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Silly Poll: how organized are you?

9 times out of 10 I could walk into the shop blindfolded and lay hands upon...

  • My Wooden mallet or Favourite Hammer

    Votes: 45 46.9%

  • My Red Robertson (or favourite size screwdriver)

    Votes: 38 39.6%

  • My Go-To tape measure

    Votes: 43 44.8%

  • My Cordless Drill/Driver

    Votes: 58 60.4%

  • NONE of those. Not that organized.

    Votes: 30 31.3%
  • Total voters
    96
  • Poll closed .
Art Mulder

Art Mulder

Member
Messages
3,383
Location
London, Ontario
My mom was an "a place for everything and everything in it's place" sort of person. I inherited that to a large extent. And I tend to apply that to my shop also. I try to have a place for everything. And I also tend to clean up a bit almost every day at the close of shoptime. (almost.)

This has paid off in that I have been able at various times to send my son or wife in search of a certain tool/item and I can tell them exactly where it should be, which drawer etc.

So I'm just kind of curious as to how organized most folks are in their shops.
 
I'm like your Mom, everything has its place. If it doesn't, and I have not used it in the last 6 months, it gets tossed out or burned. Period. Sometimes I wish I had some of that stuff back after a week or so, as after I toss it I find a use for it, but I got a small, but uncluttered shop that works well because of my organization.

I even go so far as to buy multiple sets of tools so that my snowmobile stuff stays in the snowmobile shed, my woodworking stuff stays in my woodworking shop, and my tools at work stay there. As for sawdust and stuff. I sweep up and put everything back before the end of the day. In fact I put things back as I am building. If I have to pause and look for a tool, I stop right then, put every tool away even if I know I am going to need it in the next process, and then go again. I just can't stand having to look for something.

Speaking of work, I am super organized there to and yeah it drives everyone else nuts.
 
My shop is without question a mess. However, I know where everything is. I keep my most used screw driver (a 4 in one), my Stanley 16' tape measure, a utility knife, pair of pliers, and a pencil in my shop apron. I alway hang that up in the same spot, so finding that blindfolded wouldn't be much of a challenge. Both of my cordless drills always sit on my work bench, so they would be easy to find, as well.

I understand the reasons behind a clean organized shop. One day I hope to acheive that. In the mean time, I still can find everything with out effort.
 
I am very organized to the point that I get so frustrated if things are out of place that I can't concentrate on my project. Poeple at work don't seem to understand how important it is to be organized. My wife is worse than I am, she cleans my tool room while I'm working. She HATES the lathe.
 
My shop is a study in organized clutter. To the uninitiated, it looks like there's stuff everywhere (because there is). But I still know where everything is, and can usually find it without a lot of digging. (I answered Yes to all of the poll questions except the last one.) I tend to leave tools out and handy where I'm using them, but once I'm done using a tool, I generally put it away. Once a project is done, I put away everything that's not already put away. I also try to clean as I go, and end off most shop sessions with a broom, scoop, and shop vac.

Similar to Travis, I have multiples of a number of hand tools, so I have a few stashes of tools around the shop. Offhand, I can think of three different Allen wrench stashes, a couple of drill bit stashes, and various places where I have a screwdriver handy.
 
I'm about to have to be MUCH more organized -- my new shop will be in a spare bedroom, a lavish 11.5 x 11.5 space!

Wish me luck...
 
You forgot an all of the above. I'm not stupid-organized, but I'm close. The increased enjoyment of my shop time is well worth the effort to have a place for (almost) everything and keeping (almost) everything in that place. Brad points out a downside to this level of organization; when something does elude me, that fact absorbs me even if I don't REALLY need what I was looking for. ;-)
 
If "G" was a option I would chose that. Reason being that my shop is mostly orgnized, But my biggest problem is room. I do furniture refinishing for extra money. I know that a 20'x25' shop is good size untill you figure in all the tools, small spray booth and the furniture. The shop just shrinks.:huh: O.K. not really, however currently I have a dresser(5'x3'x2') w/ mirror, double bed and a few night stands in there it really makes it hard to squeze thru. This why I say I am only half orginized and would not want to try and go thru it blindfolded. OK back to screwing off.
 
I can pretty much send someone out to the shop and tell them where anything is. It's not as good right now as I intend for it to be.

DT
 
My shop looks like it barely survived the earthquake. When the tornado hit my greenhouse in Nashville, and flung my stuff and everyone else's all over the neighborhood... the result was neater than my shop. My shop makes the Donner party's winter camp look organized. It looks like jerusalem right before Saladin walked in.... ;)

I could go on, but you get the point. I'm sure there's a place for each thing... and that place is where ever they happen to be... ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
I'm right there with Sean. Part of my problem is I'm always midway through a reorganization. The other part is I've always got 30 projects going and another 30 planned.:rolleyes:
The people at work used to ask for things from me just to see if it would make me go through the stacks of paper on my desk. What always got the laugh is when I would jab my hand blindly into a stack and pull out what they requested!:rolleyes:
On a serious note, I always clear the paths for me and the wood before starting a job that involves powertools. I learned that from a friend who didn't - and lost a hand to the table saw because he stumbled.

Wes
 
You forgot the option for "All of the above." I can find nearly any tool I want at all times, everything does have a place, even when the shop looks like a tornado hit it. I think I comes from all the years of being in the field, and not the shop, supervising installs. There you really have to have a system for know where a tool is, and more importantly, not losing them.
 
I guess one could say my shop is pretty well organized. What I need is usually right at hand. Neat? Never. Cluttered? Yes. Would you like it? Probably not. But, it's my shop and I'm happy in there.
 
Try as I might, I just can't keep the organization where I'd like it. Too many irons in the fire, I guess. But I do know where most everything is, just don't ask me to do it blindfolded. I'd kill myself tripping over bowl blanks.:doh:
 
I'm moderatly good at staying organized. Usually though I find that I have to do a full shop clean every couple of months to get everything back in its place. I don't have many things in my shop that don't get used so everything has its place, but more offten than not I find that I use it and it stays on the bench.

I've got to try and get in the habbit of putting things away immediatly after use, that would certainly help.
 
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