VERY stuck trying to get organised...

justaguy · Post by **justaguy** » Thu Oct 07, 2021 8:10 am

Hi, sorry if this is posted in the wrong Forum, I'm hoping someone can give me some pointers in getting organised.

18-months ago we moved into a 1930s semi that's going to need a lot of work - woodworm, bad electrics, plumbing problems, the list goes on. Fortunately, I have a garage to use as a workshop and a couple of small sheds for storage - but here comes the problem.

Last year we had to clear my late father's house, and my Grandfather's tools and Dad's tools got added to what I've already got - together with boxes of unsorted bolts/nuts (not metric) tins of paint and other assorted stuff.

Any idea where this post is going yet?

Last year, I decided to build some shelving in the garage to accommodate the unsorted boxes and try to clear the floor. One year on, the floor is covered again and all the shelving with the unsorted boxes has meant that I have little (if any) working space so even the smallest job becomes a chore. And what's worse when I do finally get started, I KNOW that I have a tool/part to do a job but I can't find it, so I end up going to buy more - adding to the problem.

I'm usually pretty organised but I'm struggling with getting sorted in the workshop, and I think part of that is not wanting to part with my Dad's stuff. But really, how many screwdrivers / spanners / pillars / etc does one man need? I've managed to get rid of most of his wired power tools and the 'no name' battery operated stuff (batteries missing or dead), I still have two pillar drills, two bench grinders, two compressors (one large/one small), umpty dump grinders (he was a motor engineer), etc.

My end game is to have the garage as an organised working space where I can pick up a wood or metal work project and just get on with it. I'm happy to use one of the sheds as workshop storage - both short and long term - so that may solve some of the organisational issues. But where to start?

It wouldn't be an understatement to say that I'm suffering analysis paralysis in trying to get organised, so I thought I'd ask someone else how they might tackle the problem.

Thanks in advance!

Martin

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Thu Oct 07, 2021 8:51 am

You have to get quite ruthless with it. Unfortunately, all resourceful old boys are the same, we hoard tools and fittings as they accumulate over a lifetime of jobs. I belong to that club and quite often I will pop into Screwfix to buy some screws because I cannot be arsed to look for the ones I already have. I have tools I bought and I have never used them as they were bought on spec as they 'might come in useful one day. Your Dad was probably no exception and the truth is that you could dump half of it as the day will never come when it will come in handy. For example, many tools have been overtaken by newer technology. Hand saws are rarely used with the vast availability of powered saws these days. So first trawl through, dump all the stuff that has been made redundant by the new stuff, dump all the screws, bolts, and fittings that are not boxed or can be accumulated into a tub of repair fittings.

I bought a small toolbox in Poundland for my spanners that were loose in a bag, these are a good cheap solution for a lot of loose stuff and they consolidate the footprint of the storage.

Go at it logically, and just remember the stuff you cherish is your children's trip to the dump when you are gone.

DWD

London mike 61 · Post by **London mike 61** » Thu Oct 07, 2021 9:36 am

Go at it logically, and just remember the stuff you cherish is your children's trip to the dump when you are gone.

This is VERY sound advice because last year we had to clear the father in law’s ‘stuff’ from his garage and a lot of the screws and nut and bolts were rusty with slotted screws in odd tins , cubby holes etc, I dumped the lot.
Next were the tools some of which I kept and the others , whilst serviceable were not very good quality or if they were good( at the time ) they were less safe than my own tools.
And as DWD said in not so many words; if I were to kick the bucket tomorrow I know for certain that 95% of the garage stuff would end up in he skip because no one wants more tools than they need especially my children.

Mike

Someone-Else · Post by **Someone-Else** » Thu Oct 07, 2021 9:57 am

justaguy "Back in the day" tools were built to last, but as has been said, some were not "safe" (Or there are better versions out now) so I would suggest you get rid of them, If there are two or more of the same tool, keep the better one and get rid of the rest, if a tool is "slightly damaged" get rid of it, you don't want it to break while using it, as for the odd nuts and bolts, screws, nails etc it will take months to sort through them all and then you will find you have 103 different boxes of just 2 or 3 bolts, don't sort them get rid of them.
Yes it's "nice" to keep stuff just in case, but "just in case" is years away and you waste time looking for that part, so you have to just get rid of most of it now.

justaguy · Post by **justaguy** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 11:41 am

Thank you all for your input, and I apologise for not getting back sooner. I laughed out loud when I read DWD's post - that the stuff we cherish is our children's trip to the dump when we're gone. So true.

So I've started the process and although it's going slowly, it's happening and there've been two trips to the recycling - saving my kids time and fuel in the future...

Going through the boxes and the plane count is pretty high, as are the tap and die collections. But I'll get there.

Thanks also for the 'approval' that it's OK to get rid of the bowls and tins of odd nuts, bolts and screws - that's going to save me weeks!

Best wishes,

Martin

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:24 pm

I think subconsciously we all want permission to dump and it is far easier if you have some level headed assistance with you helping in the decisions. If you live in Essex I would be happy to guide you but I am worried I would take half of it home

DWD

London mike 61 · Post by **London mike 61** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:57 pm

dewaltdisney wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:24 pm I am worried I would take half of it home

justaguy · Post by **justaguy** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 4:02 pm

Thank you for the offer DWD

If you're ever in need of an obscure UNF or BA nut/bolt combination, drop me a message - there's always a chance that there's going to be something lurking. Exactly which it is lurking could be a problem though

Best wishes,

Martin

fin · Post by **fin** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:55 pm

the likes of hand planes can go for a canny bit on ebay. ive bought a canny few in the past..... some are done up some are waiting to be. ive been that busy the past 18 months ive not even looked at em.

pretty much any decent quality old hand tools are sellable on ebay like.

Razor · Post by **Razor** » Thu Oct 28, 2021 7:31 am

dewaltdisney wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:24 pm I think subconsciously we all want permission to dump and it is far easier if you have some level headed assistance with you helping in the decisions. If you live in Essex I would be happy to guide you but I am worried I would take half of it home

DWD

Can I have the other half please??

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Thu Oct 28, 2021 5:04 pm

I shouldn't really criticise because i've realised i've turned into my dad. He was one of those that kept odds and ends and all sorts of stuff. When he died and i cleared the house and sheds for example between us we had 26 shovels. That's just shovels not spades of which there were 13 if i remember correctly. Father was also one for plastic sacks and it's those that really rub it in that i'm the same. If i buy sand or whatever I'll keep the bag for reuse and have 3 dustbins full of them. Father also had half a dozen electric motors of decent size and i have kept them. The odds and sods of bolts , nails and screws i went through keeping some and putting some in the scrap. Emulsion paint has all been binned but some of the gloss which must be 40 years old has been finding use painting anything from wheelbarrows , gates , my trailer and even the garage floor.

oz0707 · Post by **oz0707** » Sat Nov 06, 2021 7:51 pm

Fins advice is good here. Some of the older hand tools go for surprising sums always worth a 99p eBay auction or gumtree ad.