Organization, neat garage help

[MyDomain]

Okay...I see a lot of you guys that post garage pics I feel I could honestly eat off the floor. Tools I assume are plentiful but are not seen. If you are like me you have a lube for this and a paint for that but they are not seen. Extension cords...hidden.

So, some of you had to start out like me. I am the go to guy in my neighborhood. Need a creeper, see Tim. Need an air nailer, see Tim. Need a fuel filter disconnect tool for a Ford, see Tim. All this stuff adds up and spreads out expotentially!

I want to be neat but can't decide where to begin. There are so many different storage needs, shapes and sizes.

How did you decide where to begin and what went where. I suppose I'm a bit overwhelmed because I have a sizeable amount of tools and supplies now. It would have been easier to build first, buy later.

 

[bmwpower]

1. Decide how much you can spend.
2. Decide how much space (floor and/or wall) you want to dedicate to storage. Be aware of future expansion requirements. Dedicate more space than you need right now to allow for this.
3. Determine how you would like to organize things...wrenches over here, ratchets over there, etc.
4. Research cabinet makers, shelving systems, etc. to determine what will provide you with the most storage per your dedicated space and requirements.
5. Lay all your items out in plan view. Organize things according to useage or commonality. This is key and make take a while, but I feel it's the only way you can look at all that you have and organize things from there.

Oh yea, STOP LENDING TOOLS!

 

[MyDomain]

Oh yea, STOP LENDING TOOLS!

I'm a nice guy that loves helping other DIYers. I have had a good track record of getting stuff back with one exception. One neighbor took a pair of large channel locks to the regulator on my compressor. I fixed it at minimal cost and simply avoid him when he looks like he's starting some project.

Thanks for the pointers, they are all good and food for thought. This site in general has empowered and enthused me to get my in gear. So many improvements, so little time. My final goal is to have everything in it's place so that I can utilize part of the garage as a gathering place

Right now I am packing away my HVAC tools from when I was a technician. Amazing how many tools you can store in a van! I want to keep it for future checks on my own equipment and my neighbors.

 

[Wardrum]

How did you decide where to begin and what went where. I suppose I'm a bit overwhelmed because I have a sizeable amount of tools and supplies now. It would have been easier to build first, buy later.

I started by getting serious about throwing out all the "oh, I might need this some day" junk I had collected. Doing that alone helped tremendously. Next, I started following a path similar to BMW's recommendations. I found that just separating everything quickly showed that I needed a lot more small item storage than I had and less open shelving. Shelves are great for some things but they are mostly an awful waste of space. After everything was separated, I organized it into frequency-of-use groups so that I could have the things I used most often close to where I would be using them. That helped indicate what kind and amount of storage I needed and where it should be.

After everything was organized that way, I purchased several Lista cabinets for tool and other small item storage. The Lista cabinets now take up approximately 18 lineal feet of space and replace approximately 32 lineal feet of open shelving units. In addition, I now have a 12' work bench on top of some of the cabinets instead of an 8' one next to the shelving units. I now have 18' of floor space used instead of 40'. I have most of my tools and supplies out of sight and locked in the cabinets when I'm not there plus I have considerable expansion room in the cabinets.
Now the challenge is to not let the "I might need it someday" junk start collecting again

 

[Ign]

IMO this site attracts people w some of the cleanest garages I have seen. And also IMO there's a point where functionality suffers greatly. But I guess that's why it's GARAGE journal and not SHOP journal. W-Cummins
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/member.php?u=5165
has what I consider a sweet shop. My little 40x50 pales in comparison. Having a floor you can eat off of in a shop is no help. Having paint, epoxy or nifty high-dollar checkered tiles on your floor is no help, unless you do nothing more than change your oil and bench race.

Thus you can see where my comments are coming from. A few of my suggestions, worth exactly what you paid for them

-I still like having my open/box wrenches hanging on peg board. I tried to fit 'em all into my 54" box but it just doesn't work out as effectively IMO.

-make a spot for all your "plastic case" tools. ie if you still keep your circular saw, sawzall, ball joint press, dremel, etc etc in their cases dedicate some shelves to these. I cram them under my workbench.

-a few drawers are nice, esp directly on the underside of your workbench. In these drawers keep things you access all the time when at the bench: eye protection, gloves, calculator to name a few.

-directly above or around your workbench hang several dead blows, a copper mallet, a couple true BFH's, a couple builder's squares and whatever else you always grab for.

-run power strips everywhere around your workbench, but on the sides or front. Cords running across your bench are stupid. I always have at least two or three 220V receptacles next to my bench(s) so the welder and plasma can be on at the same time.

-Enclosed space is also necessary for things like spools of welding wire, slag or dust will settle on them otherwise and ruin your liner.

-I keep most flamable things in an enclosed metal wall cabinet, stuff like Heet, lacquer thinner, etc to protect it from sparks. Aerosol cans like brake cleaner are less of a risk.

-shelving is good and build up when you can. But use expanded steel or wire shelving of some sort, doesn't collect the abrasive dust

-dedicate a cabinet to things like fasteners, snap rings, roll pins, o-rings etc. Your local Craigslist may net GREAT deals on the enclosed cabinets with all the yellow plastic bins, I recently saw one in Denver sell for $100 that goes for $1500 at Northern Tool

Beyond that you'll have to play with what setup works for what you do most commonly. Be open to re-arranging when you see the need. And remember you can almost always build what you want EXACTLY how you want it for a fraction of what you can buy pre-fab that is never exactly what you need.

 

[ScottS]

This is something we started on at work and I am appling it to the house.

Google up 5S and lean manufacturing. Also try visual workplace. It sure has helped me. The guy at work that went to the training applys the 30 30 30 rule to alot of things now.

Scott

 

[MyDomain]

Thanks, Thanks, Thanks! I'm loving these tips...keep it going!

I wonder how some of these garages look during a normal day. I have some great pics of my work area too but I'm embarrassed by it right now.

 

[astroracer]

My shop can get messy when I am working on projects. It is kind of a mess right now, but I am getting more and more into the habit of cleaning up after myself at the end of the day. I find it is much more efficient to do that then to wait until a job is done. I spent most of Saturday organizing drawer units and adding casters to a free set I got from work last week. I have lucked out when it comes to my storage units. Yard sales, scratch and dent sales and trash picking has gotten me more storage then I can actually use right now!
My claim to fame right now is casters. Every piece of of equipment in my shop is on casters, even my Pexto Shear. I find it much easier to keep the shop uncluttered when the equipment can be rolled out to work and rolled back for storage. Cleaning is also much easier when you can roll everything too one side of the shop for cleaning and roll it back out of the way to do the other side.
My shop as it is currently... The only thing NOT on casters in my shop is one bench that is attached to the wall... everything else rolls around.

This pic is from a year ago as I was cleaning and before I decided to paint.

Mark

 

[gahi]

I really agree about having everything on casters. It also helps when you get an odd or oversized shape your working on. You can just roll stuff out of the way.

 

[Special55]

I don't know what kind of set up you have in your house but this is what I did recently.

I have a basement so I added base cabinets with counter tops and wall cabinets above that. On the other side is a 8ft work bench with peg board above it. All and I mean ALL house related repair tools are stored in the basement shop. I also took duplicates of wrenches/screwdrivers.pliers,etc and put them down there so they were handy. This frees up more space than you can imagine.

Before I organized this stuff I would spend hours sometimes looking for things. I have even gone out an purchased something just to find out later that I already had it. I now make it a practice to put everything back in it's asigned place at the end of the project. If the project is going to last more than a couple of days I put the stuff back and get it out as needed. I cannot even begin to tell you how much time this has saved me already and I just organized this stuff 4 months ago.

As for the garage stuff, BMW has you headed in the right direction.

Rich

 

[MyDomain]

That is definately part of the mess. I'm not just a car guy but also a home repair guy, a woodworking guy and a hobby guy. I've been trying to keep the basement from getting too cluttered so that we can finish itout when the time comes. I have a 12' X 12' area down there designated for a shop. If/when I move all the house and hobby stuff down as you mentioned it would free up a LOT of garage mess.
Great thoughts guys...I just have to keep plugging away at my projects and I think I will get there eventually.

Tim

I don't know what kind of set up you have in your house but this is what I did recently.

I have a basement so I added base cabinets with counter tops and wall cabinets above that. On the other side is a 8ft work bench with peg board above it. All and I mean ALL house related repair tools are stored in the basement shop. I also took duplicates of wrenches/screwdrivers.pliers,etc and put them down there so they were handy. This frees up more space than you can imagine.

Before I organized this stuff I would spend hours sometimes looking for things. I have even gone out an purchased something just to find out later that I already had it. I now make it a practice to put everything back in it's asigned place at the end of the project. If the project is going to last more than a couple of days I put the stuff back and get it out as needed. I cannot even begin to tell you how much time this has saved me already and I just organized this stuff 4 months ago.

As for the garage stuff, BMW has you headed in the right direction.

Rich

 

[PAToyota]

That is definately part of the mess. I'm not just a car guy but also a home repair guy, a woodworking guy and a hobby guy. I've been trying to keep the basement from getting too cluttered so that we can finish itout when the time comes.

Boy am I with you there! Too many interests as well as supplies and materials to finish house and automotive projects... So it isn't just the vehicles and the tools that have to be kept organized, but stacks of lumber; the spare engine, transmission, and rear axle for the swap; etc...

Right now I'm trying to jockey things around in the woodworking shop in order to put the floor down - made more difficult because I already have the tools and supplies in there because I needed the tools for other parts of the project...

 

[Rader Rods]

You can never plan it well enough, it will always be a work in process. I also like a set of wrenches "handy".

 

[thefairlaneman]

Okay...I see a lot of you guys that post garage pics I feel I could honestly eat off the floor. Tools I assume are plentiful but are not seen. If you are like me you have a lube for this and a paint for that but they are not seen. Extension cords...hidden.

So, some of you had to start out like me. I am the go to guy in my neighborhood. Need a creeper, see Tim. Need an air nailer, see Tim. Need a fuel filter disconnect tool for a Ford, see Tim. All this stuff adds up and spreads out expotentially!

I want to be neat but can't decide where to begin. There are so many different storage needs, shapes and sizes.

How did you decide where to begin and what went where. I suppose I'm a bit overwhelmed because I have a sizeable amount of tools and supplies now. It would have been easier to build first, buy later.

Finding a good place for the tools you dont store in a tool box can be a problem, I found several used wooden kitchen cabinets and mounted them on the side walls. I painted them with a good coat of shop grey enamel and put barrel locks on the outside doors for extra security and safety. On the outside doors I also placed several signs noting the contents that were flamable etc .