With the same "do I use it" process you could take a long hard look at say... your dining room, living room, etc. Move those to the small area in the basement and expand your shop in their place. Rethink "bedroom" as a Murphy bed in your shop.

Lighting! Yes. I used to have 3 40 watt bulbs in my garage shop. Having replaced them a few years back with LEDs, I can testify that cuts and measurements are more accurate when you can see what you are doing.

Several suggestions. 1) Have a place for overflow consumables like sandpaper. Have easy access to several sheets/discs of the grits you use in the shop and have a “shop pantry” somewhere. With any luck, outside the shop mabye a cabinet in your garden shed or basement (depending on dampness), under the stairs... Easy to get to the reserves but not clogging up valuable small shop space. 2) Like cleaning, sharpening is quick and easy on chisels and hand planes if you stay on top of it. So do it as you are putting it away. (see Rob Cosman 32 sec to sharp if needed) 3) I work with a 9x12x2 drawer carcass that was disgarded forever ago (anything of that size will do) on my work bench as a tray. I put the things like small tools, glue, tape… in there as I am working. At the end of the day I put everything away in 1 lap around the shop emptying the tray as I go. 4) I have several 5 gallon buckets around the shop for trash. I find keeping the trash, cutoffs, shavings… off the benchtop and floor makes the shop more spacious while working. Size of the container can vary depending on preferences and projects. 5) For the french cleat crowd make the holders for things like bits, tape, glue, marking tools… so they standup off the wall for those times you need several of them during the project and just put it on the workbench. Less travel time and so easy to keep things organized while the project is in progress.

I told my grandma, she says you're very cute and organised, and has subscribed.

This was amazing. You really don't get a sense of how small your shop is in normal videos. I mean .. you know it is small but.. the 3d rendering really put it all in perspective. You have FOUR doors that you you have to plan around. You do amazing work in that small shop. This has me rethinking a few things. Thanks for this video. I have new hope for my space.

One thing that I have recently learned is to paint your walls and ceiling white. That will help with the lighting as well. I am in a garage, and I never took the time to notice the beige walls and soot covered ceiling. Now that I am focusing on improving the shop, the walls and ceiling all got painted a clean bright white.

Try arranging your storage by time: when you put tools away at the end of the day, put them in the top drawer. If there are more than some fixed number of tools in the drawer (8 to 12, depending on the size of the drawer), move the excess to long-term storage. If you find yourself shuffling the same tools in and out of long-term storage every day, allocate another top drawer for frequenty-used items. In a short time, you'll find yourself pulling almost all your tools from two or three drawers whose contents you know by heart.

If you choose to do the graph paper layout, which I like to do in planning many things in the early phase of design because it’s so easy and flexible, consider making some pieces that represent the room YOU need to use a station. It’s too easy to miss that part of the space without a strong visual cue. Similarly, you could cut some layout pieces that represent, for example, long stock that needs to be used at a station.

I use the drill press a lot. Can’t imagine registering concentric holes and repeating operations on a fence, or drilling accurate holes in small plastic, wood, or metal parts, or even cutting a bunch of plugs and dowels by hand. Last year I finally built a good add on DP table w fence, dust collection, & t-track for stops and hold downs. Best improvement ever. Also, my dad made everything from his own shop tools and jigs and fixtures to furniture, toys and classical guitars, he kept things organized on 18”-20” wide shelves along a wall in his basement and used a clear plastic curtain to keep dust out.

I find that when it comes to organizing similar items that aren't physically identical, I like to sort them by size. It's very difficult to find that one tiny thing in a bin with a bunch of other large things even though all the individual items are similar in use/theme/etc.

Couple tips from an electrician with a woodshop. When you buy lights, find the color temperature you like, usually around 6K but higher (more blue) seems brighter to some. Then get the same color temperature for all your lights. When you build a cabinet or bench, mount some receptacles or wire mold strips into the sides, power strips are bad and good sources of fire and overloads. If you have power but no switch where you want a light or tool, use inexpensive wireless switches mounted next to your regular switch. Also lights should always be on a separate circuit breaker from anything else. No plugs. If you are just starting to put a shop together, make sure you have at least 75-100 amps available and if not consider putting a sub-panel in, it's not just convenient to isolate this power but will prevent fires from overloads. It's better and not that hard to add surface mount receptacles with conduit on the wall than running cords all over the shop. You only need one or two circuits if you only use one tool at a time. Try to put dust collection or extraction on it's own circuit if you can. Every removable connection, every plug, power strip and cord is a point of failure so having just one on the tool cord is best.

I don't even have a workshop (nor a garage) but I totally enjoy watching these videos. So well done and concise -- and funny without going overboard.

One suggestion I would make is to keep a list of what you have in long term storage. If you've forgotten what's in there, you could end up replacing something you already own.

Great video. Added benefit of keeping organized is the time you save looking for stuff. I’ve even bought things that I couldn’t find only to find it a short time later.

For years I'd been meaning to build some wall cabinets to replace the open shelves on a wall in my small shop. Things were disorganized and cluttered as I packed more and more stuff on those open shelves. Things also became covered with sawdust. I longed for neatly organized wall cabinets like I saw in some KZfaqrs' shops. Looking for a temporary solution until I could build those cabinets, I went to a local big box store and bought a bunch of different size plastic lidded storage containers. I standardized on three container sizes of different widths and heights, but all 14" - 16" front-to-back. Then, I rebuilt the shelves so I could cram as many of these containers on the shelves as possible - one shelf for tall containers, one shelf for medium, and one for short. Now I pull together a bunch of related items, pack them in an appropriate size container, use a piece of masking tape to label it, and put the container on the shelves. Things remain together, dust-free, and easy to find. I can rearrange easily by simply moving stuff to larger or smaller containers, if necessary. For example, my dowel jig and the various dowels currently fit in a small container. But, if I buy a bunch more dowels someday, I can just move that stuff to a medium container. Also, I bought a bunch of different size 4-mil zip-lock bags from Amazon to help keep things (such as all the dowels of each size) organized within the containers. For me, this turned out to be so much simpler and more flexible than dedicated wall cabinets, that I'll never go that way.

I used vinyl fence cut into strips to divide drawers. Thin enough to not take up and space tough enough to stand up to some rough handling.

I love the 3D model of your shop. It's fascinating. It looks extremely small in the 3D model but in your film it seems bigger.

Nuts and bolts - a separate bin for each thread size. If you need a 3"x 1/2" W, you go to the 1/2"W bin, the 3" is easy to identify among the various lengths. Same goes for Metric sizes, UNF, UNC etc. Trying to store each individually if you only have a few of each takes a lot of space. Bulk packs however are a different story.

How dare you make sense and point out my tool hoarding! 🤣 Great tips. Thanks.

Great vid! I'll be moving from a small shop... to an equally small shop. The move presents a clean slate to get better organized. I loved the bit about not buying more tools. Lol. Who'd fall for that. 😂

Good points. I spend a majority of my time in the shop looking for things.

An intelligently narrated video, thank you,

Great video Scott!!! Really!! I’m a member of the WWMM weekend workshop to witch have made me more intent and organized in my shop! But I have never seen an such in depth video about shop organizing! and the humor is very appreciated!😁👍 keep up the good work

Those drawers you have in your garage holding tools and stuff is nicer than any bit of real furniture I have ever had in my possession ever! You are truly an artisan

Great video. Thanks. As for casters I have found that the if you use swivel types only use 2 of them or heck, just pick up the one end of the table or saw to move it. Swivels often don't lock and having a wheel move or twist on you mud cut is not cool. I have used simple dollar store cutting boards as skids. They provide just the right amount of friction to be safe to work with but you can easily drag it around. Also consider rafter space for storing dimensional wood and a pocket along a wall for storing sheet wood. Also, if you don't have time to make cabinets or drawers thrift stores often have cheap options

Great advice, Scott. And I don’t mind the title. I know you make solid content. I often find cleaning my shop afterwards difficult. Having 4 acres, 3 children, 2 jobs and 1 wife, my presence is often abruptly required elsewhere. And I always make the mistake of wanting to quickly finish the job before running to the next task. At 46, I still have a lot to learn. E.g. from videos like this.

Dude. You have a great sense of humor. You’ll hit 100,000 subscribers before you know it.

Great advice, Scott. Working out of a 1-car garage-sized rectangular shop was a challenge. While I have lots of wall space, the shop is only 12’ wide. My approach was: get everything out that isn’t used for making (including wood storage); put my tablesaw on a rolling platform & building a removable top that serves as my assembly table (until I built a collapsible track saw table that rests on sawhorses & can be used for assembling larger projects); and building a “tool tower” (also on casters): 30” square, 7’ tall with 5 drawers on 100 lb. capacity slides. The tower holds an array of tools in the drawers & hung on the 3 other sides and on top. A collapsible plywood carrier doubles as an outfeed & assembly table, but folds nearly vertically flat when not used. Eight 8’ pipe clamps are hung on the back of one (of two) barn-style entry doors. Lastly, a jam-packed French Cleat wall holds more tools, clamps, and measuring devices. The irony of my setup is that even though I build custom workbenches, I don’t (& may never) have a dedicated workbench in my shop. I’m reserving that space for a combination jointer-planer. Gotta sell a dozen or so workbenches before that will happen. Thanks for putting this very helpful “thinkpiece” video together. Sincerely, another supremely satisfied subscriber.

Hey Scott, So relevant for my ‘micro’ space. I’ll be making some adjustments. 👍🏼👍🏼 One observation: Your advice on a clean shop left out the one of the most important things I learned in Woodwork class at school. A clean workshop is a safe workshop. Cheers! John 🇦🇺

been seriously thinking of sorting out my small garage workshop but haven't known where to start. thanks for this vid as it has given me a few ideas :) and yes, wood is the biggest culprit by far in my small space!

I built a 14'*40' shop/garage last year in place of a barely single-car garage. Getting and keeping it organized since it went up has been insane. I will definitely be adapting a lot of your advise from this video for myself. Thanks.

Great video and a matching sense of humor!! You rang a whole bunch of bells for me and my shop, so now I just have to get off my duff and follow your suggestions! Thanks!!

vertical storage is also something i have found helpful.

Many smart tips here. I've laid out and built three professional shops and I'm always looking for new ideas. Best small shop layout video I've seen.

the first order of retrievability concept is more about not having to move stuff out of the way when you need something. A drawer is not an issue by itself. But for items that are used on a very regular basis it's sensible to think about putting these to a more accessible place.

Thanks Scott. As a guy building in a small shop, your thoughts really help.

This video is just so simple but so INCREDIBLY intelligent!!!

So glad I finally got my dream shop, a converted pole barn. 1000 square feet. Superman has his fortress of solitude, I have my shop. 😊

That drill press is sweet!

PS: you nailed the video title. well done.

I’m a seasoned hobbyist woodworker and I found a lot of these to be good ideas/points. Great video!

The mayor consideration at time to design a workshop is: cleaning. You can't pile up a bunch immovable things where dust, ditt, chips stay forever cause is impossible to vacuum or mop

Great video! I always enjoy seeing what you do in your small space.

Peg board is awesome (or other wall mounted type storage systems)! It's the only system I have used that I consistently put tools back where I found them when I am done with them. I also like it because it's much easier to find things. I have a lot of shelves for other stuff and they create a lot of clutter and digging to find stuff. I would love to get a large metal mechanics tool chest but they are very expensive. I think wall mounted and drawers are the way to store stuff.

Good tips. Thank you. I'm going to tell Ellie that Scott Walsh said if I get rid of a tool I can get a new one. 😁

If you do sketchup there's a lot of machines or shop furniture already modeled in it. You can just search for them within sketchup and drop it right into your model.

Great video. I’m throwing out all those bolts and nuts littering up my bench that I’ve never used and I’ll never will. The scrap cut offs too! Thanks. Bye bye chop saw!

The best tip is to have a space for EVERYTHING and nothing that you just put wherever you find room.

Fantastic tips on shop organization. Thank you for sharing this video.

Lighting is very important. As we age, our vision deteriorates so it's important to have as much light as you can.

My secret is to convince my wife to let me store unused tools in the guest shop. I mean guest bedroom.

My drill press is definitely one of the most used tools in my shop. I mostly build guitars

This video has been so helpful for me. And I have to mention that the best shop design I ever did was first mocked up in Minecraft.

Impact driver and air nailer is my go too. Great ideas now I gotta dig myself out!

My most used 'tool' is likely my router table. its a 2' by 3' custom made table that also holds most of my tools. I used it more then my bigger workbench, its better suited for larger projects. The smaller table is in the middle of my shop so I can easily move around to all sides rather then turning whatever possibly heavy item that I'm working on. Its on casters so that it can be easily moved out of the way even if I have something heavy on top of it. This way I can increase the floor space if I need to. My shop needs to do more then woodworking, its a farm shop and needs to do a little of everything. This includes storing things that I don't use in my shop but are in there because its the best place to have them when I need them as they are easy to get to and I know exactly where they are. I do plan on building drawers into the shelves that line every wall as there is a lot of wasted space there, just need to figure out the best way to do so. None of the shelves match and store all kinds of things, I even have two motorcycles taking up space, its a real nightmare lol.

14:00 that bit cracked me up. Good job 👍

A simple Thank you. This process has helped narrow down what I need to do. Be Well and Good Journey. Richie

Fantastic video, and I really need to adopt the yearly purge!

First order retrievability is about the continuous process of evaluating what is used most in a given situation and organizing your space to keep those things easy to access when performing that task. It is EXACTLY the process you just discussed regarding your large tools... Also, yes, sometimes taking a 2 steps aways to grab something is not feasible, or is aggravating, so including a storage spot for that item where it is commonly used can be worth the extra effort up front and the extra space potentially taken up. On that note, having a duplicate set of tools/bits CAN make sense for a few reasons. First is that it is often the case that a job either needs Good tools, or just meh tools. Having an every day set of tools out and an expensive set put away is a good way to save money by minimizing the risk of damaging your good tools while still having them available. Second, duplicate sets can reduce the risk of loosing a tool because you moved it around. Ask a mechanic about ¼" sockets, they probably have some actually attached to things that need them regularly, just like a Jacob's key. And the third reason I can think of off the top of my head is sometimes you need something but you can't let go of what you're working on. Clamps would be a good example of something you want hanging on your workbench somewhere so they can be grabbed without stepping away from what you're working on. I would honestly refer someone to Adam Savage on Tested for his shop storage solutions. I wholeheartedly agree with his assessment that drawers are where tools go to die. If you can see it you'll forget you have it, if you forget you have it then you won't use it. I have worked in warehousing my entire working life. Space optimization and process improvement are my specialty, and I'm good at it. If you are going to use drawers, dedicate them to something. Clearly lable them. And for crying out loud, use your vertical space. Aside from being able to hang things, you can run electrical and pneumatic lines on the ceiling with quick access where you need it rather than on the floor where you can trip on it, or under the floor/in the wall where you have limited access

This video was very entertaining and fantastically useful. Well done! 👍

I have learned a new term today ... and it definitely applies to me. I am a PACKRAT ! Thanks for a sensible and helpful video. No time to write more as I have to go dump some stuff.

I've used graph paper & cutouts whenever I move house as well. It's just generally a *really* useful thing when laying out a space.

I have a 3 car garage and I am planning a small workshop to allow for all 3 cars to be parked while maintaining a workshop in the same space. I resonate with your thinking. Small drawers down below. Everything that sparks joy has a particular spot. Some open space for quick tool grabs, cabinets if you want to hide the hideous stuff. All good stuff. I get it. The tip you made about throwing out the metal stands and making your own was the best idea. I have that very problem. Scraps accumulate under my bandsaw stand and I cannot store anything there but scraps. I just think the perfect shop is overkill. Your shop is simple with a human element. Always changing. Ever evolving. I like it.

When I moved after I retired I gave up a 1300 sq ft shop and built a 400 sq ft one. Everything with the exception of two benches are on wheels. Even the 2 HP dust collector and the Shop Vac/Dust deputy are on mobile bases. The band saw, miter saw, router table, jointer and thickness planer are all moved every time they're used. The table saw on a mobile base is virtually never moved; same with the heavy duty bench top drill press but both of them could be moved if necessary. Even the assembly/outfeed table is on wheels. All of the tool bases except the jointer have drawers. With a GOOD small square a miter saw can be set up for very accurate cuts. My miter saw base not only has casters but folding wings as well. It's much better for cross cutting long material than the table saw. All of my machines are set up at the same height as the table saw's top which allows the mobile assembly table to serve as an outfeed or extension for any tool in the shop except the drill press. Since the drill press is adjusted constantly it's a different animal from anything else in the shop. It has its own height adjustable supports built into the mobile base.

First time watcher. Great video. Loved the tips and love your humor. Just enough to make a great video even better. New subscriber. Thank you!

Excellent presentation and very informative. I needed this! Thank you.

I've had the opportunity to visit and work in shops of a number of well-known (in the '70's) woodworkers around the country. My institutional shop was very well organized and we kept it very clean but I can't think of any of the well-known woodworkers' shops that weren't piles of sawdust, trails going through work areas, etc. Many of them would talk about how they could tell a "good" woodworker from one who was not so good. The "good" woodworker's shop looked worked in. I agree with you more than I did them. It's far easier to let the sawdust pile up and only clean it occasionally. But I doubt that you'll change many minds;-). Thanks for your good ideas.

Thanks for the video- haven’t found anything as useful for setting up a workshop in all aspects. Currently using the floor plan as a starting point.

I really look forward to using your advice once I cure my pathologic tendency for hording. Thanks!

Great tips here. I am nearly at the stage of roughing in the electrical for my new shop in my barn. I like what you said about drawers as my tendency is to make cupboards for a quicker "fix". But I can see the utility of using drawers instead. Good point about the workbench as well and it's cause for pause as I overbuilt a rolling outfeed table for my jobsite table saw which frankly now takes up alot of space with marginally useful storage. Much appreciated Scott.

One thing I think you could add to this is cable and hose management! I don't mind pulling out my planer every time I need it, except when I need to unplug something to plug it in! Great video, I have watched it a few times as I am going through my own shop. Keep up the great content and I'd love to see an update on this if you have anything new to add.

The bit about the lumber rack is convicting lol

Great advice...I'm pretty much doin this with dust collection on a boom to get to all the machines...so many options...

My home shop is 12 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag. My hobbies are wood working, metal working, welding, knife making, shooting, reloading, air conditioning, refrigeration, electronics and gardening,automotive including body and fender Not to mention all the painting, spakling and hardwood flooring tools, tile saws and cutters,ladders and acutraments that are needed to keep the house up. I do all this out of a 20 by 20 garage. I have no room on my property for a shed and I won't just pile stuff in the yard that is so common in this state. I have drawers,cabinets, shelves,wall hooks and rafter hangers. I am very well organized having spent 20 years working aircraft with three times a day tool inventories. I feel I spend as much time rearranging and organizing as I do working projects. Great video, glad you got it figured out. There is no hope for me.

Helpful tips! Thank you.

Thank you Scott! well done. I enjoy your videos and informative ideas.

I'm one of those people with deeper-seated issues, but it's not about avoiding opening drawers. I don't follow "First Order of Retrievability", but as someone with pretty bad ADHD I learned I can work better if what I need is in sight and/or at point of use. I don't mind opening a drawer to get to my drill bits, but I will mind it if that drawer is anywhere other than underneath the drill press. If I have to walk across the room to get a drill bit, I will forget which bit I needed by the time I get to the drawer lol

BRB. Gonna explore my deep seeded issues.

Brilliant! This all needed to be said out loud (although I'm not sure I could live without castors).

Nice job. I'm building a new big shop but find that your ideas will apply to me as well. Thanks!

SO good! I need this, I have Bora work horses with a work top and my table saw on my patio, a spare bedroom container a tool wall constitutes my wood room…. It’s certainly not ideal but as I’m using to the UK your advise is valuable. Thank you!

Everything you say is spot on.......but applying it, now that's a different story. I've got 3 sheds all bigger than yours, all messy, I know where most stuff is, but no one else does and that suits me just fine. Cheers

I like your tip about lighting. I also like to add LED lighting in drawers and cabinets to make it easier to see stuff.

In April I started giving away tools and other crap I didn't need to the local Restore.In May,the French cleats magically appeared along with the required tool holders.June and now July have seen a total work flow change for the better.Next the lights.Great video.

My shop is a bit bigger than yours but it’s still small. You are 100% right about cleaning, lighting, and purging! A little self discipline in the space makes it much more pleasant!!

Each to their own. For the projects I do, lots of mitre cuts, lots of table saw cuts, limited space (12’x24’) everything is on wheels. These are all biases, as they should be. Guess that is why I’m not looking for anyone to tell me how to live. Or set up my shop. Exception: drawer geeking. That’s good stuff!

great video man! I like your style!!

Your comment about not stockpiling wood was an "aha" moment for me. I have an area of my workshop for this purpose. If I at least reduced the size of that area, my workflow would be much better. I have some work to do!

My garage has 3 seperate sets of lights; a small 2" double fluorescent strip & a 3 bulb set with a fan for minimal lighting, when playing on the computer/watching the TV/smoking etc. I then have 12 feet of fluorescent lighting on the left & right sides of the garage, each side on it's own switch. I can turn on as much light as I need, when I need it

Really great advice for a beginner like me. Well produced video too.

In terms of First Order of Retrievability, you can have cabinets up by your ceiling that store your excess sandpaper or other accessories where you only need maybe 1 or 5 in easy access. This could allow you to reduce the size of your sandpaper rack. Have that jig that you only use twice a year, hang it up out of the way.

13:52 Ok that part made it for me, love it

New to this channel! Love it. Thanks

I love your fun presentation!

that table saw placement was really a galaxy brain move

The woodwork guys have it easy. Just basic tools, machines and your done. I'm looking for auto shop organisation. Man we have way too much stuff to organise.

Love this, Scott. My shop space has more room than yours, but definitely isn't among the roomy warehouse shops that you mentioned in the beginning of your video. Also, it's so awesome to see your channel succeed. I stumbled upon your channel when you made the video of restoring your old 12" jointer. I also share the affinity (obsession?) of vintage woodworking machines. Now if I could just finish my pending restorations so that I can make some projects... Keep up the hard work man!

I’m super lucky to have a large shop. The previous home owner had a workshop and made pottery. So the shop is an addition to the house complete with its own HVAC. It’s about 32x35. However… there are obstacles . There are four large posts down the center, a set of stairs to the second floor. And three separate doors that go to the outside. One of them being a set of double doors. Which is SUPER great for bringing in material and taking out projects. Around one of those poles the floor has sank. This is where they had their pottery mixer and another HEAVY item for pottery. All that to say this… even with a larger shop… I have a horrible layout. But I can’t wrap my head around how to do it differently. I’m stuck. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to pull up a storage container to my double doors and empty everything from my shop into it. Then place things in. And then… I would be forced to make harder decisions about things that have gotten buried and purge. AND LIGHTING!!! I need to get this taken care of. Very motivating. Thanks.

I have a two car garage shop and have a Delta Unisom with the extended fence My solution for the song was to put an angle iron extension on the table for the extended fence and pin that to the wall and then the saw is on heavy duty pop-up casters On the size not in use I just fold it up against the wall easier than one of those mobile bases

Great vid, especially as I’m setting up my newest shops. Subscribed!