Ive been obsessed with this hobby for a few months, ive neglected my workspace. I decided while cleaning up to snap some pictures to remind me how bad it can get, and to clean up and do better
my mess
- Thread starter graydog8josh
- Start date
looks like a corner in my garage 
,,,
then, I look around, and all the other corners look like that too !!!
,,,then, I look around, and all the other corners look like that too !!!
I hear you brother!
I have the utmost respect for guys that can work on a project and also keep the shop spotless. I'm not in that catagory. But after 3 or 4 days I just have resist the powerful erge to continue on the project and just clean up the shop.
Fortunatly my work area is never invaded by the wife. She would go nuts and give me her lecture on clean up the place as you work. I will admit it feels good after a cleanup and walk into a clean shop(dosen't stay that way for long).
I try, I really do but for the life of me I can't put tools away when I'm into a project. I grab one, use it and lay it down. Then I do it again and again until the work bench, the floor and every other flat place within ten feet is covered with tools and I can't find anything. That's when I'll finally call a halt to building and clean up.
Ever notice how much a clean work area is condusive to good ideas? When my shop is a mess I get bogged down in the design stage and my creativity starts to go away. Then I'll clean up and suddenly there's the new ideas growing again. Sort of like cleaning out the garden before planting new seeds
Tom
Ever notice how much a clean work area is condusive to good ideas? When my shop is a mess I get bogged down in the design stage and my creativity starts to go away. Then I'll clean up and suddenly there's the new ideas growing again. Sort of like cleaning out the garden before planting new seeds
Tom
A cluttered mind or shop is not condusive inovation!I try, I really do but for the life of me I can't put tools away when I'm into a project. I grab one, use it and lay it down. Then I do it again and again until the work bench, the floor and every other flat place within ten feet is covered with tools and I can't find anything. That's when I'll finally call a halt to building and clean up.
Ever notice how much a clean work area is condusive to good ideas? When my shop is a mess I get bogged down in the design stage and my creativity starts to go away. Then I'll clean up and suddenly there's the new ideas growing again. Sort of like cleaning out the garden before planting new seeds
Tom
The sad part is that when I ran a automation shop(25 yrs.) It was always spotless. Other techs that woud stop by would always comment about it's orginization. Now that I'm retired and I don't have the time to be orginized! LOL
Like Tom said it's hard to clean as you go. I've usually got one hand all mucked in grease, one hip trying to balance the bike upright, three wrenches tucked under my armpit, some nuts or bolts between my teeth... I'm telling you it's ridiculous.
My garage can go from super clean to a tornado zone in about 30 minutes. So why does it take so much longer than that to clean?? Weird.
My garage can go from super clean to a tornado zone in about 30 minutes. So why does it take so much longer than that to clean?? Weird.
Lol, like Roomba? That's not a.bad idea! I'll set it loose in the garage tonight. Will it suck up wrenches though?
I might have spelled it wrong, but its a small circular robot vacuum cleaner. You kick back while it does all the work. You don't have to pay it or tip it.
Cleaning:
Personally I like a leaf blower. I open the garage door and plug in my Toro blower and in seconds everything that was laying on and cluttering the garage floor is out in the driveway. I walk around and pick up the useful stuff and let nature have the rest.
Occasionally I'll find something like a 10mm socket or that stainless steel washer I dropped a couple of days ago and coundn't find. But mostrly it's just dust, metal shavings, snippets of cardboard I'd used for a template, a beer bottle cap, discarded wire insulation and those annoying little molten balls that I snip off the end of the wire from my MIG welder. If the wind doesn't take the mess away I'll blow it into the steet and the end of the drive and eventually the county street sweeper will come by and suck it up.
Speaking of things dropped and you can't find them. Where do those things go? I mean, really, you drop it, it falls right at your feet, you look down...and it's gone. Why is it when you drop something it can't simply fall and lay where it's visible? What natural law dictates that it ends up under something or behind something ten feet from where it dropped? I use an old trick sometimes. I lay my face down against the garage floor and start searching. You'd be surprised how many times that little nut, bolt, screw or small part becomes obvious when you sight along the floor and ant level.
Then you go in the house and your wife asks, "What's all over your face? Looks like you've been laying on the floor."
Tom
Personally I like a leaf blower. I open the garage door and plug in my Toro blower and in seconds everything that was laying on and cluttering the garage floor is out in the driveway. I walk around and pick up the useful stuff and let nature have the rest.
Occasionally I'll find something like a 10mm socket or that stainless steel washer I dropped a couple of days ago and coundn't find. But mostrly it's just dust, metal shavings, snippets of cardboard I'd used for a template, a beer bottle cap, discarded wire insulation and those annoying little molten balls that I snip off the end of the wire from my MIG welder. If the wind doesn't take the mess away I'll blow it into the steet and the end of the drive and eventually the county street sweeper will come by and suck it up.
Speaking of things dropped and you can't find them. Where do those things go? I mean, really, you drop it, it falls right at your feet, you look down...and it's gone. Why is it when you drop something it can't simply fall and lay where it's visible? What natural law dictates that it ends up under something or behind something ten feet from where it dropped? I use an old trick sometimes. I lay my face down against the garage floor and start searching. You'd be surprised how many times that little nut, bolt, screw or small part becomes obvious when you sight along the floor and ant level.
Then you go in the house and your wife asks, "What's all over your face? Looks like you've been laying on the floor."
Tom
But sometimes, they disappear Totally; this is quantum physics at work. Because existence is only ever a potential quality, the part will cease to exist, but because it is a quality of high potential, it will reappear at some point in the future.
You must also consider the part appearing in an alternate universe, and someone there being baffled by the presence of a pair the of things when only one was bought/made, or the presence of one only, when they never actually acquired it.
There may well be a universe where people keep finding socks instead of losing them.
You must also consider the part appearing in an alternate universe, and someone there being baffled by the presence of a pair the of things when only one was bought/made, or the presence of one only, when they never actually acquired it.
There may well be a universe where people keep finding socks instead of losing them.
Or a Universe where all they can find is left socks?
I have all your right ones, Mua ha ha ha ha haaaaaa!
(Uhhh, wait a minute)
I have all your right ones, Mua ha ha ha ha haaaaaa!
(Uhhh, wait a minute)
Socks: Strange but I have several pair of mis-matched socks. One blue and one brown. But then I have another pair that one is brown and the other one blue. I just can't figure out how that happens. Do they change color in the wash? Bad dye? Detergent too strong? It can't be that because I have a couple of pair of white and grey socks. Hmmm.
Tom
Tom
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my indoor shop is the laundry room,when its warm im outside,but i have to clean up everyday before the ol lady gets home.
I have enough tools that putting them all in the organized tool bag I have is too much. The big metal tool boxes I also have are just something I could be using to carry the excess tools, but I actually found the cloth bags for the grocery store hold them quite well.
Any delicate tools like fine needle nose pliers and the like I don't put in with the other heavy tools as they would be damaged possibly. Empty the bag out on a table and fairly quickly I see what I need and go to work.
If I had a shop space and no one would complain about an angle grinder noise and sparks, well a neat place would be ideal!
MT
Any delicate tools like fine needle nose pliers and the like I don't put in with the other heavy tools as they would be damaged possibly. Empty the bag out on a table and fairly quickly I see what I need and go to work.
If I had a shop space and no one would complain about an angle grinder noise and sparks, well a neat place would be ideal!
MT
Somehow I've ended up with TONS of wrenches, but none of the right ones (metric 10, 15, and 17). Plenty of 11's and 16's though..
I figured out where our socks go! We commission them one at a time to go into grease rag or shoe shine service.
I figured out where our socks go! We commission them one at a time to go into grease rag or shoe shine service.