewhere.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I like the thought of "Organization being a process". I think it's a fairly honest opinion, something continually updated.

I have had people walk in my garage and are like "wow, it's so clean". It's not that it's clean, it just organized. It's much to what the wife says that I am OCD....whoa, far from it, again I say organized. Yes, I have a way I want it to be but I'm not there with a white glove making sure it's clean. I just hate looking for stuff. I want to go grab something when I need it, not be looking for longer than the job is going to take.


Edit:

Bought the bottom box last week for more organization.

 

[PhantomEB]

Yep it’s always a goal, right now I am focused on most toolage on the one half of the garage while storage is in the other half where the project sits.

 

[BroncoAZ]

I moved into the new space 16 months ago and am still getting everything dialed in. Initially the shop was a dumping ground for everything we moved from the other houses (we consolidated two houses worth of stuff to move my folks in with us) it took 4 months to get through most of that stuff. I still have a couple piles of various junk that either needs to get donated or sold. I haven’t purged the shop of duplicate tools nor have I mounted stationary tools like grinders or sanders as I haven’t figured out the workflow. I need to build the right welder/plasma cart to organize and compartmentalize those tools. I generally had a good organizational system in the Lista boxes I moved in where most things have a home. But the built in bench and drawers was haphazardly filled to get stuff out of the way while moving in. I’m not good at getting rid of stuff I think might be useful, so it fills up drawers and shelves.

 

[Fixr]

Many things do have a home, at least theoretically--and even establishing that was a lot of mental anguish...


But even then things rarely get back there. Why?


I rarely ever get a "long day" in the shop. Much more common is that I get some short period of time, and then out of the blue I'm interrupted by some "crisis" like my son misbehaving, or my wife deciding she needs me to do something/help her with something/go do something with her/etc. and I don't get to finish up or tidy up--things get dropped right where they are and I generally try to pick back up right where I was. I get so little time out there I don't want to spend it taking everything out and putting it all away; heck there would be times where that's all I'd get done for the day.

Compound that with whatever level of ADHD I have... I will be working on one part of the project (say, something on the engine) and walk by another part (some electrical wiring that needs to be terminated) on the way to get a tool and suddenly I'm working on that instead.


Even when every single item does have a home it takes 50x the mental effort to put things away than it did to do the whole rest of the project. Example:
A couple months ago I assembled a stationary bike for my wife. Putting it together was a breeze and it only took a few minutes. But getting it all cleaned... I have a small portable toolbox in the laundry room with basic tools specifically for little in-house projects so I don't have to go back to the shop. Just putting the tools back away and policing up the packaging took three times longer and was the mental effort equivalent of holding a cinderblock at arm's length the entire time.

This has been a problem my whole life. The hardest chore for me to get through as a (besides "clean your room!") was emptying the dishwasher. I'd mow the lawn no problem, clean the bathroom with minimal resistance, but I just hated that dishwasher.

Even now, when I cook I have no problem actually washing the dishes and I typically don't mind the actual cooking as long as everyone leaves me alone while I'm doing it. But tidy it all up, put everything away... there's a mental block somewhere.

For me, having a home for each tool AND REMEMBERING WHERE THE TOOL LIVES is like magic. Once my brain remembers where the tool lives, projects get 1000 times easier. That requires figuring out tool homes that make sense to you. For me, that works out to something like "slicing and scraping, or "pounding", but for someone else it may be "yellow tools, red tools, blue tools", or Snap-On, Matco or Bonney in separate drawers, or maybe sorting by weight or cost, or even how shiny they are. What ever works with how your brain works.

Without a plan that makes intuitive sense to you, you may as well just dump them all in a pile on the floor and save all the expense of buying toolboxes and building workbenches. It doesn't much matter what makes sense to some other GJ member. The core concept is having a plan that makes sense for *your* brain, which might seem ridiculous and utterly chaotic to most anyone else. But, have a plan that you can remember.

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

Without a plan that makes intuitive sense to you, you may as well just dump them all in a pile on the floor and save all the expense of buying toolboxes and building workbenches. It doesn't much matter what makes sense to some other GJ member. The core concept is having a plan that makes sense for *your* brain, which might seem ridiculous and utterly chaotic to most anyone else. But, have a plan that you can remember.

Amen brother!

Last week my son asked if I had hose clamp pliers. I showed him the contents of my "assorted pliers" drawer and then went to the "small engine" drawer of the "Green cabinet" and pulled out exactly what he wanted.

I just realized that I need to name and label all of my storage cabinets. The cabinets themselves! I get a dull look from Mrs No_Garage when I say the packing tape is in the top drawer of the tall red 8 drawer cabinet. If I name and label that cabinet "Elmo" that might reduce the confusion.

I have several multi-drawer storage cabinets:

Beige - Beaker?
Green - Kermit
Red - Elmo
Blue - Grover or Cookie Monster?

The drawers are labeled with had written 1" x 4" magnetic labels. The good news is I have good penmanship - Thanks to Mr Wertz - my HS drafting teacher.

Cheers

Jim

 

[vavet]

Here a tip I learned a while ago…when you go to get something and it’s not there, you look in other places until you (hopefully) find it.
when it’s time to put it away, don’t put it back where you found it. Put it back in the first place you looked for it. That’s where your mind thinks it should live,

 

[southalabama]

When someone else walks into my shop they see absolute chaos. When I walk into my shop I mostly see everything where I want to it to be. I wouldn’t consider it organized, most things are in the location they were used last and that’s where I like to find them. So for some people organization isn’t a goal or a destination, it’s nothing at all really. Just thought I’d share my unpopular opinion.

Dads shop was like that. When he passed and it was time to clean the shop my brother who knows nothing about tools started “cleaning” Without me.

He didn’t understand how dad worked. He saw chaos. I looked at the shop. While it was cluttered and full he had tools in various areas of the shop according to job type.

 

[nadogail]

Organization is a goal at the end of a journey I have not started on.

 

[Wiz02]

For about 35 years, my DIY jobs were sandwiched between long work weeks and being on call for tech support.

I barely put the tools away in my overflowing tool box after finishing a job, before starting a new one.

I never made the time to clean, sort or organize the work benches, floors or cabinets.

Now I am in the same boat as @gtae07 . I am almost done with the major post retirement "honey do" list items and I can't seem to motivate myself for the great clean organize and purge of my garages and basement, despite knowing all the good reasons to do so.

 

[Bill T]

There is another aspect to the organization issue. For some folks, the constant organization, cleaning of their shop is their hobby. For others, the organization of the shop is secondary to the projects. I fall into the later. I like to know where my stuff is, but mine is a working shop, not a "pretty" shop. Not throwing stones at either mindset, we are all different. That is why I sort of cringe when I hear someoneone criticizing another person's shop (or work habits).

 

[dchawk81]

I think you have this wrong. When the misc drawer fills up you add another misc drawer. This is very similar to what happens with the kitchen junk drawer.

Yep. Add another kitchen.

 

[NUTTSGT]

For those having trouble trying to get organized, would the thought of trying to account for or have an inventory, after a break in or fire, for insurance reasons help motivate you ?

 

[mike93lx]

For those having trouble trying to get organized, would the thought of trying to account for or have an inventory, after a break in or fire, for insurance reasons help motivate you ?

Nope

I have shot walk through videos a couple times trying to document the important stuff and would use that in the event of a major loss.

 

[LeeG]

For those having trouble trying to get organized, would the thought of trying to account for or have an inventory, after a break in or fire, for insurance reasons help motivate you ?

That is how I really got hooked on being organized and really keeping track of exactly what I have. When I was a young man, I had some very common stuff stolen, and was shocked at how much it cost me to replace it - the sorts of things you normally just buy as you need it.

In the 90's, I was doing consulting and a couple of my big customers were companies that did post fire/flood/etc restoration work, covering both structure and contents. It was quite common for their customers to feel that insurance companies were not paying them everything they deserved, but the actual problem was that most of them didn't know what they had prior to the event. How many clothes do you have? Kitchen items? I have thousands of things inventoried in my house and shop, and just sitting here, I see how much stuff that isn't included.

Even people that can find everything quickly, probably cannot accurately write down what is in a drawer without going and looking. Try it.

Lee

 

[gtae07]

For those having trouble trying to get organized, would the thought of trying to account for or have an inventory, after a break in or fire, for insurance reasons help motivate you ?

Now you're mixing organizing with paperwork . I'm about as allergic to paperwork and recordkeeping as I am tidying up. At that point keeping everything a disaster is probably a theft deterrent.

Maybe when the airplane moves to the airport in the next couple months I can set my wife to organizing (she's offered before). And if we end up moving like we're trying to then maybe I'll take pictures as we go. But nothing more than that.

 

[Wiz02]

For those having trouble trying to get organized, would the thought of trying to account for or have an inventory, after a break in or fire, for insurance reasons help motivate you ?

At this point point in life, I wouldn't replace many things especially clothes and house "stuff".

As far as replacing tools go, I would likely be downsizing as well after a catastrophic event, so short answer is no, making an inventory in case of a fire or theft or flood (thinking of those folks suffering after hurricane Helene) isn't a motivator for me though it should be.

 

[Glemon]

There is another aspect to the organization issue. For some folks, the constant organization, cleaning of their shop is their hobby. For others, the organization of the shop is secondary to the projects. I fall into the later. I like to know where my stuff is, but mine is a working shop, not a "pretty" shop. Not throwing stones at either mindset, we are all different. That is why I sort of cringe when I hear someoneone criticizing another person's shop (or work habits).

I was trying to figure how to say that, but you said it better. To me the project, fixing something, building something, making something look good is the goal, when I am on task everything else gets forgotten and needed tools pile up.

I do organize things when I get done, but organized is in the right bin or drawer, standard screwdrivers have a spot in the drawer as do Phillips, but they are all thrown together in their appropriate bins. All about efficiency for me. It would take more time slipping each screwdriver in its own little slot or hole than it does for me to pick the right size and length from the dozen or so there.

As stated everybody has their own method, I will say that after I moved and organized my wife can find the basic stuff as can my son who doesn't live with us but works with me in the shop on occasion. I call that a major organizational win.

 

[reader2580]

At this point point in life, I wouldn't replace many things especially clothes and house "stuff".

As far as replacing tools go, I would likely be downsizing as well after a catastrophic event, so short answer is no, making an inventory in case of a fire or theft or flood (thinking of those folks suffering after hurricane Helene) isn't a motivator for me though it should be.

If you have replacement value insurance they will generally still reimburse at a lower rate for items you chose not to replace.

 

[rzims]

For me, I enjoy a tidy workspace. During projects (or multiple projects) my shop is usually a total mess. Once a project is done, I actually enjoy spending an hour or so with a beer and some music while I putter, sweep, put stuff away and generally clean up the shop so it's ready for my next project.
I'm currently struggling because I have a few projects going and now my wife has decided to refinish her grandmother's dining table. I'm happy she's doing it and very blessed that she enjoys spending time with me out there...its just that her stuff is spread all over AND my stuff is spread all over and its kinda stressing me out.

 

[WildBill]

I bought my 70 mustang from the son of a guy who owned four houses, all with big garages/shops, in the same smallish town. Whenever his house and shop got too full he bought another house with a big garage and/or shop. His son was trying to clean it all out after he passed away. He wasn't a junk hoarder, it was all nice expensive stuff in the houses and nice cars and tools in the shops. Was crazy looking at it all.

 

[Sadboy]

For me, I enjoy a tidy workspace. During projects (or multiple projects) my shop is usually a total mess. Once a project is done, I actually enjoy spending an hour or so with a beer and some music while I putter, sweep, put stuff away and generally clean up the shop so it's ready for my next project.
I'm currently struggling because I have a few projects going and now my wife has decided to refinish her grandmother's dining table. I'm happy she's doing it and very blessed that she enjoys spending time with me out there...its just that her stuff is spread all over AND my stuff is spread all over and its kinda stressing me out.

Feel the same way. My wife has started to do in our tiny one car garage. Its great seeing her take on projects, just hard to not make clutter with so little space.

 

[goldtang]

cleaning and organising started as a young teenager working in dad auto repair garage , I would go in an do a weekly clean on Saturday then give him a hand I did work after school weekdays but not a lot off time hence the Saturday clean , then I started my apprenticeship, it was drummed into every one clean as you go and final clean at the end of the day , I am still the same today even in retirement and no OCD

 

[IRQVET]

I just ordered the tool box foam inserts from Amazon, hopefully they'll arrive tomorrow and I can start organizing the general layout, one drawer at a time guys . . .

 

[GlenC]

I have the analysis paralysis problem with my tool organization. I have numerous tool roller chests and cabinets, mostly full, but no real layout, categories or organization.
I have tools for auto, wood, metal, construction, electrical, electronic, plumbing, welding.... just can't decide on toolbox layout and which box for which.

Anyone have a method developed to divide and conquer the groupings and where crossover tools are included?

 

[hobie18]

I like the thought of "Organization being a process". I think it's a fairly honest opinion, something continually updated.

I have had people walk in my garage and are like "wow, it's so clean". It's not that it's clean, it just organized. It's much to what the wife says that I am OCD....whoa, far from it, again I say organized. Yes, I have a way I want it to be but I'm not there with a white glove making sure it's clean. I just hate looking for stuff.

OCD

Organized
Can Do