Al Capwn Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 One of the things that I've seemed to encounter is that there is a certain amount of what I think of as "tool and material" entropy. Things start out nice and neat and organized, but over the course of time, things get worse. New tools get purchased, or there is a remainder of small numbers of screws, nails, specialty fasteners, hinges, and wood cutoffs. Before I know it, I have a mess on the top of my work space filled with clutter.I like the idea of "everything has a home". However, that seems to work with major items and things like clamps, but seems harder to execute when you have a bunch of miscellaneous items that "you may use one day". I feel that the "In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is" statement tends to apply here.So, open discussion for you all; What are your best weapons against tool and material entropy? What are your clutter-cutters? What do you do with your jigs, your cutoffs, fasteners, bits (drill/router/driver), specialty tools and accessories? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Slack Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 I'm with you. All big tools plus Festool have a place. The clutter comes out for small items like chisels. I'm making modular boxes following the systainer concept. Then all boxes go in a cabinet. Drill bits have a place and so do the screw tips like Phillips, square and GRK heads. Small pieces of wood go to my burn pile. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Schedule.For some guys they need to tidy each night. Some can tidy weekly. I find putting on the schedule helps. Ten minutes a night and an hour on Saturday once a month usually stays ahead of how little I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 I only keep cutoffs if they are a certain size, or exotic hardwoods. Everything in my shop does have a place, for the most part.It has to. It may be that the place it has is on top of the router table until I need the router table, which forces me to find a better place for that item.Or, if I find myself looking for a particular thing and not being able to find it, then it gets a home.The jigs and patterns I do have are either hung on the wall, or neatly tucked away on the lumber rack.I have a drawer that only has layout stuff in it. A screw/drill drawer. Router bits get their own drawer. You get the idea... Everything needs to have a home, or it will take your shop over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 My shop is pretty well organized and gets better as time goes on. Jigs have a home on the wall, screws have a home in drawers, and router bits have their own drawer space near the router table, and drill bits have their own cabinet near the drill press.I think I posted a shop tour a few months ago so you can see.I find that as clutter starts accumulating, I take a day or 2 and find (or make) a home for those items. Pretty soon, the "clutter" just becomes stuff you're too lazy to put away. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 They only way I can deal with clutter is to throw it away. I burn all scraps under 3ft (unless wide or figured). I throw away all left over screws and half used sanding discs that litter my bench. I just dont have the discipline to spend an hour sorting screws and half used sand paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 My shop is pretty well organized and gets better as time goes on. Jigs have a home on the wall, screws have a home in drawers, and router bits have their own drawer space near the router table, and drill bits have their own cabinet near the drill press.OK, I'll beat Brendon to the punch and ask, did you really just say that screws have a home in your drawers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 OK, I'll beat Brendon to the punch and ask, did you really just say that screws have a home in your drawers?lol - After making some room in the gutter to see it from that point of view, I guess I could have worded that a bit better.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Everything in my shop is either in a drawer or in a systainer. I clean after every shop day which is easy cause everything has its home. I burn my small scraps in the wood stove. I hate mess and clutter and cannot work in that environment. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 i can't work in clutter either, on big jobs i clean up and put stuff away at the end of the day. everything in my shop (single car garage) has to have a place, drill bits all in one drawer, pocket hole stuff in another, nail guns and nails together ext. you get the idea. in the process of building racks in my shed in the back yard for wood storage because of limited space in the garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 We moved here in January, so I haven't been in this shop all that long. I still find myself sitting on the end of my bench with a cup of coffee deciding what can be done better, or placed more efficiently. I'm winding up this current project and staring at 3 large boxes of scraps thinking my next shop project will be a scrap/plywood cart. I'll cut most of the scrap into kindling.Everything has its place, either in a drawer, systainer, cabinet or shelf. Screws and such I keep sorted in a systainer made for that purpose. I sometimes stop working a couple of times a day to clean up and start fresh. I get frustrated tripping over cords, hoses, scraps, etc., or trying to find that other chisel I had a few minutes ago. That's when I make mistakes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 (edited) OK, I'll beat Brendon to the punch and ask, did you really just say that screws have a home in your drawers? Haha, here is my screw organization. I have maybe 6 small boxes of screws on a shelf. When things are left over, they go in there. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk Edited October 27, 2015 by Brendon_t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Haha, here is my screw organization. Sent from my SM-G920V using TapatalkThat would drive me nuts! So would not having shoes on in the shop... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prov163 Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 I make the practice of spending the last few minutes of shop time putting tools away, cleaning, etc. I'm not good with clutter for long. Since I only get into the shop in the evenings after dinner, I like being able to get straight to woodworking. I'm the same way at work. I might be a little OCD ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 That would drive me nuts! So would not having shoes on in the shop...I see what you did there. Honestly I hardly ever use screws. Keep enough on hand but prefer not to. Shoes, not gunna happen. I'm a grom at heart man. Shoes always optional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 I can see right now that I don't want to invite any of you to visit my shop. Everything has a place and it's usually right next to something or under it. My only salvation is when my crispy clean, well organized daughter comes for a visit. Haha, here is my screw organization. I have maybe 6 small boxes of screws on a shelf. When things are left over, they go in there. Sent from my SM-G920V using TapatalkI thought I was the only one to save old door strike plates, even though one comes with each door knob set! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Slack Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Order is something I have been fighting for a long time. I approached the organization by bits and pieces because otherwise I never get to do any woodworking. Every single cabinet is on casters. Now I have problems with small items and the idea is to make small drawers for them. My chisels. All my screws are in sustainers. Since I used a bunch of clamps everything they were holding because the clamps created an improvised shelf will be dealt with.organizing everything is two much of a task for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Back on topic, clutter sucks, with working in a shoebox, clutter will quickly turn my tiny shop into an unusable sad space. My work surfaces really need cleared off before the next operation starts.Floor standing tools roll and nest together out of the way when not in use. A set of open shelves act as my everything else goes here zone. And since I'm a heathen and don't wear shoes, I sweep up the floor at the end of the day and in between if it's needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 A real heathen has no use for a broom, other than to find a chisel or mallet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 A real heathen has no use for a broom, other than to find a chisel or mallet.soo... how old is this daughter you've purposely not mentioned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 As she's told me way too often, she's young enough to be your daughter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Hahaha. Well played Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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