Something just clicked…..
- Thread starter Strouty
- Start date
bczygan
Well-known member
Unless you're a hoarder......They take EVERYTHING!
I am officially checked out of the shop, but I am going to finish my update before I actually leave. I moved some cabinets and shelves. I think I have found a happy medium with my ideal space and one that will be productive. I have recycled a bunch of old catalogs, paperwork, and old junk mail. Tomorrow I will try and get things put back together. I need to come up with an idea for some shelving above my new found "credenza" ( I love that space!). I still have one completely empty drawer and two that are just a mess. Hopefully tomorrow around this time I will have made enough progress that I feel good about the space.
I also have this weird space created by leaving access for the outlet. I all ready don't have enough outlets in the office and really do not want to lose two more. Any ideas?
I also have this weird space created by leaving access for the outlet. I all ready don't have enough outlets in the office and really do not want to lose two more. Any ideas?
bczygan
Well-known member
Strouty,
Nice!
I like your Daliesque melting clock!
The space between, with the outlet? Crazy idea.......leave it empty! Negative space gives importance to the items on each side. In fact, move the "credenza over a smidgen, so it doesn't run right into the corner, so there's a little space on both sides of it.
Does all that stuff on the credenza go into the shelves on the opposite wall? If it is messy looking, just hang a piece of canvas over the front of it. Or a flag or logo of your choice.
Should I tell you that my bedroom "office" has all the things your business office has, including the binding machine, and I don't have a business? Plus, musical instruments, ham radio gear and 2 computer desks. And that's the cleaned up version.
Bill
Nice!
I like your Daliesque melting clock!
The space between, with the outlet? Crazy idea.......leave it empty! Negative space gives importance to the items on each side. In fact, move the "credenza over a smidgen, so it doesn't run right into the corner, so there's a little space on both sides of it.
Does all that stuff on the credenza go into the shelves on the opposite wall? If it is messy looking, just hang a piece of canvas over the front of it. Or a flag or logo of your choice.
Should I tell you that my bedroom "office" has all the things your business office has, including the binding machine, and I don't have a business? Plus, musical instruments, ham radio gear and 2 computer desks. And that's the cleaned up version.
Bill
I guess I could go with the negative space idea. I just need to have enough to be able to retrieve anything that falls in there.
The stuff on the credenza is kind of misc right this second. I had to move stuff and it was the only flat surface. The plan is to leave the 2 hole punch on it permanently, I just started using fastener folders. I wish I had started years ago, they are absolutely awesome. I will probably make a place out by the binder for the 3 hole punch, but I am just going with the flow for right now.
And to answer your question, I totally believe it!
The stuff on the credenza is kind of misc right this second. I had to move stuff and it was the only flat surface. The plan is to leave the 2 hole punch on it permanently, I just started using fastener folders. I wish I had started years ago, they are absolutely awesome. I will probably make a place out by the binder for the 3 hole punch, but I am just going with the flow for right now.
And to answer your question, I totally believe it!
mdbeck1
Well-known member
...
And just a heads-up, parents will try to give you all the stuff you gave them over the years, and will be hurt if you don't take it....
I went through this about a year ago. What we finally did was "take" the stuff. It's now mine... What I do with it is my business... take it home, sell it, donate it, or toss it in the dumpster.... I just didn't tell them about it.
bczygan
Well-known member
I see you have "The Wave". I like it!
Bill
Bill
fomocoforrester
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2008
- Messages
- 3,061
Strouty - for what it's worth - I havn't read the whole thread but the problem became apparent to me on the first page when you said ....
"I bought a 40' high cube (9'6" tall) conex (shipping container) last year to solve this very problem. Now the conex is full and the shop is too."
You seem to think that you have too much 'stuff' and that if you could just get it all organised with more storage space your problem will be solved.
Well my experience is just the opposite - even if you reach that impossible dream of having everything organised and ready to generate revenue, it will never happen - and the reason is simply that the amount of space and the amount of stuff you have would take a workforce of at least 4 or 5 people to use it in the most efficient (and therefore satisfying) way.
As I see it you only have two choices - employ more help, or downsize everything, the stuff, the storage and the land.
"I bought a 40' high cube (9'6" tall) conex (shipping container) last year to solve this very problem. Now the conex is full and the shop is too."
You seem to think that you have too much 'stuff' and that if you could just get it all organised with more storage space your problem will be solved.
Well my experience is just the opposite - even if you reach that impossible dream of having everything organised and ready to generate revenue, it will never happen - and the reason is simply that the amount of space and the amount of stuff you have would take a workforce of at least 4 or 5 people to use it in the most efficient (and therefore satisfying) way.
As I see it you only have two choices - employ more help, or downsize everything, the stuff, the storage and the land.
Been working my way through all the containers, the conex is about half as full as it was and the shop probably has 25% less stuff, maybe more. I agree that we as humans tend to fill the space we have available. That is why I have gotten rid of a lot of storage containers. I am trying to figure out what fits in the space I have and make that work. I don't think I will be employing anyone anytime soon, but if I do I will be properly set!
We just shut my Grandpas apartment of 60 years down. My mom commented that if an apartment can hold this much stuff, she had better start purging. We were all like: ya think? She has a family room couch, living room couch, rec room couch and a spare one in the storage area. It's going to be a long haul shutting that house down. I actually threw my couch in the basement away last year just to avoid that problem.
I am proud that the stuff I took from Grandpas fit in the trunk and backseat of a car. My sister filled the back of a SUV and probably would have taken more.
I have been sticking with my main project of finishing the woodworking room. I can only work on it on weekends and I lost last weekend traveling for work. I am sore again from working with it amongst other things today. But it's nice to see steady progress.
Bill, I pity your endless moving of things in circles. Storing CRT monitors in the backyard tells me you have made zero progress and the neighbors will be calling the city about the hoard again.
Strouty, any progress is progress, I guess. I thought the office was in the most decent shape of your whole setup, but if you felt it needed work first, then do it to completion.
I am proud that the stuff I took from Grandpas fit in the trunk and backseat of a car. My sister filled the back of a SUV and probably would have taken more.
I have been sticking with my main project of finishing the woodworking room. I can only work on it on weekends and I lost last weekend traveling for work. I am sore again from working with it amongst other things today. But it's nice to see steady progress.
Bill, I pity your endless moving of things in circles. Storing CRT monitors in the backyard tells me you have made zero progress and the neighbors will be calling the city about the hoard again.
Strouty, any progress is progress, I guess. I thought the office was in the most decent shape of your whole setup, but if you felt it needed work first, then do it to completion.
Last edited:
It wasn't bad, but I had no room to sort files. I am converting over to a fastener folder and I need the space. I have also been doing so much paperwork, that the office felt wrong. I was not able to easily get to things I needed and I had to go out into the other room to do my binding and filing. Now I think it will be much more user friendly.
bczygan
Well-known member
You could post this over on my thread and it would be just as applicable.
And sir, you are completely correct.
I am also doing the same thing.
Trying to keep all the basic things I have collected. All the various tools for all the various things I would be like to be able to do.
And my justification was as you said. If I could just organize it all properly I could keep it all. If I could find a place for everything and put everything in it's place, I would be like Martha Stewart, with bins and boxes and racks and closets and shelves and cabinets and shelves for everything. She does have that.
But she has a whole TV production crew to devise programs and develop recipes and show segments and bake and cook and organize and film it all.
I am but one person, getting older, with less physical abilities every day.
How hard it is though, to give up dreams of building something bigger than life, bigger than myself.
I do not want to go easy into that nursing home, with no tools or projects.
I don't even want to face a day when I live in this house with nothing to punctuate my days but TV and meals and sleep.
You are right though. I need a crew to fix and organize and build and acquire all this. And then what projects will I use these tools for.
I have no idea...
So, even though what you say, seems so radical to me, and it is not a truth I want to see, it is more truth than the dream world I want to live in.
So thanks a lot...I mean that in every possible way, sarcasm included!
Bill
bczygan
Well-known member
Strouty,
We each have to find our own point of equilibrium. And it changes. You are doing a good job of reacting to that change. And I'm working on it as well.
We are finding our individual ways.
Bill
I am at the shop nice and early. Today I plan on staying until I feel like I am no longer productive. Tomorrow will be a no shop day, so I would like to feel good about where I leave off.
It is obvious to me, that I have to figure out where to put all my office supplies. I have various containers, so I will see what fits the shelving and space that I have.
It is obvious to me, that I have to figure out where to put all my office supplies. I have various containers, so I will see what fits the shelving and space that I have.
ez-duzit
Well-known member
I think I see your problem. If that's all I could come up with, I'd have to consider some way to end it.
I know I have more of an issue than that, I just meant that I don't have a good setup for pens, pencils, markers, highlighters, and other like items. I have official dumped about half of the pens and markers because they no longer work. I found some very nice dry erase markers that are fine point and will make using my white board a lot easier. I have enough white out to last a lifetime and yes it does get used, sometimes I have to white something out prior to making a copy.
bczygan
Well-known member
I'm also thinking that if I can just get my markers and pens and pencils properly arranged, that all will be right with the world.
Actually, while there is nothing wrong with doing small projects, but for someone like me, it is important to not lose track of the main, priority things that need doing. And for me, that wouldn't be pencils.
For Strouty, who runs a money making business, it can be. His other stuff can wait.
For me, finding my white boards, and getting markers for them, has been a great improvement, allowing me to track and organize and focus my efforts.
Bill
ssdave
Banned
I was telling my 11 year old daughter the other day, owning stuff stifles your life.
It takes time to acquire it, time to organize and store it, time to maintain it, and time to get rid of it.
I've been going through my stuff and agressively getting rid of a lot of it. At the same time I acquire more, but I'm being more selective, I think. I'm approaching retirement age, and I don't want to spend my retirement managing stuff, I want to spend it doing things rewarding with the stuff I actually need.
Some stuff is easy to get rid of: I had several hundred extra drill bits, maybe a couple of thousand. I sorted them out, and ebayed all of them that weren't sharp in lots for someone else to sharpen. I have more than enough to last my life that are already sharp. I put those into containers, more or less sorted by sizes, and if I had too many of one size, I ebayed those also. Then, I did the same for my taps and dies. Found that I had duplicates of many sizes of number/letter stamp sets, did the same with them. And, duplicates of my Rigid pipe threading stuff. Same with sockets and wrenches, I have many thousands of extras of them, try to put a few on ebay each week. I have/had stuff waiting for me to repair it someday. I've made it a point to repair some and sell, others either threw away or donated to thrift stores if it had residual value for repair. Surplus materials I donate to thrift stores also.
The harder stuff to get rid of is nostalgic stuff that I've outgrown. I have my original set of SK tools that I used when I worked in a shop. Totally superfluous now, replaced with snap on and proto. My williams top box, not needed but too neat to get rid of. Machinist tools that I haven't used in years, but think I might some day. My small precision mill/lathe combo, that I don't use. Specialized equipment, hard to acquire, but never used anymore.
I have a huge amount of car parts in my garage that need to go, but they are very slow sellers so not too rewarding to sell them. I should fill truck loads and give them to my local auto salvage to harvest the space in the shop. I've done that with a lot of extra building materials, I donate it to the local ReStore, run by Habitat for Humanity.
Greed and hoarding ruin your life, if you can conquer that, it greatly improves. Mine is improving steadily as I get rid of stuff and keep only what I use.
It takes time to acquire it, time to organize and store it, time to maintain it, and time to get rid of it.
I've been going through my stuff and agressively getting rid of a lot of it. At the same time I acquire more, but I'm being more selective, I think. I'm approaching retirement age, and I don't want to spend my retirement managing stuff, I want to spend it doing things rewarding with the stuff I actually need.
Some stuff is easy to get rid of: I had several hundred extra drill bits, maybe a couple of thousand. I sorted them out, and ebayed all of them that weren't sharp in lots for someone else to sharpen. I have more than enough to last my life that are already sharp. I put those into containers, more or less sorted by sizes, and if I had too many of one size, I ebayed those also. Then, I did the same for my taps and dies. Found that I had duplicates of many sizes of number/letter stamp sets, did the same with them. And, duplicates of my Rigid pipe threading stuff. Same with sockets and wrenches, I have many thousands of extras of them, try to put a few on ebay each week. I have/had stuff waiting for me to repair it someday. I've made it a point to repair some and sell, others either threw away or donated to thrift stores if it had residual value for repair. Surplus materials I donate to thrift stores also.
The harder stuff to get rid of is nostalgic stuff that I've outgrown. I have my original set of SK tools that I used when I worked in a shop. Totally superfluous now, replaced with snap on and proto. My williams top box, not needed but too neat to get rid of. Machinist tools that I haven't used in years, but think I might some day. My small precision mill/lathe combo, that I don't use. Specialized equipment, hard to acquire, but never used anymore.
I have a huge amount of car parts in my garage that need to go, but they are very slow sellers so not too rewarding to sell them. I should fill truck loads and give them to my local auto salvage to harvest the space in the shop. I've done that with a lot of extra building materials, I donate it to the local ReStore, run by Habitat for Humanity.
Greed and hoarding ruin your life, if you can conquer that, it greatly improves. Mine is improving steadily as I get rid of stuff and keep only what I use.
Keep up the work Dave, I know sometimes the nostalgic stuff can be tough, but once you get rid of one thing, it starts the process. Even going through my office I was finding things that I definitely no longer plan on using or keeping. One thing I found was my calligraphy pen set and some books. I used to dabble in it, it was enjoyable, but I don't see myself doing any in the future. I am putting it all together in a ziploc bag for the local charity. The only things I can't seem to part with are my sharpies, I must have several of each color and tip style. They are so handy, I just can't send them away. I may go back through them and start getting rid of certain colors that I am less likely to use.
mdbeck1
Well-known member
This means that you are improving.
I'm sure that there are many others like myself that check in often just to see if you are doing any better. What I have seen in the last 6 months or so is that you are slowly changing your ways. It would seem that you are slowly moving from "hoarding" or "collecting" to "flipping" (with some storage for work related stuff). I would hope that in the next 6 months you decide what the shop is really for.
Note: Friends and relatives will ALWAYS want to use your space to STORE their stuff rent free. It's your space, your equipment, and your sanity. Put a storage fee and an end date in the agreement. That makes them understand that it is an inconvenience to you.
That sounds like I should make it one of my goals. It is less than specific in the sense that I don't know exactly what I want to use it for, but I think setting a deadline to have a decision is a good thing.
As far as family, mine are all too lazy to come to my shop, so I don't have to worry about that. My Father asked about the boat trailer, which means he want it back. I have decided that I am going to bring the whole boat trailer package back to him and tell him I am not interested in it at any point and he is better off giving or selling it to someone else that can and will use it.
bczygan
Well-known member
That is a very big step!
I now have a bunch of empty space, I will have to work on the area of the stock room that holds the office supplies. Once I get things figured out, I should end up with double the flat surface that I originally had. This will be great for assembling large documents and collating existing files. The office feels much larger and my shoulders feel lighter. I still have some fine tuning to do, but this is a big start.
I think I will end up only leaving the two hole punch out, the three hole will only be used for special documents and catalogs that I want on my catalog racks.
I think I will end up only leaving the two hole punch out, the three hole will only be used for special documents and catalogs that I want on my catalog racks.
bczygan
Well-known member
Strouty,
NICE!
Can you come over and clean up mine?
Bill
NICE!
Can you come over and clean up mine?
Bill
Wish I could!
Looks like I may be back there tomorrow, the weather doesn't look like it will work for my plans at the house. I guess since I am on a roll, maybe I can get the office finished and also clean up that first bay of the stockroom. I may even get an earlier start tomorrow, it seems to help my productivity.
I thought I was going to stay at the house, but I have decided to go to the shop for a while. I may stay half the day or more, not really sure. I know yesterday was productive and I hope to have the same (or more) level today. Wishing all the families of our fallen heroes a thoughtful Memorial Day.
bczygan
Well-known member
I just found a major snafu on my two hole punch. In order to release the paper, the handle has to be pushed backwards so far that I have to put it on the credenza sideways. I am not really happy about it, screws up my entire layout and flow.
Time to pull out the welder and make a slide out shelf...
ez-duzit
Well-known member
I just found a major snafu on my two hole punch. In order to release the paper, the handle has to be pushed backwards so far that I have to put it on the credenza sideways. I am not really happy about it, screws up my entire layout and flow.
Strouty--you really need some new perspective if your 2-hole punch is a big problem.
I have laser focus right now, that punch was the entire reason to get the space cleaned up!
I have come up with a very nice solution. I have tons of countertop (even matches my desk!) and I can pull the filing cabinets out about 3" and add the top over that. I do have to cut the countertop to size, but that is not a big deal. It will also allow me to get to an outlet that is being blocked by the filing cabinets. So it is actually a win win situation for me. Now I need to clean and make a mess!
I was trying to figure out how to move the cabinets out without unloading them. I grabbed one of my Woods Power Grips and it worked perfectly. I bought two of them at an auction years ago and they have become invaluable. I even use them when fabricating steel items, they allow you to pick up sheets of steel fairly easy, especially when working with aluminum.
ez-duzit
Well-known member
That's just an excuse for making yourself miserable. Allowing a 2-hole punch to ruin part of your life is excessive. You need to step way back to that mountain top I mentioned, for the perspective.