How did you get me to watch 34 minutes of cleaning and organizing YOUR space when I should have been using that time to clean and organize MY space. Well played, sir.

You can tell Bob was a software developer in a past life listening to him work through his shop setup. I like listening to you work through all of this. Great video.

I prefer managing scrap and material by capacity. Have a fixed size space for a type of scrap. Once that space is full, prune away in much the same manner you described. So you'll always have some of what you need, but never so much that it creates new problems.

one idea for the clean room; put a fan in there that pulls air into the room. it'll create a slightly positive pressure in your clean room and help keep dust out. alternatively, you could have some exhaust fans in your shop that pull air out to create slightly negative pressure in your shop

For the storage room: Maybe you make like those slidable shelves, where you only need to account space for one aisle. This saves ton of space and is presentable as well, cause it looks cool.

I'd encourage you to do a bit of digging into Better Help's business practices and reconsider them as a sponsor if you can afford to. There have been some worrying allegations directed at them recently. Love the videos and keep up the good work!

I have a suggestion for the clean room. If you have several smallish 3D printers, you could try a multi-level station with each space being big enough for maintenance purposes. Evan and Katelyn have an old video on their channel about how they built a modular one out of extruded aluminum.

Mr. C is pivotal among the maker community. The reasons include: He is a genuinely nice guy, he is a husband and father who still gets it done, and he always tries to help us. Much respect and appreciation.

Great stuff, Bob! One idea, when you were showing your in-process 3D projects, is some sort of project locker? Section of varying sized cabinets that you assign projects to, and then you can put all the stuff from each project in there (plans, parts, build, etc), then clean it out when the project is finished. Just a way to clean up the background visually when filming.

Another thing that helps me personally is using covers for tools. I started using old sheets to cover a bandsaw, snow thrower, lathe ect. I have cheap covers I bought off of amazon as well. This helps keep most of the stuff in my shop from getting dirty throughout the year.

Bob, super cool to see how you’re breaking this town into smaller chunks even though it’s a huge project. Great point on how to prioritize with key things in mind and then build out the space from there. Thank you so much for sharing. It’s been great to hear about this on the making up podcast and see the video here on the KZfaq.

I absolutely LOVED this episode! I am currently having the exact same problem in my shop, and I am looking forward to seeing the future changes you make.

I really appreciate this particular video. My shop is an absolute nightmare and I think your methods are going to be very applicable to me getting control over the chaos. Enjoy your channel. Thanks for the work sheets.

Kudos on the transparency. Cluttered spaces yield cluttered minds. Refreshed spaces refresh the mind - can’t wait to see what comes next, and when your mind says make and your shop says yes!

Fantastic video!! I used a similar approach to my craft room. I converted a small bedroom/office into my craft room. I got 3 Ikea units but otherwise I had to use what I already had and work within the constrainsts of the room and property as we're renting right now. I made tons of lists and finally decided my priorities, and then drew out floor plans to see how I could work within the space I have. I am very happy with it. I create more, my mess is contained, and O figured out organization that works great. And that changed how I organize in other spots in the house. I love how you are working out HOW you need your space to function, eliminate items you won't likely use (I save a lot of interesting things and scraps too), and how to consider what you need to work around. It's helpful watching this become a workspace in a large area with large tools and supplies. I'm looking very forward to updates!

Absolute masterclass! One of my favorite videos on this channel ever

Dude, i'm exactly where you started in this video. I'm unhappy with my setup. I have decent space but its not functional for all the same reasons you have. I really appreciate how you are spending the time to explain what and why you are doing what you're doing. You could have easily editing this video to be 15 minutes long but you didn't. This video was a huge kick to get me started. Thanks!

Admirable diligence and down-to-earth personality. Congratulations!

Brother, this is so the vid I needed right now. Going through some very similar rearchitecting with life and the business and the way you articulate your problem solving process and share with us is just so perfect. You're a fantastic teacher and storyteller and I appreciate you 11/10. Can't wait to see what's next.

Looking great! I have been redesigning my own workspace and that has been much more work than i had estimated.

Hi Bob, I'm Bruce and I like to watch you make stuff! 😂

Thank you for the plan idea! I'm going to use that to organize my sign shop. Oh and just an idea for behind your miter saw, why not do a french cleat wall? That way you can make boxes, shelves, or even just handy areas to put scraps & quick tools when you're needing something within reach. Also, you have all those exposed rafters...why not screw boards across them and keep your scraps up there? That's what I do with bulbs & led lamps I use for signs. If you're worried about the wiring, you can align the boards with the wires and attach them to that. That way your wires are more secure and it gives you nice little hidden shelves :)

I love what you've done with the woodworking area so far. I'm in the process of starting to build my first semi-permanent workshop myself (38, finally bought a house last year) with dedicated workbenches and a bug assembly table, so a lot of this is resonating with me, from specific tool use and placement to the general process of figuring it all out. One thing that was sticking out to me was the cart. I built an A-frame cart years ago for similar functions, but it was outside in the garage. Now that your woodshop will be physically smaller, having a cart that big might just be in the way, like it was for me. And especially that it's two-sided, where you'll need to pull it out to get to the stuff on the back side. My thought would be to disassemble the cart, and mount all of that stuff with French cleats or more of the hanging boards you bought. Having it mounted higher up on your walls (above and behind tools) might give you some more floor space back, without getting rid of everything on that cart.

WALL CONTROL AAAAA! I love those, I got my work to buy some for the workstations that I set up and they're my favorite things in that space! Having both pegboard holes AND the ability to just use magnets has made organizing so easy!

I relate to this so much dude. My workshop is constantly evolving. Thanks for the tips 🤙

It brings me great ease that a guy who makes his living making stuff also has many projects lying around that feel like work to him. Thank you very much for sharing not only your super cool finished projects, but also the process, your thoughts and struggles!! You keep inspiring me to try new stuff, get better at and use old stuff, and just do projects that i want to do and make me happy, even if it maybe does not get finished! Hope the best for you as you are a great influence for me🖖

I've been using these steps all my life for every projects and I really appreciate being able to put words on it now. Also, thank you for the working sheets they'll be very helpful.

There's a lot of friction to work in my one-car garage shop. It's in desperate need of cleanup and organization. While I already think like you do in a lot of ways about this process, this is a good reminder of what to keep in mind while doing it. Thanks for sharing!

This was a fantastic master class in not only how to think about workshop space, but just in problem solving in general. Having guiding principles for the overall, then breaking it down, making priorities, and continuing to break it down and tackle things is SO CRITICAL! Absolutely love seeing the thought process and insights into how the space is going to be continuing to evolve in the future

VERY timely video!! Literally in the process of organizing and cleaning out my shop TODAY!

I love watching you back into 5S. Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain.

Yes, this was the super well created shop organiser video i needed. Now it's time for my shop...

This is super helpful. My shop is about the same size. And I have some constraints. I have four posts down the center. I have a stairway that goes upstairs. And doors…. Double doors outside, door to one part of the house, another door to another part of the house, a door to a small room that the whole family uses and a door that goes to the back yard. LOL. Lots of doors. Recently my shop was out of control. I did a big purge. I’m still not doing great at throwing out scraps. But… I did purge some of them. I got rid of lots of tools. And i got things out of the room that just didn’t belong. It has made keeping the shop clean so much easier. I still have another purge… or even two to go. But I’m on the right track. Your method would actually really make sense for me. Also… I’ve never wanted to make the shop into “rooms”. But lately I’ve been considering it. It will be interesting to see how this works out for you.

To help keep the feeling of space while still creating barriers you should make that big wall have a perspex window looking between the two rooms. You can always add a blind or something if you don't want distraction through it. But by having a clear view through you will be able to keep an eye on 3D prints while in the woodwork room plus you won't feel as tight in either room. Also for you, you can film from the other side allowing more movement space without restricting film options

Thank you for sharing this whole process, Bob! Believe it or not, I started doing the same thing to my shop just yesterday. First came feeling the urge to change my small and cluttered shop.I started by sorting out all the containers full of 'junk', clearing out all things that really don't belong in the shop anyway. Next will be making a new stand for my contractor table saw (although leveling the concrete floor might come before this). We'll see where this will take me, but watching you going through a similar process is helpful!

Thanks for this. I've been struggling how to fit everything in a relatively small space with a bunch of big tools and lumber. Good work.

I just reorganized my shop in order to run a heavy up for an induction forge. Love the way you approach upgrading spaces.

What a great video. Love to hear you think out loud and your approach to this huge undertaking. Thank you for sharing!

I have been working on something similar. My first step is getting rid of everything I no longer want or need. Donating what I can (Habitat For Humanity getting the bulk), recycling/scrapping what I cannot donate, trashing what I cannot recycle.

I don't have any suggestions, just words of thanks! Thanks for the inspiration, I've been desperately needing to do this with my house / "maker" spaces. I hadn't even thought about the space giving inspiration and allowing for ease of coming in and working right away until you mentioned it. After you said that I looked around at my area and thought, yes, this is exactly what I'm struggling with right now! So thanks again for giving me the extra kick I needed to start making some changes!

I love how alike our shops are... Even down to the 500 projects on ever surface. Mine is more automotive focused, but I also have a billion other hobbies. Love watching your progress and ideas, always sparks me to get of my a$$ and make something. Keep it up brother!

I have metal shelving on wheels in our storage area, it's great to be able to move our X-mas decor closer to the stairs to carry what we need upstairs... I'm actually looking to get one for upstairs in a different room (an area we're not utilizing for anything) for some of the X-mas stuff.

Everything goes on wheels until it can be decided it is in it's final position, and that's assuming your work space doesn't need to adapt to the projects you bring in. In my case Everything is on wheels, racks, tables, work benches, desk, etc. When I need more space unlock the caster and wheel it around. This gives me access to the walls when need be, allows me to adapt to the project, versus the project adapting to my space, and if there are ever any repairs, or lighting upgrades, everything just moves / adapts.

Thanks for bringing us along and for teaching us good principles!

Bob, so much of this resonates with me right now. You said on the podcast that you wanted a better name than clean room … I have a clean room too. I’m looking forward to seeing how you seal up the door. Also, inspiration is huge. My workshop is such a wreck right now that I don’t enjoy going in there. Thanks for doing projects like this!

One small, light-hearted complaint (written as a story for good measure). As a software developer, I want to focus more on objects and their _interfaces_ than their _interactions_ . Interfaces are about how you will use the objects and can swap out similar objects as needed. Interactions are about how objects are coupled. Say "yes" to loose coupling!

What a project. I get overwhelmed jus thinking about redoing my 120sqft shop.

I’m going to be building a shop soon. This is an awesome exercise in shop planning and I LOVED seeing your process!!

Please consider a different/better sponsor Bob 😄❤️

I don’t comment on any KZfaq but… this was amazing!!! A couple months ago I stared the same thing/ kinda lol. Long story short, after watching this I know exactly how to finish my space with wood a literally forgot I had, and the next steps to get me there. I should film it… it’s going to be fun! Thanks!!!😊

Really great video Bob!

I was able to receive 48’ of free shelving from an auto parts store and have spent the last rainy several weeks getting my 2,000 square foot shop organized. I wish this had come out before I started! Absolutely love it.

I decided to set up a french cleat wall on 3 sides of the garage. The tv mount like you have I put a small panel with a cleat and a block so I can slide a block to keep it from unhooking. I also put cleats on the metal shelves and mini refrigerator. This helps me rearrange the garage at will. My garage is still a disaster

Currently rethinking my own workshop too! Only mine is about 10’x14’ 😂 Still takes so much thought though to keep a small space usable! Definitely will write down some priorities to fall back on 😊

When you talked about having room under the shelf you put under the miter station, it was like you were creating a future constraint

my garage is an old horse barn.....and i love it bc each room is about 8x10 and each one i have something different...like one is my welding room, one is table saw room and so on

Really like this style video of walking us through your though process to a problem, solution, and troubleshooting. And providing a solution guide for us too!

I'm only 1:20 into the video, and I'm already excited to see the rest. I've been going through the same loops in my space, and need to figure out how to get it done.

Hi I am Bob and I like to make room! I feel like Bob just showed up at my shop and staged an intervention... many thanks Sir, this was very needed.

Bob over here making company goals and team rocks for his shop. Love to see it.

Thank you, Bob. I have a garage workshop and basement workshop that both need massive organization.

My hoarding tendency and my organization tendency are butting heads over trying to do this. I know I have more stuff than space, at least for it to be neat and useable, it’s a tough one, but you are certainly giving me ideas !

Thanks Bob

this is so very helpful. i have a similar workspace and my scatter brain just causes chaos. so many half projects laying around especially. thank you.

Very nice Bob

You had me at “system of thought”

Thanks Bob. The small museum I work at is going through this very process; your worksheets look helpful.

We've decided to scale down on some stuff, and we have a long ways to go, so I sent this on to my mom cuz she's defs overwhelmed with the amount of stuff we have around to sort through, so this defs helps us look into how we can compartmentalize everything to make it easier to tackle and work with. Personally, I also got a bunch of stuff for my projects, so these organizational ideas defs helps. Can't wait to see what you do with the clean room and how this task gets broken up into smaller pieces. Keep them coming ✌️

Perfect timing for this one :) I’m in the middle of re-doing my whole shop as well, did a video of the initial cleanup, place got filled up again (my added «constraint» is my workshop is *also* quad roller skate shop … BUT! One thing I’ve started making is a flexible project storage section for my shop, which I’m doing a video on soon and which might solve one of your problems: A dedicated space, floor to ceiling, where all «in progress» projects are stored. Currently I’m testing 3 feet wide, 1.5 feet deep. all shelves are moveable, and all projects (big ones), are stored on plywood shelves that slot into the «unit». Smaller parts for those projects go in boxes on on the «project shelf». Smaller projects go into bins also stored on movable shelves. so the key is the slots on the side that allow me to move shelves up and down, adjusting height based on bins or height of project parts. might be doing a unit of 3 one foot wide boxes for X height as well, for smaller projects on smaller shelves, but again: movable and height adjustable whenever needed. Having this dedicated «work in progress»-space has eliminated almost *all* the crap laying around in terms of half finished projects, and parts for projects. and the shelves and boxes can be color coded on the front. «Waiting for parts», «ready to continue», «in progress/being worked on/active project» and so on. And *if* the «ongoing projects» unit is full … then it’s a full stop on *all* new projects until some of them are finished and space freed up. Of course, when they are done they go into deep storage or get deployed where they should go. I also have *one* specific space for «things to find a space for» or «things to put back where they belong». Having one space dedicated to this makes quick cleanups a breeze. Put everything in the *one spot* and it’s ready for organizing later, while you can get on a new project if needed, not having things spread all over that needs to be organized. Having all ongoing projects stored in *one* space makes it very easy to see if too many projects are ongoing at anyone time. Dating them as well makes it easy to see if it’s been «sitting too long», and might have to be discontinued, or continued on. This was all based on how I sometimes clean everything up: piling *everything* in one big pile, so the rest of the shop is «clean», and the grouping and re-storing things grouped by context or relevancy (since over time things tend to be placed where there is space, not where they logically belong with other similar items. Doing these top to bottom sections for other «logical groups» like «model materials» (cardstock, plastics, rods, pieces etc) and then only filling it halfway up … then putting related tools, glue, fasteners, on top - etc etc

Thanks for sharing this Bob. I really appreciated the video and your thoughts. I truly believe this will help me.

Visually, paint the ceiling black or cover it in white plastic or something. It’s the least “presentable” element by far (epoxy floors would help too). Put a real usable white board on your blank wall and make it a strong narrative tool. Lastly, I would say that dusting and wiping down the tools would do a lot for shootability. Great video!

Over here in Europe we have a fantastic storage standard based on the euro palettes. It is every version of the 30x40 cm (wich is the size of beer crates). 60x40 cm for example is commonly used by bakeries. I love them so much I would love to organize my whole live in Euro boxes.

I would advocate that you at least drywall / drop ceiling your ceiling, exposed floor trusses (with electrical, plumbing and hvac) will always be a distraction since it occupies the totality of your headroom in most of your shoots. Btw it's pretty common over here (Canada) to have electrical panel in a non-mechanical rooms (we have a lot of finished basements over here), it's usually been covered up with a simple wood frame and a door a little taller and wider than the panel so it can be serviced / expanded easily yet ain't an eye sore. Cheers, love your content as always.

"The more stuff you own, the more it owns you" ~ Tyler Durden

Great video! It has been decided I'll be moving in 5 years and I will be about 65 years of age by then. I need to "pre-pack" so the physical move will be less "physical" on me or my spouse as I do have a complex home office/3D workspace and woodworking "objects" (what to store and how) situation. Thanks for your three legged approach: Priorities, Constrains and Interactions. Most helpful! Thank you!

My priority is the lathe, you gave your lathe to your sister. I have been organizing my shop. just built a wood storage cart, that really cleaned up the floor space. Over all thanks for your tips and suggestions. I have a long way to go. I do have a rack for my lathe chisels that fits between the studs of my garage wall.

Bob have you investigated what solutions a factory workshop can use for dust enclosure in work areas ? I've seen industrial enclosures made of PVC strip curtains that looked awesome. Benefits : no masonry needed, ability to reconfigure the workshop easily, and as it's transparent you're not missing on natural lighting in your shop.

I love this stuff - organizing and efficiency!

Such an awesome video that really spoke to me and the things I struggle with in my own brain 😂 Thanks for putting this together! Can’t wait to see morw

I put my compressor in an external sound proof cabinet. Thanks for the ideas.

I needed to hear this. Having to move living space and shop into a single room to take care of my elderly mother, and have been overwhelmed at starting

Great video it gave me a lot to think about as I’m just trying to get a shop set up so this is very helpful. Thanks for sharing

A very interesting and useful video, thank you very much

Watching the intro... I'm SO glad that I'm not the only one that goes through the "doom spiral" of shop organization and layout.

Since I'm going through the same process at the moment... what exactly is your ideal height for your tables? The 'usual' deck height of a SawStop is ~ 34", but I couldn't see if you had the base on it or not, which can make it about 35.5". It's looking good so far. One recommendation for your electronics space is to make it a pressure positive room.

Hah! You got me. I spent all day reorganizing my far tinier shop (1 car garage) so that things are a lot more accessible. I've got my computer workstation, a 2'x2' CNC machine, a laser cutter and several 3D printers stuffed in here along with my motorcycle. Floor space is at a premium, and accessibility to the shelving on the walls has been much improved today. Lots left to clean and tweak, but I made a huge dent in it.

Some of the points covered here hit painfully close to home. I need this SO much! Saving it for future reference!

THIS, BOB! THIS!!! This is what makes Adam Savage successful on KZfaq now. This is what I tried to email you about last year. This is aweome. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!

The miter table out feed may be smaller then you think. Think about the majority of the material you use and cut it in half. Have your long side in the left.

I've been a longtime fan/watcher and this might be the best video you've ever made. It was incredibly helpful for me as I struggle with the same things you pointed out. Keep up the awesome work!

Hey Bob. Awesome and helpful video once again. Just an idea for the basement. Why not put windows in some of the walls? This way the rooms feels bigger and you can still see the entire space. Just like the family room/office. And it prevents you from cluttering the walls.

i have 6 printers and limited space so i used drawer slides laid flat with wood on top to set the printers on so i can have them against a wall and close to each other. then slide them out to get to whatever i need to

I like your process as you worked through things. Everyone tends to slightly different organizing styles. I like precise, right down to the nitty-gritty. I can use enclosed storage, but when you open it up, it has to be detailed oriented. My dad always covered our garages with peg board, and everything had it's own home. He'd use enclosed containers to protect paint, etc. from heat and dust. I put slat-wall in my garage (mainly because I had it and a lot of hooks/etc.) but I'm not done. I have empty wall space that I'm going to put peg board up in. A lot of people forget about vertical storage. Blank walls are great, but that is valuable space. I love how your screwdrivers, hammers, etc. got placed on the wall together. That satisfies my micro in a macro space of organizing. :)

I’m same way, think of a solution before figuring what to resolve. Anyway, now thinking of attaching 2x4s to overhead joists to hang French cleats all around the basement so it’s a constant organizational modular unit.

It's wonderful to see your process and to work out the arrangement of all of the elements that you're using. My husband suggested hanging a white sheet where the new wall is going to be; which will give physical barrier. The TV could go on a rolling stand if you want to illustrations on big screen. Could you put the small band saw on one of those appliance garage lifting shelves? We wanted to put our air fryer on one, but it didn't fit. lol

Dude. You have to address the elephant in the room. What happened to the other guys? And the rented office space? Why are you making videos all alone now?

Code requires 36 inches in front and 30 inches side to side clear around breaker panels. Not an electrician, but having recently built a shop and did my own electrical, I had to look up codes.

This is such a great analysis and breakdown of how to organize! It really makes you think and come to a solution. Thanks for this, extremely helpful and explained so nice.

Hey Bob, I don´t know what you use to film your stuff, but seems to me that you can use some roof supports for your cameras, to film in a tight spot our just to let us see better what you are doing, those supports in the right alignment will make best use of your illumination. Great channel! o/

Bob is awesome. Can't wait to see this come together.