How fast can you lose control of clutter in your garage?

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by cabmando

See! We're on the same page.

Lost the weird dimple washer that holds the pass. side foot board in place - took it out ~~3 yrs ago, and now I finally got an amp & wired it in; now I' looking for that washer.

It is not in the box marked "Interior"...

[wildthing]

I give up.

[ted]

Originally Posted by wildthing

I give up.

Gotta move the kiddos bike, in that location can't blame the kid if her bike hits the 911.

[Cooper911SC]

Originally Posted by RWebb

Clutter happens b/c you are too busy to put things away (or make a new special place for new items), and b/c many often organize spatially - like a map. The latter accounts for losing track of things when you "knew right where they were."

Different people organize differently, and scientists have even studied this. Herman-Miller once published a guide to how they designed desks - one thing they did was to make the center drawer so shallow that us idiots couldn't stack things in there - one layer only.

The real problem is not clutter, it is attempting to declutter. Decluttering takes time when you could be working on a project. And decluttering (for some) breaks that mental mapping link, so you no longer know where anything is.

Baron Cuvier was thought to be the world's smartest dude way back when. He also had a massive head, and phrenologists pointed to that as proof of their ideas. He ran a research museum (which was a big deal back then).

And he had hundreds of long tables with all his many projects (bones of animals) laid out on each table or a a section of one. Hundreds of projects all laid out horizontally - and he could just circulate thru them as fancy struck him or as new bones came in. I found out about that and thought it was nirvana.

The best way I know of to avoid the Dangers of Decluttering is to leave everything right where it is, and just build a new garage for each new project.

This picture is worthless without a thread... oh wait, my thoughts are cluttered...





I’m about 6 months in on this organized mess 😄

I keep the 2 car garage pretty clear as that’s where I work on client vehicles... although kid bikes have started to creep in with covid.

It’s funny how the brain works. Recently we put my wife’s Specialized crossover bike back into service. We had added a child carrier to it 5 years ago when our first son was old enough to ride in one. It required removal of the rear red reflector from the seat post. I put the reflector in a junk catch all box on the end of my bench. Haven’t even thought about it in 5 years... well, a month ago we took the child carrier off, and guess what, as I was airing up her tires I thought, “hey the rear reflector is missing... that’s in the box on my bench”
Dig through a bunch of electrical connectors, random fasteners, brick a brack.... sure enough, there’s the reflector!

[Scott Douglas]

^^^^I'm gonna show my wife that picture next time she complains about my work bench being a mess.

[Crowbob]

I was wondering how, when (and why) Cooper snuck into my garage and cleaned it up a bit for me.

I thought I was the only one smart enough to keep my multi-tester in the garden shed and the pruning shears conveniently located next to the soldering flux and electrical tape.

[Cooper911SC]

Please feel free Scott! 🤣

It drives me nuts... but I’m busy with the next project already. It’s at my threshold of tolerance now... need to clean it up before vacation Mid August.

I actually had a client, who’s P car I’ve worked on several times, take pictures of my bench and post to social media with kind comments about my work and what an “artist” I am and not to clean up my bench.

I had no idea until I saw it later! I was humbled, appreciative, and terrified at the same time!

Here’s another pic... hopefully oriented correctly... Please not that at least the Porsche wall calendar is on the right month. LOL!

[Bill Douglas]

Umm, I'm not THAT bad LOL (I see it's all good stuff though)

I find if I don't put stuff away after a project, I don't put stuff away after the next job too. Then the next thing I know it's way out of control.

[notfarnow]

oh man, it's a constant battle, and my ONLY project this summer is to go through EVERYTHING and put stuff in labelled, 12"x18" stackable bins, and am adding more shelf space this week.

My garage is small, so I'm trying to build in LOTS of storage, moveable benches, work stations, etc. I got a Max Jax and have made a corner station that allows me to tuck it away without it taking too much space.

The rolling stand for the table saw also has mounts for my chop saw, metal saw and router, and all have the same deck height as my rolling work benches. that makes stuff easier.

I am also making HIGH wall mounts for things like the max jax pump, shop vac, pressure washer to save on floor space.

[ted]

Originally Posted by Cooper911SC

That would be a cool garage with the tractor on display.
In the garage I have the same poster of the flying RSR top left.
I thrash on my projects for a day and then spend a day putting all the tools back where they belong.
Then do it all over again.
I get all OCD before a race, garage and landscaping are all clean as can be before a race day.

[Hugh R]

I don't understand the question

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Cooper911SC

P

Here’s another pic... hopefully oriented correctly... Please not that at least the Porsche wall calendar is on the right month. LOL!

I can't tell because of all the crap in the way, but is that a 77 Orchard?

[fanaudical]

Ha! You're assuming I had control of the clutter in the first place...

[Cooper911SC]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I can't tell because of all the crap in the way, but is that a 77 Orchard?

WD, you’ve still “got it”... good eye as I know what you did before. ( Had to really think about not responding to the “free tractor model” thread a year or so ago! Saw several Oliver models you had... if you still have some PM or email me)
It’s a 1938 Oliver 70 Orchard. Waukesha in-line 6, gasoline.
It was given to me by the son of the original owner. Purchased at a local CA Dealer. I have the bill of sale and period advertising brochures and implement options.

It worked a 20 acre orchard about 3 miles away from the orchard property I own. Cool to have a piece of history. It ran when I got it, but needs a mechanical overhaul. The Zenith carb is off now. I’ve got a rebuild kit...and obviously several other ongoing projects! 😂

For the OCD hand wringers, here’s an update picture. I’m a couple hours into tidying up.



Another tractor pic.


Ted, looks awesome! Pre-kids my space looked very similar...then the priorities changed. LOL.

Not far, I’m on that plan with tubs of LEGOS in the boys room! 😁 Working great so far!

HughR... amazing garage space in the biga$$RV!! 😉 Hope you’re dodging the Covid.

[slow&rusty]

I can't do clutter...I would have a pounding migraine eternally if I did.

Its amazing how cleaning up stuff like old paint cans, box of old parts like spark plugs, filters and breaking down and re-cycling old Amazon boxes can tidy things up. Also the more shelf space you have, the more careless you can be about wasting it. Consolidate and organize. For smiles and giggles, I had boxes of old parts that were collecting dust for years for cars that I had long sold, I decided to list them all on eBay and the forums and sold them all within a few weeks and made (surprisingly) over $1,000. I took that cash and built a small shed behind my garage to store big things that I am actually keeping like wheels and a few body panels.

I did all of this and was able to squeeze another car into my garage, it was a good feeling.

[GH85Carrera]

I try real hard to put every single tool away after each use. My last step before going inside is to wipe down the dirty tools, and put them back in the drawers. My workbench still gets covered in short order with upcoming projects or stuff that needs to find a new proper place. And I am finally at the point that I can just toss some 6 foot piece of romex, brackets that I save because I might need one some day and other various bits of flotsam. If I find an object I had totally forgotten about, I almost always toss it, because I did not need it.

Spray paint cans that are more than two years old go to the city hazardous waste disposal facility along with my used brake fluid, oil, and dead batteries every few months.

[RWebb]

an overly clean garage is like an overly clean desk - means you aren't doing anything

[Norm K]

If I don't stay on top of it, things can get out of hand in a hurry. I have about six or seven garage spaces of stuff in a five car garage (six, with the lift) but I keep it manageable with lots of shelving and cabinets and a hard-and-fast rule I began imposing on myself a number of years ago (when I had only an oversized three-car garage): every several hours into whatever it is I'm working on, and at the end of the day, I perform a mid-project clean up. Every tool is wiped down and put away, spills, large and small, are cleaned up, the floor is swept, workbench whisked and wiped down, shop supplies all put back in their place.

I started this practice when I was rebuilding the engine in my 930, as I wanted my concentration to remain solely on the specific task at hand (way too expensive a piece of metal to lose track of some small thing and MotorMeister my engine). This certainly adds time to the total project but it keeps me in line.

_

[mepstein]

I heard a quote years ago that I try to follow. "Your work space shouldn't be your storage space". It caused me to buy a desk without any drawers. Just a single flat surface for my computer, phone and one piece of paper. Anything else got filed. I don't always manage to make it work but I have something to strive for.

My dad is a retired surgeon. Everything is ALWAYS neat and clean and put away. House is a showpiece inside and out. If he ever decides to sell, it would just need a sign in the yard. Cars, tools, fridge, always neat and clean. It didn't pass on to me but it can be done.

[stealthn]

Daily!