Tackling the big project: Organizing the shop

As a Father’s Day present for Steve (or is it really more of a Mother’s Day tribute to his organization-loving wife?) we started in on organizing the shop. I should have taken true Before photos on this one, because there were only three foot-wide paths from front to back between each bay. Getting across from left to right was like playing a giant game of Frogger. The stacks, the piles, the overwhelming nature of even thinking about tackling it.

Hopeless no more! I went through and filled the back of the truck and a 16’ trailer with just junk. Including some of the junk uncovered last month in my garage-cleaning frenzy.

When I realized Steve had over 60 boxes of “stuff” from prior hobbies and interests and who-knows-what that had not been opened in decades, I honestly had a minor panic attack. I knew he had some, because I remember sorting through them at the other house. But 60 is way too much. But when you have an empty giant 3rd floor of a barn like we had at the other house or a giant shop like we built at this one, it’s out of sight, out of mind.

So we came to an agreement: We would buy one 20-bin storage rack just for Steve’s Stuff. He has to whittle down the 60 boxes to 20. It will look nice from the outside, and who cares what’s inside and when or whether it’s been touched or even opened. Good compromise.

So we bought 3 racks that hold 20 tubs each, and I started pulling things off the floor and shelves to sort them into initial bins. We are 2 1/2 days in and have already made substantial progress. It’s actually exciting to walk into the shop, even though it is still a super disaster area, and to be able to walk through it and start to actually SEE where things are. Once we get everything binned, part 2 of the project - The Labeling - will begin. I can see the future and it’s black and yellow and highly organized!

These are the BEFORE photos, though by this time I had already pulled out a 16’ trailer-full of JUNK!