Workshop

While I did not mean to offend you and if I did I apologize. My personal modeling habits come from restoring cars that have be taken apart down to every nut and bolt. It takes a year plus to refinish and rebuild and entire car. So now where did I put that widget thingy made me learn to label and put it away. So I approach modeling the same way. I've been in a situation similar to what you show but the 10% might contain the widget thingy. Sorry I offended you.
 
Not offended at all :) , I asked for advice. I know the car thing. I modified a 69 Spitfire over and over for almost 20 years. Body off the frame every winter to modify something. I ended up with with a turbocharged Ford 2.9 V-6 and scratch built independent read suspension. All flared out, looked like a mini 427 Cobra and went almost as well. Never lost any parts:)
 
I don't have to worry about painting stuff. My wife paints so that all stays in her room. All my stuff/junk is just tools, jigs and stuff I "know" I'll have a use for later. I can't count the number I have thrown something out only to want it within a week. I have trouble throwing away perfectly good stuff. I hate waste. I pretty much know where 90% of it is. That amazes my wife. My "system" works for me except I'm running out of a flat spot to work in. :)
I'm with you, Don. I tend to hoard every scrap and piece of junk because i can't count the number of times I've found a use for exactly the thing I threw away not long before.
 
I sympathise with your problem Don,I too have the same issue:rolleyes:Thing is,I go through a tidy up session and create space but then that gives me an excuse to buy another machine or have another project on the go.As time goes by and several moves later, my workshop has increased in size tenfold but my number of projects and machine tools are probably twentyfold.I have come to the conclusion I am beyond salvation and even if I had an aircraft hanger, it would be still full of clutter:confused:
 
Good Day Sir, first, I would call your local FBI and report a bomb going off in your shop, THEN purchase a couple of these:


1654358150599.png

And if you really have the coin to burn:


And then abide by the phrase "mise en place" BEFORE and AFTER you complete a task.
 
Hi Don, back in post #9 Jim showed two modular stands (last two photos), which are mostly used as paint bottle stands. They are part of a modular system that has a multitude of different sections that may be of some help. You can add modules as you go and funds available. Hope this helps and maybe gives you some ideas.

Link below:

 
I use fishing tackle boxes that have several plastic bin trays with lids that slide in and out. Makes for handy bins to put tools, parts, and such until you need them. Take a look in your local fishing tackle store for tackle boxes that might work to store stuff...and they are less expensive than specialty items for organizing. But…if you get organizers you will need to actually use them?? :)
 
All of the suggestions from our caring SoS gang are great! All of the recommended organizers, from pressed cardboard to fancy oak drawers are great!

Here's the catch. They only work if you put tools back in them when you're done with them. I too had this disease! I came to realize my mind was messy and the messy work area was just the biproduct of it. I truly hated it. I'd go from one task to another for 5 hours, 10 tasks, all requiring different tools. I then had to run off and do my "honey dos" or other real life tasks. When I came back to my workshop it looked like a tornado hit it.

I literally had to force myself to write myself notes, in HUGE letters.
"STOP af ter each task."
"CLEANE your sh*t up!"
"PUT TOOLS BACK WHERE THEY BELONG!"

True story. I had to change the way I thought!!!!!! It took about 4 months. But after that I realized I was no longer reading or needing dumb placards.

It is truly important to have places to put our tools and materials, but we have to use them. "A place for everything and everything in its place."

If I could do it, anyone can. From the former President of the Clutter Club, good luck my friend! You can DO IT!!

Ken
 
All of the suggestions from our caring SoS gang are great! All of the recommended organizers, from pressed cardboard to fancy oak drawers are great!

Here's the catch. They only work if you put tools back in them when you're done with them. I too had this disease! I came to realize my mind was messy and the messy work area was just the biproduct of it. I truly hated it. I'd go from one task to another for 5 hours, 10 tasks, all requiring different tools. I then had to run off and do my "honey dos" or other real life tasks. When I came back to my workshop it looked like a tornado hit it.

I literally had to force myself to write myself notes, in HUGE letters.
"STOP af ter each task."
"CLEANE your sh*t up!"
"PUT TOOLS BACK WHERE THEY BELONG!"

True story. I had to change the way I thought!!!!!! It took about 4 months. But after that I realized I was no longer reading or needing dumb placards.

It is truly important to have places to put our tools and materials, but we have to use them. "A place for everything and everything in its place."

If I could do it, anyone can. From the former President of the Clutter Club, good luck my friend! You can DO IT!!

Ken
This is good Ken but when you say "Stop after each task" what are you defining as a task? For example when I was framing the Discovery I used the same tools everyday for weeks. Would that be a task? And then you get into parts where you have to wait for glue to dry so you're working on a half dozen things just to keep busy. If you cleaned up after each one you would spend half your day putting tools away and getting them out again. I'm not trying to be a smart a$$ but I was once told that there is a difference between scratching an itch and tearing it all to heck.(I cleaned that up a bit :) ). Maybe the problem for me is that I can't tell the difference so I solve it by leaving stuff out. Also I'm getting old (turning 75 in a couple of weeks) so maybe there is no point. I can just leave it and my kids can clean it up when they sell the house.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I think it's helping. The work space on my bench has doubled. From about a square foot to at least two. I'm just not sure about containers and shelving that hide the stuff(like drawers) because I'm sure I'd forget where it was. "Out of sight, out of mind"
 
Lots of great advice from fellow SOS's. I particularly like HOSS 6262's comments.
One thing that I have leaned as my collection of stuff grew and grew, was to only have available the specific tools, paints and brushes for the upcoming segments of the build. Everything else I stored away - one box for brushes and all things painting, another for drill stuff, another for glues, another for clamps. Another for hammers, pliers, nails. Maybe 5 boxes in all - not too many. I store them away from the immediate work area in a closet.
 
I HAVE TRAINED MYSELF TO DO IT AT THE END OF DAY EVERY DAY SO NOT A HUGE AMOUNT TO CLEAN UP AT ONE TIME BUT SOMETIMES I SPEND A COUPLE OF HOURS LOOKING FOR A TOOL KNOWING I PUT IT SOMWHERE BUT NOT AS MUCH AS I USED TO DO JUST ME. GOD BLESS STAY SAFE ALL DON
 
All of the suggestions from our caring SoS gang are great! All of the recommended organizers, from pressed cardboard to fancy oak drawers are great!

Here's the catch. They only work if you put tools back in them when you're done with them. I too had this disease! I came to realize my mind was messy and the messy work area was just the biproduct of it. I truly hated it. I'd go from one task to another for 5 hours, 10 tasks, all requiring different tools. I then had to run off and do my "honey dos" or other real life tasks. When I came back to my workshop it looked like a tornado hit it.

I literally had to force myself to write myself notes, in HUGE letters.
"STOP af ter each task."
"CLEANE your sh*t up!"
"PUT TOOLS BACK WHERE THEY BELONG!"

True story. I had to change the way I thought!!!!!! It took about 4 months. But after that I realized I was no longer reading or needing dumb placards.

It is truly important to have places to put our tools and materials, but we have to use them. "A place for everything and everything in its place."

If I could do it, anyone can. From the former President of the Clutter Club, good luck my friend! You can DO IT!!

Ken
I cannot add to this anything! I mean nothing to add! If you want your work area tidy and clean, you have to clean it, at least at the end of your work. This is not easy, though, and it required discipline so it becomes not just a habit, but a necessity. Well...this is me, an old school, it might not be applied to others...we are all different :cool:
 
This is good Ken but when you say "Stop after each task" what are you defining as a task? For example when I was framing the Discovery I used the same tools everyday for weeks. Would that be a task? And then you get into parts where you have to wait for glue to dry so you're working on a half dozen things just to keep busy. If you cleaned up after each one you would spend half your day putting tools away and getting them out again. I'm not trying to be a smart a$$ but I was once told that there is a difference between scratching an itch and tearing it all to heck.(I cleaned that up a bit :) ). Maybe the problem for me is that I can't tell the difference so I solve it by leaving stuff out. Also I'm getting old (turning 75 in a couple of weeks) so maybe there is no point. I can justyou leave it and my kids can clean it up when they sell the house.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I think it's helping. The work space on my bench has doubled. From about a square foot to at least two. I'm just not sure about containers and shelving that hide the stuff(like drawers) because I'm sure I'd forget where it was. "Out of sight, out of mind"
Hey Don,
Great question. I defined task, for me, myself and I, and it was overkill. If, like your example I was waiting for glue to dry and moved onto another task, I would put the tools I was using away. It would take 4-5 minutes. I did it this way only because I know myself and what would work for me. I knew if I tried half measures I would fail. So, on a serious note, do what you think/know will work for you! Define "task" and end it, put the tools away in a way that you know will work for you. You could put the tools away, but not do a thorough cleaning until you end your day of work.

The only other thing I would say is, be honest with yourself when you ask those tough questions. It's not easy turning bad habits into good habits. Some seminar guru's out there say it takes 21 days to change habits. I'm also 65 and a mule, so it took me 4 months. But now it's routine, I don't even think about it anymore.

Cheers,
Ken
 
Hi Don
I‘m the one who wrote “nature abhors a vacuum“ I have spent my entire life looking for a flat surface area to work on and every time I clean up my area my lifetime buddy whom I went to college with and then worked with for over 60 years would utter those words and sure enough before I knew it my newly created space was invaded with stuff and it was always my stuff. I’m very like you at 76 years old still searching for a few unoccupied square feet of table. Now I know why at the end of every shop or lab session the rule was to put everything away and clean up. But as you sate I’m always trying to push the envelope and squeeze in just one more task. I tried just about every storage case, wall unit, tool box, cabinet, etc. but still manage to fill them and then some. In fact I think I did myself a disservice consuming valuable work space with storage systems. It’s become a viscous cycle. I’m just finishing up two weeks of a complete shop reorganization and am almost afraid to start a project because I know what’s going to happen. My bigest problems are catalogues and the internet. I think MicroMark, Model Shipways, Jim Byrnes, Syren, etc., etc. have plaques with my name on them on their walls. I’m a sucker for every new modeling tool and contraption that comes out most of which I buy and never really learn how to use well. But in the end it’s all fun and rewarding and has been the best Covid distraction I could imagine. Good luck and let us know how you make out and if we old dogs can learn new tricks. Kind regards, Bob Meli
 
Here is my solution. My work space is a shed which also has my amateur radio station PLUS .... the Admirals work space. She is quite a good artist. She also is a stickler for cleanliness and NO clutter. So, if I do not keep my area clean and tidy.......... Enough said. She is, after all, the Admiral.
 
Here is my solution. My work space is a shed which also has my amateur radio station PLUS .... the Admirals work space. She is quite a good artist. She also is a stickler for cleanliness and NO clutter. So, if I do not keep my area clean and tidy.......... Enough said. She is, after all, the Admiral.
Welcome back, Howard! What are you modeling now, can you share with us?
 
Thanks. I have finally got my space organized and have only just unpacked my Model Shipways U.S.S. Constitution kit. As i go forward I will attempt to start a build log.
I think we will be glad to see the progress of your Cony in the build log! ;)
 
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