When it takes less time to run to Home Depot and purchase a new tool instead of searching for the old one in your shop, it's time to organize.

MUY buena calidad, el texto imagenes. kzfaq.infoUgkxbnOKZBE4evMO5V2vroHeCjq6d_MV6wJO Un manuel muy completo y trabajado. Resulta muy práctico. Para principiantes y profesionales. Lo recomiendo

My mother had a plaque on the kitchen wall... "Our home is clean enough to be healthy...and messy enough to be happy" I have tried to follow that philosophy all my life.

When my father was in his early 20s, he had a mechanic friend named Roger. And Roger had a technique, which my family now calls "Roger's Rule", used when he couldn't find something in his shop. The rule is "When you can't find something, clean up until you find it."

This guy is like my version of a preacher. I could listen to his sermon for hours. Keep up the good work you are inspiring at least this 25 year old craftsmen with every video growing up with out much of a father figure it means alot. Thanks again.

Adam Savage has a pretty good grasp on shop organization. Sometimes that means having multiple sets of the same tools in multiple locations so they are always near the point of use.

One of the worst things is to waste time looking for a tool or something that is out of place. I'm not a neat freak, but I put things away when I'm done. Clutter just makes it harder to do your project.

The habit is that you put things where they are supposed to go as you use them. Don't put anything down that you aren't going to be immediately using. If putting it away is a hassle, you need to reorganize the shop so that tool storage isn't remote from the work. Putting things away should NOT be a separate activity (well, ok, sweeping up after the fact is ok)

My uncle and I shared a shop. He had deeper pockets so he bought the high dollar stuff and I kept us in sandpaper, glue, and screws. I also swept and occasionally vacuumed. But we both absolutely put the tools away every time each of us quit for the evening. His evening ended about eight if he had a project going. I would come in after supper and work until the wee, wee hours. I don't know how I made it on so little sleep, but I would tune the radio to some music and was perfectly happy. Good times, I miss you Al.

I was fortunate to grow up with a shop that was equipped with a rich array of tools from woodworking, tool makers and forging tools. I had complete access to the tools. In my teens I must admit I was a messy bustard but what touch me was when my dad returned home from palliative care for the day when I was in my late twenties. He went into the workshop and organized the tools. It was the last thing he did in the house before going back to palliative care after which he passed away. Those memories have stayed with me,. So after a job is complete I put the tools away. Not to mention I like to go the the same place to get the tools when I need them.

As someone who's a generally messy person and having spent a significant amount of time berating myself for the workspace not being "sterile" like some of my peers this video is incredibly encouraging. Thanks for bringing up this discussion!

“The carpenter who protects us from wind and rain is far more serviceable than the curious carver who employs his art to satisfy his fancy” -from an old tool catalogue

My uncles both had a machine shop and a sign shop. They both had the white tool wall with the tool outline on it. When multiple people were using tools, you could tell at a glance what was missing and either find it or replace it. Their tools had a home and they always returned them there. My dad's shop wasn't like my uncles. He was always losing tools, misplacing them, and then buying more. I don't know how many times a job was delayed because we couldn't find the tool in his truck or shop. You're not making any money if you're looking for or buying replacement tools.

I had a boat shop for many years, and we all ( both employees and myself) spent an inordinate amount of time looking for tools and materials lost in the shuffle. This cost had to be passed on to the client, making us less competitive. Now retired, I have found that walking into a clean and organized shop makes me want to be there, and when I open the door to a flashback of the boat shop, i want to shut the door and find something else to do. I love the concept of compromise, and actually enjoy the process of making a mess, but I now fully embrace the efficiency of at least knowing where everything is!

As always, you exquisitely outline another example of allowable tolerances. I agree completely with finding the right balance of safety and opportunity cost. Just orderly enough to be safe and also efficient.

What really helped me was limiting storage space and having a dedicated chaos bin. Limiting shelves just reduces the amount of places things can accumulate. A chaos bin is for pieces and parts that take too much time in the moment to put away, and it can be organized later by me or a helper. It keeps the chaos in one place so to speak.

Right on Scott! When I was in junior high school shop there was a sign that said, "No job is done until cleanup is complete" so I'm thinking about putting it up in my shop, and right next to it I'll add another one that says, "There is always at least one project in progress". At 75, things have slowed down enough for me (or should I say I've slowed down enough) that I'm finally making a real effort to at least keep things picked up and cleaned up a bit.

My shop is far from sterile but it’s organized. For a small shop I don’t think there’s another option. The days I come in and it’s a mess are far less productive than the days I come into a clean welcoming environment. Everyone operates differently but to me cleaning up at the end of the day is important

I totally agree, but the joy level certainly diminishes when the shop gets too messy as well. When I start spending more time looking for the right tools than I actually do working on my project, that’s when I realize it’s time to stop and start organizing. Organized chaos is how I’ve always described my shop, it works for me but can certainly be frustrating at times. Finding the right balance is certainly sage advise!

Your wisdom is concurrent with Proverbs 14:4. “Without an oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest”! The ox can with be time, tools, materials, or shop readiness. Love listening to your philosophy Scott!

My favorite video of yours for a long time. Shops and tool trailers are a reflection of the people working in them. My trailer and shop are organized, but covered in sawdust. Just like every carpenter should be.

I want every person old enough to comprehend the words to take a special time aside to really listen to this message. ❤❤❤❤

I'm as old, or as young as you. Skilled and productive like you.. Employed and trained the same over the years.. Absolutely instilled in to myself and the people who've worked with and for me is to clean up and put tools back at the end of every job.. It's part of the chargeable time for each job. Start clean and end up clean.. and tidy. My not so humble opinion.. I wink. Love your content Scot. Thank you.

So as a younger man I was a generally messy person because I didn't have too much to worry about. After I ended up with my parents stuff and realized that their collection included their parents stuff and so on and so forth the struggle became real. I fussed with it for years feeling like a hoarder just buried in someone else's potentially useful junk. That's when I took the time to organize everything down to the nuts and bolts. Now I not only can take on more variety of projects but they take a quarter of the time to accomplish and turn out way better. I would sum it up by stating, with volume comes the need for cleanliness. I will also note that the more spaces you have the trickier it can be, I have two shops on opposite sides of my place, balancing the right tools in the right shops are a virtue. I took some nice tips that really helped from Wranglestar on that one. :)

Being the messy guy, it saves just as much time having problem solving materials laying around as it it takes looking for your tools. Coming from the concrete world having random scraps of ply and 2X laying around can be really useful to patch up or reinforce form work.

I don’t know you. I just tripped over your Favorite Tool Mods video upon waking in the wee hours and was intrigued enough to open your channel and this particular video…in fact this subject, I would say is a perfect philosophical bio of who a guy really is all about in his shop person. I like the way you think. In my 8th decade and while I have let order go in an inner motivation to produce more while there is still time, I have reached the point where the time spent searching for things I now don’t recall the location of consistently is starting to exceed the time i would spend bowing to more order on the bench, etc., I must needs bow to the added requirements dictated by an aging mind. Alas… Thank you for helping define where the point of balance between chaos and needless neatness lies. New subscriber.

some years ago i was watching a fellow carve a floral pattern into a clay pot, as if he had done it thousands of times before. nearing the end the vines did not look they would meet gracefully, he stopped and ask me if i knew the difference between an Artist and a Craftsman. I hadn't even thought of it before and replied no?? he said the difference is the Craftsman can do a task the same way every time without mistakes. the Artist will find the mistakes he has made and gracefully cover them up and only he will know where they are. I think we all strive to be the Craftsman, but are grateful when we call up the Artistic skills and creativity, we may need at the time.. have fun with that. it has helped me nearly every day.

As a genetically messy worker (you should have seen my dad's benches!) who aspires to work clean, I know I work faster when I keep things tidy, but I loose time doing it. In the end, I just don't have the disposition to keep my bench/shop clean.

Ah...chaos vs organization, creativity vs tyranny. Profound discussion! I haven't achieved that balance...yet!

This one really reminded me of being a kid listening to Paul Harvey on the radio as we drove cross country.

You make some great points here. I agree that a healthy balance is the key to most things in life. It’s a lot easier to find a dropped screw or part on an uncluttered bench or clean floor. On the other hand, I’m not going to clean up until I’m done with a project and will leave a mess overnight. Putting tools away when you’re done with them minimizes a big cleanup at the end.

How good have you put together our struggle… endless struggle…. Thank you

The 2 best welders/ fabricators I know; 1 is the messiest hoarder I met, 1 is super clean and perfect. NEITHER can come out with a product or project in a timely fashion. Most productive and profitable places I know are in the middle.

MODERATION is All Things.... I am comforted in that my dear friends were satisfied to Come, Sit & Visit in the midst of my messy projects! Then, often they might grab 'the broom' and help clean up when it was quitting time. Because, I suppose, they had seen me do it before. Such precious good times before life (and death) moved us all On.

That was a roller coaster ride...I was about to get up on my high horse about your definition of craftsman, but then you moderated and redefined it in some interesting ways. I'm no craftsman; my things have utility but not a lot of beauty. My father was a craftsman par excellence. He carved wood, and made maybe 20 significant things in his life. In my mind whittling doesn't count. He was a country doctor and didn't have much time. But his approach was that of a craftsman and artist, in the care he took in the work he did. My shop is messy, but has a feeling of general order because of the shelves and tools on the wall. But I feel joy when I get it clean and order is restored for the next use. I don't have a chaos vs order feeling. It's all part of the process of making things. Thanks for provoking thoughts, as you usually do.

Hola sir! 🖐GREAT topic and thank you for sharing your insights on the subject. Like many I'm sure, my intention is to remain organized. I would rather be and stay organized than not. Most often though, the amount of work that has to be done far outweighs the amount of time required to stay organized. Although all appears to be a huge mess in reality, the mess is under control. So long as I can remain productive and control the mess (chaos) and it does not control me, that is my "sweet spot". When the scale tips towards being controlled by the mess then I take the time to reset and organize. When there are many tasks on the conveyor belt (a la Lucy in the chocolate factory) and have they have to be completed, not a second thought goes into it - it's go time! Thanks for your content, I really enjoy it. Take care and have a good one, Adios! 👊

My grandfather managed the books of his full time ranch business in a 6ftx6ft office den that looked like hurricane ripped through it. Every surface (including the walls up to the ceiling) was covered by a heavy flurry of paper documents, notes, clip boards, pens and pencils. But there was not one thing he could not find in more than 2 seconds. He knew where every document was at any given time and had a perfect inventory of office supplies in his head. It was well organized to him!

Well said as always Scott! I’ll never forget Nate’s equally eloquent explanation (there’s some alliteration for you) of just how much your love of reading and learning has informed your wonderful vocabulary. I’m hopeful we can one day hear more about that side of your life and how that’s shaped the man that so many of us have come to admire!

Love your perspective. I have a huge shop. Been a Carpenter for 50 years. I find the cleaning runs in cycles. Usually after I finish a big list and when I want an easy 2 days. When I really want to clean up I hook the blower to an air hose, put the respirator on and blow the whole damn shop out. You're right, when one of my kids are coming byII do a quick 30 minute clean up. Thanks

Scott , I have found that over the years if I clean up the shop the jobs for me go more efficiently I also find that I better know my inventory for me there is nothing more frustrating than going out to buy something I have

I've had three woodworking shops over the past 40 yrs. and a habit that I discovered that I had was storing little used hand tools in prominent places. These poorly placed tool locations followed from one shop to the next until it hit me what was going on. Now I have the hand tools I use the most on roll around carts where I can get to them easily. The others are in deeper storage but I know where they are. My mother's motto when I was growing up was "A place for everything and everything in its place". I try to achieve that, but I don't obsess about it. My biggest challenge has always been how to store wood scraps that "appear to be" worth keeping. My concept of "appear to be" changes as the amount builds up and they go in the woodstove. Many thanks for the video.

I’ve used my dirty trowels as a knife and fork many a time, you get extra nutrients that way

As a truck driver I need several things within arms reach. It adds so much to productivity not having to go in the sleeper for my hard hat or vest. However if you do small things to not be a complete slob (not wear shoes in the sleeper, have individual tool bags for each type of tool) It reduces the amount ot time cleaning actually.

This belongs up there in the pantheon with Paul James and Norm Abram of Men who were enthusiastic about their work.

When it comes to cleaning a workspace, I have a habit that was instilled in me by my 6th grade shop teacher. Every day, ten minutes before the end of the class, he told us "tools down, put stuff away", and we put our projects away, put the tools where they go in the cabinets, and swept the floor, leaving the shop ready for the next class.

Just found this. How wonderful. I find this order vs chaos tension in my life too. I've been helping several people close out houses the last few months and my shop is perfectly clogged with stuff that's too good to throw away but I haven't found a good home for it yet. (Hopefully with young folks just starting out.) One of my goals for this winter is to clear that stuff out, toss what isn't useful, and get things organized so I have less of those "I know I have one of those somewhere..." moments. I literally have spent two hours looking for a tool. Ugh. Thanks for your transparency and it's encouraging to see your progress. That is a wonderful encouragement. My Dad had a window and door shop and was a general contractor when I was growing up. He bought the business from my grandfather's estate. I would give a lot right now to talk with him about how to reorganize and rearrange my shop. But he's been gone almost 20 years, his shop sold and renovated almost 50 years ago. And now, newly retired and looking at adding two wings to my house, I need to be ready to work, not wander. :)

You nailed it , its all in the BALANCE use search time ,ease of access and safety as the primary indicators to determine this balance.

Pleasure of maintenance doesn’t have to be driven by anxiety - often is! But doesn’t have to be. When I remember that I can continue the slow nudge toward a revolving, consistent, sense of order.

Everything grouped together is a good start, the iron pile, the bolt pile, the lumber pile, ect.

I am putting this here on the last video so that hopefully you see this. You have a Tremendous amount of knowledge and skill. I hope you have a son or Grandson who would like to take over your business. I think it is important for Young men to be interested enough (and patient enough) to learn what the old have to teach. I also think that there are a tremendous amount of small and frankly wonderful shops and farms going out of business due to the lack of interest of the young men in this country. There is a reward in working for oneself and this is something that is little known.

Good video. We're all different. I looked at my shop today and was disappointed I had let it get so dirty and so many unfinished projects on my bench, saws, stools, etc. I have a small woodshop for my retirement days and I DO currently have several unfinished projects and parts sitting around. My shop is really dusty, and I have a propensity to allow the local spiders a means to catch their food. But every tool has a spot and I strive to keep it that way. I despise looking for tools. My brother is the opposite in his metal shop and when working in his shop, we typically spend 50% of our time trying to find things. Just the difference in people, even with the same blood. Thanks.

I like my shop pretty tidy. My brothers, not so much. But that’s one of the things I love about them coming over or vice versa. We all rub off on each other. You pick up habits from each other and learn to work together and before you know it, you’re able to build something amazing pretty easily. Not fast though, there’s too much having fun going on.

There's an eastern tradition of hiring an apprentice to organize and clean the shop. It's a small investment in money, but an amazing investment in passing on the love of your craft

That book looks amazing, with a BMW airhead on the cover no less. Thanks for the reference and your own incredible body of work, EC. 👍

Relief is the last thing I feel when you begin to wind up a discussion! Thank you for the wisdom Scott.

The art of staying organized in the midst of an on-going project & between projects is diligence. As you say, one must balance time, money, space, & not least: your own body's energy level -- you know you gotta get back out here again tomorrow & hit it are you going to have enough in the tank to get it done? Do you want to waste what little energy you have left today to clean up just to make mess again in 8 hours? Organization is constant, never-ending process. You don't get to take a break from it.. you can't do it once & done for good. The more often you tidy up, you get quicker, more efficient at it. It's a stress reliever. You get couple minutes to re-focus or regroup back onto your task while you're sweeping up. It makes you smile when you walk into the shop in the morning. Everything in its place ready to go. Good start to the day helps it go better.

Ive spent so much time looking for things, or buying new things that ive lost. Its worth my time to keep things pretty organised. I'm strict with myself now about putting things back in the proper place because i think it saves time long term.

I'm definitely in between. My dad used to manage by piles and i have that tendency, but i have a need for order. That happens between projects. One thing i am proud of, if i borrow a tool it comes back in neat and clean, maybe better than received.

When it comes to creative "makers" i've noticed a STRONG correlation between brilliance and messiness. I've seen very good work come out of clean shops, but it's rare to see brilliant work come out of clean shops.

You nailed it ,Scott, as usual. It’s a masterclass. I wish I had someone like you around me.

Love the sit downs. 42yrs old and I’m still learning more about life from being in the shop and listening to those who came before me. Thank you!

THAT, was excellent! A perfect mix between the practical and the philosophical. I tend toward the entropy side of things, but am scattered enough that I can't let things go too long or I lose the ability to find what I need to move my craft forward. Thanks for both the permission and the encouragement!

A person mentioned once, in a video: "a clean shop is a safe shop" and so while my normal habit tends towards messiness, I always reflect on that quote when looking at the mess around me. If my mess creates a hazard, i.e. a piece of wood on the floor near the saw that I could trip over, I stop and clean that up. I think that is a good compromise. If you look at something and know it creates a hazard, then fix it right then and there. It doesn't necessarily need to be "clean"; but a serious injury could take you out of the game and then you are creating nothing.

Great description of the tradeoffs we all face, and yes, the word 'tension' connects it to the feeling as we make those decisions regarding what is traded away. In a similar way, the tradeoff between craftsmanship and 'low cost, good enough' work is also creating tension. On a separate note, the french cleats can be nice and perfect with beautiful wood, or they can be a simple adaptation of an aluminum Z-clip wall bracket that allows a quick and inexpensive piece of metal to be bent into the shape and size that can be riveted to the tool to be hung on the horizontal zclip bar. A slightly higher end product with nice finishing is the slatwall products such as the very good system by storeWall, which looks great in a finished basement or garage. Again, a simple bit of metal bending allows one to avoid the high expense of the brackets and utilize the base wall economically.

I have a love/hate relationship with the “drop zone” table. On one hand, a few more steps and I could put the tools in their proper location… on the other hand everything makes it there when I’m in a rush. Can’t find it? Check the drop zone!

That balance is all over the place as you said. I learned early (luckily) not to judge anyone or anything by my own perceptions. One of the absolute best heavy equipment mechanics I've ever known to exist had a heaped and chaotic shop. He kept his tools in 5 gallon buckets on a truck - with a utility bed?(with shelves and compartments for tools lol). You could point to any piece of iron from any caterpillar and many other brands and he could tell you in an instant what it was - and what was wrong with it. I mean every piece, countershafts in transmissions, fuel pump parts hydraulic pump parts, didn't matter. It was repeated by nearly every local equipment owner if he said it was beyond repair - no one would prove him wrong. He's gone but remains one of the local legends so to speak of creating some amazing miracles out of chaos. Grandkids need the discipline of "don't touch!!" when it comes to the shop. It was always basic when I was a pup - don't touch anything unless I say (or "he" says on a visit elsewhere) it's ok. It didn't matter if it was garbage off the floor - because maybe that garbage is next to something dangerous. For little ones who have all the inclination and curiosity that is valuable to them (and the rest of us) an immediate eviction usually works best. They want to be there, you want them there too. The boundary you create is their ticket to be allowed in the shop - where they want to be. Eviction usually never lasts long - initial explanations upon re-entry are basic - "I said so" - as their knowledge increases explanations become longer and more appropriate to their understanding. Crazy as some think that might be - it works - and it builds trust. Even if you go through a dozen evictions with a young one - eventually the trust will be created and they will listen much more closely to teachings that follow.... and learn faster and retain better. They have learned to trust your judgement and experience. I can imagine your thoughts discovering one or two went in the shop unsupervised - I would recalibrate too lol. My punishment would have been similar to a "grounding" I guess... no tools for a period of time, or no shop visits, it just depended on the severity of the wrongdoing - the age - etc.. I'm not telling anyone what to do, or how to raise kids or spend time with grandbaby's. I'm just speaking from my experiences, and the horrific consequences I learned of over the years. Usually preventable... usually with a common thread of "not listening" which to me is a discipline issue. Thanks for sharing

Just after of listening to your words I realize I’m doing the same . I build my shop it’s mix between Messi and ocd , it’s 2 car garage small , but I have nice heavy chair for my dad, because of that fill so free and welcome all the time to be with me , and after building some projects together we talk like never before , and that worth more then everything

I love walking into a neat and organized shop. Maybe mine will be that way someday.

Neat or nasty we all have one thing we are so grateful for. We have a shop! That has been such a blessing for me. Growing up I didn't have one but was lucky enough to work at a gas station in the golden era of service stations. That experience fed the idea that some of us need that holy, wholey, wonderful space to spend a lot of our time. Counting blessings.

When I was a senior nurse, colleagues would comment about how disorganized my desk was. I would then challenge them to ask for something and within seconds I could produce the item. My workshop on the other hand is quite chaotic. I walk in to start reorganizing then find I’m away with a distraction because I found something i wanted to fix. Eventually I look back and see that I didn’t achieve much. That’s called procrastination. Still I’m ok with things the way they are. I am retired now so I can tinker away, no rush but eventually I will get there. Safety is important too. This was a good video..

I could go on and on about messy shops I've known and the world class work that comes out of them, but instead I'm going to tell you about a Merchant Marine sea captain I read about years ago. He would let the paperwork pile up on his desktop, sometimes a mountain of it, until hitting rough seas. Then it would all slide off onto the deck, and he would pick up each piece and put them away where they belonged. Voila! Clean desktop!

Brilliant analysis. Great clarity has been shed on my lifelong dilemma in the workshop

Two phrases I learned from the Army in 1985 when I went to basic training. "Clean as you go", and "Touch it ONCE". Whenever I get to that point where I can't remember where I put something, I know it's time to clean up until I find it, then I can go back to work and the mess never gets a chance to take over (see below "Rogers Rule"). When I pick something up, I put it where it belongs, it only takes seconds more and saves hours of cleaning and searching for that tool/material/widget later. I just moved and I am in the enviable position of designing a workspace that will be easy to keep clean and organized. I am designing it so it's more efficient and I can get MORE work done with less cleaning. Engineering your space with that in mind can be an advantage.

I've hit up on this a few times on my channel. First off my shop is messy and can become cluttered, however my tools and basic supplies are where they belong and can be in hand quickly. It's all the miscellaneous crap that causes the clutter. Someone commented one time that he uses the hardware store as storage for all of that which does work well if it's 5 or 10 minutes away, for me it's a hour and a half round trip. Now that I'm older I have a rule that I don't leave the shop for an hour after doing any hot work (welding, cutting, blacksmithing etc..) which allows me to do some clean up.

I'm with you. Cleanliness and order is good, but it can wait till the job is done.

Damn that was a well spent 12 minutes! I've long been dreaming of a really well ordered workshop and the temporary spaces (ongoing personal building and renovation projects) I've been setting myself up tend to be on the messy side of the entropy (I do sweep the woodchips off the floor regularly, though..). And that now got me thinking that maximum cleanliness and neatness are possibly not the ultimate goals I thought them to be. Shop hygiene is crucial to avoid little fingers getting crushed or cut or something like that. But the main goal should be enjoyment of the space. Thanks a ton for the awakening! Love your thoughtful content!

Thanks for removing the guilt, yet encourage me to be better ;)

I worked for a custom home builder, every day, we'd spend the last few minutes of the day sweeping the house out and the framer would have a single pile of scrap. To me, that seemed way too excessive BUT I learned he wasn't just "cleaning up" he was keeping his clipboard nearby and noting minor & major things that may have been missed or were incomplete by us or one of the subcontractors. It would then be added to his list of "ToDo's". We frequently found tools that we or subs may have forgotten to pick up so we kept them from "growing legs". Also, if the homeowner were to come by, they weren't tripping over materials and getting hurt. It also was awfully nice to come into a clean work environment in the morning. When I started doing remodels on my own, I followed the process and found it to be very worthwhile for me. It might not work for everyone but . . .

God bless you and your family. I love watching your videos and the stories you have behind them all.

I'm 42 and finally transitioning from chaotic-but-familiar to an organized shop. Thanks newly prescribed ADD meds!

Being organized is efficient, efficient is flow like and productive

So well said! "The risk of joylessness increases with order"! I typically get to a point of frustration, with my untidiness then I fly into a state of almost panic cleaning and tidying up. I needed this today, because I started cleaning up the Quonset shop last night due to the rain and was getting to the point I was spending more time looking for tools than actually fixing things. Cheers!

I used to keep piles of extra junk in my garage until I stepped over a bucket of metal scraps while looking for some $5 part and sliced my calf open so bad I needed 18 stitches. The next day I started scrapping and burning everything I didn't need. And I found out I didn't miss the mess

It all comes down to time. How much do you have and what are you going to do with it? When I walk out into my shop (2-car garage) I remember the rules: both vehicles will be returned to the garage at the end of the day. I am retired, and this is my hobby. I turn the garage into my shop when I start and return it go a garage at the end of the day. I do mainly wood working. All the tools have their place and at the end of the day I try to return them to their place. The set up and take down of my table saw (contractors), Paulk work bench, miter saw station and other tools does take about 20 minutes before and after. It is nice to have a clean place to start my project for the day. Both my vehicles are over 20 years old and have not been affected by the elements.

Ouch hitting it hard and balanced.. safe ENOUGH and tidy ENOUGH if you can get to that place your in your happy place. If one is causing you concern then you need to change something to get happy again…. I must get the balance back as my work space is too far past the tidy level… the wrong way to cant find.. cant move.. don’t feel comfortable in the space… not being comfortable means you dont want to be in it now that IS bad..very bad Well said well balanced and thought provoking and stimulating. Thanks for hitting me between the eyes .. I needed it.

I'm cleaning the shop this weekend. Great timing!

“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” ~Albert Einstein

Once I begin to have trouble find the tool or material that I am looking for, I stop working on that project and spend the next 20 mins putting everything back away in their correct places until sufficiently organized to be able to easily complete the task at hand. My goal is to balance the time spent cleaning (which I don't like) on one hand with ability to find what I need and have the space to work on the other. Every decision is just a series of tradeoffs.

"Clean as you go". I was taught that at an early age and when I don't do it then, I really find it hard to do it later because it just builds up and up.

I choose to work exactly like Mrs Essential Craftsman and stay orderly as I go. 42 years as an electrician as well as my own diy and in the kitchen. I do this for myself and my own well being and it works for me.

ENTROPY.. A new vocabulary word! I have that disease in my garage.. My work it is perfection, but my garage is not!! Thank You. KUTGW

EXACTLY! As always, you, sir, have put meaningful and insightful information on the table--RIGHT! Thank you!

French Cleat System Alternative -- Take a look a slat wall systems. These are used extensively in retail stores. They are available from fancy to nice enough. There is a full array of attachments foe hanging stuff and for shelves, etc

I love the Clean enough comment. It reminds me of the "Safety Third" that Mike Rowe talks about. "Organized Chaos" is always a great place to be in, you know that things are being created and you always know where things are. It is a hard balance to maintain, but so worth it in the end.

I have a small work area. One car at a time. When it gets to the point where I'm spending more time hunter for a tool than do the work then it is time to put things away. I call it a "shop reset". Finding my lost tools can be like meeting an old friend I haven't seen in a while.

I am 39 I still remember where I left all my stuff. Unless some else move it and then I am lost. But I am working in a direction of getting things out back in the place if it has one. Thank you for your perspective.

I am so glad you shared this clip. I have a shop that is out of control. I don't obsess over the organization, but when I can't find a tool I know I have multiples of, that's when it is time to do some cleaning. Really enjoy your channel.

My son is 4 years old and has his own little toolbox and safety glasses/earmuffs down at my knee height. My shop is small and messy but I keep it clean enough that it won’t be dangerous to him to wander around in there

Your comment on creating utility vs. beauty hit home. I've done a BUNCH of stuff that created utility as a DIYer. I've created a handful of things I consider beautiful. A rocking horse for my children that I will ensure gets passed on to the first grandchild, a box with an inlaid cribbage board that I gave to my father before he passed, when my mom insisted that I hold on to it, a few chessboards of exotic woods. You have whetted my appetite to go and make some chips! In my case, wood chips, not metal, but I understand what you are saying. That said. I'm a "clean it up after the project is done and the wife starts making comments" kind of worker in my garage. Thank you, enjoyable content as always!

Yes, yes,yes! Truth and veracity. My shop is a mess, but, I can find the things I need, and keep things safe. Thank you!