Tutorial on organizing a shop

[Charlie]

Dan, No offense taken. Lol.
Bottom line is whatever works for anyone. Neatness, clutter, clean, dirty, hand tools, power tools, etc.
Mike started this conversation because what he is doing isn't working for him. So he has two choices, continue as is or make some changes.
What works for me is the old adage, "A place for everything and everything in it's place".
I like everything in cabinets and drawers. It is much easier to keep organized and clean.
I hate cleaning. I don't want to spend hours, days, weeks cleaning and organizing so I do it as I work.
Good dust control is the most important factor. Without that you can never keep your shop clean.
My son uses the table saw out feed table (4' x 7') as an assembly/work station. He can apply finish to a cabinet door while I am cutting on the table saw. No dust problems.
Find ways to do things so you don't create a mess that you have to clean up.
Clean as you go. I have a shop vac that I can roll around and reach anywhere in the shop. I would rather spend two minutes here and there spot cleaning than letting a mess accumulate.
The best advice I can give anyone is don't be a pack rat. If you don't need it, get rid of it.

This is my work station (4' x 8' bench). Everything I need is in cabinets behind me. If I need the small square I know exactly where it is. After I draw a line I put it back. I then know where it is the next time I need it and I don't need to move it out of my way or look for it.
Just my two cents worth of advice.

 

[JackLeg]

Can somebody help me?

I'm a clutter bug, things just multiply around me. I have too many tools, can't find what I have and don't know how or where to put things so I can find them. I can't seem to let things go.

I know some people just naturally organize, some learn, some force it on themselves or have it forced on them.

I can't.

I try, I build shelves, buy tool chests, sort things out and make places for them, but they seem to migrate away from there and end up somewhere else. I try to clean up and put things away as I go, when I finish, anytime I go in the shop. But it's just not enough. I still can't find my tools and everything is a mess.

How do you do it?

Are you just a clean freak, everything has to be spotless and every tool has to be in its place or you can't function?

I'm just the opposite, out of chaos I see things coming together, things being built, things I can make... If only I could find that tool.

Maybe it's just the way I am and I'll never change?

My mind is the same as my shop, thoughts scattered around, half finished or on a list to be considered.
Odd things tossed together, old and new mixed up, not sure what to do or where to start.

I'm right there with you, brother! Mine looks like a train wreck most of the time!!

 

[mgreene93]

So, yeah I need to clear out in a big way.

Just bring a load to the picnic and sale it real cheap! Haha

 

[EXKid]

My shop teeters on both sides.
A few things I’ve observed about myself and others (like my wife who was an executive chef for a time) is the principles when doing any kind of skilled work transcend professions. In a commercial kitchen the 5s principle has been referred to for a long time as ‘mis en place’ which is French for ‘everything in it’s place’. In short, Be neat with everything always. This is especially crucial in an environment with more than one person preforming in a given space. My estimation is that the messy shop person RARELY works with anyone else in close proximity.

I truly believe that skilled trades of yore taught this neatness at an apprenticeship level. I have watched factory mechanics from Europe dressed in all white change out greasy drives on forklifts without so much as getting a smudge on themselves. It amazed me. It was second nature to work neatly to them.

Meanwhile my training contained none of that. Not in vocational training, college or training for the professional jobs i’ve worked ever since. Nowhere was neatness highlighted. Nowhere was i taught how to work.

Nowadays I find myself looking for that screwdriver or chisel just like everyone else, and when i get frustrated, I clean everything up and put all the tools back where the belong, and start my tasks again. It takes very little time, and makes all the difference in the world.

My next focus is going to be difficult. I believe that all of that mess comes from one act of habit in particular that is going to take much effort to break. Putting things down. I’m going to start paying attention to putting things down in specific places. Every tool needs a home. And home will be that place.

I’m also an anti-collector. If it doesn’t see use, it needs to go. My best chisels are my only chisels.... that sort of thing. I don’t keep the boxes or carying cases for things like my Bosch router or a circular saw, cordless drills or my lathe tools. That crap is clutter and it needs to go.

There’s more, but i feel like I’ve written a book already here.

 

[Mike Davis]

That's ok, I need a book. Good stuff here.

 

[Mike Davis]

Dan, No offense taken. Lol.
Bottom line is whatever works for anyone. Neatness, clutter, clean, dirty, hand tools, power tools, etc.
Mike started this conversation because what he is doing isn't working for him. So he has two choices, continue as is or make some changes.
What works for me is the old adage, "A place for everything and everything in it's place".
I like everything in cabinets and drawers. It is much easier to keep organized and clean.
I hate cleaning. I don't want to spend hours, days, weeks cleaning and organizing so I do it as I work.
Good dust control is the most important factor. Without that you can never keep your shop clean.
My son uses the table saw out feed table (4' x 7') as an assembly/work station. He can apply finish to a cabinet door while I am cutting on the table saw. No dust problems.
Find ways to do things so you don't create a mess that you have to clean up.
Clean as you go. I have a shop vac that I can roll around and reach anywhere in the shop. I would rather spend two minutes here and there spot cleaning than letting a mess accumulate.
The best advice I can give anyone is don't be a pack rat. If you don't need it, get rid of it.

This is my work station (4' x 8' bench). Everything I need is in cabinets behind me. If I need the small square I know exactly where it is. After I draw a line I put it back. I then know where it is the next time I need it and I don't need to move it out of my way or look for it.
Just my two cents worth of advice.

I wish I could be like this, I want to have a neat clean shop. Sadly I think it will never happen. I think I can do better, and I'm working on it. But this photo makes my brain hurt just as bad as looking at a pile of tools on the table saw. I really can't stand either extreme. I think a coach would help. I'm like Mark, they didn't teach me this in school. I've never been around it. I basically raised myself with no dad and my mother worked 12-16 hours a day just to feed and cloth us. As far as woodworking goes I taught myself.

I see your shop and it looks great, I'm sure it is a joy for you to work there. But it is like a painting by Michelangelo. I can study it, admire it, try to duplicate it, but I really have no idea how it was done.

 

[Raymond]

Sharing my shop space with a garage queen means I am restricted in what I can have in the shop and how much. Since I have a small space, I tend to keep things neat and I clean as I go (can you say military training). I try to follow the mantra "everything in its place and a place for everything" but I do misplace something on occasion. So where to begin this tutorial is what Mike asked. I make sure all of the tools I use are close to where I work (lathe tools close to the lathe) - that is (for me) priority one. Having everything portable is priority two. No matter the size of your shop, the layout for what you do most of the time is what is important.

Mike, I have been to your shop and have helped you organize some areas and you know you do have way more stuff than you are likely to use in your normal woodworking pursuits - mainly, because you do more than ww'ing in your shop. Your interest runs wide and your shop organization reflects that. I believe you need to look at organizing your tools into categories, this area for ww'ing, this area for metal crafting, this area for electrical repair, etc... Once you have those tools and equipment sorted than you might be able to start organizing your shop into a 'breathing / living area' instead of a crowded shop. As always, I am available to help you anytime.

Maybe, you need to spend one day and do nothing but make note(s) of where all of your tools are in your shop and what all you have - that would be a big step in starting your new reorganization effort.

 

[EXKid]

Renting a dumpster can be an extremely liberating experience too. I found this out by accident, removed an above ground swimming pool that was here when we bought the house, and filled it with literally tons of junk above and beyond the pool. It felt great, and the purge helped with neatness all over the property.

 

[Grimmy2016]

@Mike Davis if you can try to take over the side room off your main work space to put your less essential tools, or create more cabinets and shelves there to house items taking up floor space. Like the large cabinet next to the Lathe or the one next to your door. You could that free space turn it into more space for your filter or additional bench space for electronics, metal working.

Glad to come and take a look to see what can be done...

 

[Mike Davis]

Thanks Scott.

I think I need someone to bounce ideas around.