Bringing Order to Chaos!

First of all, I'd like to say that this taking pictures, posting online, and having to write about it is a FIRST for me. These pictures were also taken with a new camera that I'm not yet used to, so sorry for the blurry pictures. I think I have Parkinson's Disease. ANYWAYS... So I recently moved my tools into this room, and started working on projects before I could actually get set up with organization and order. Ergo, this is why my shop looks like chaos has struck, and was looking to stay. This would not bode well for my inner OCD. There were tools and wood projects scattered everywhere, and most everything was below the 4 ft level. I was quickly growing tired of having to sort through everything just to find the tools I was looking for, and having to continuously shuffle stuff around to have an area to even work. With all that vacant wall space, something had to be done. Not having much more than a dime to my name, I needed a FREE way to bring order to this chaos! Please check out each picture individually as I took time into commenting on each and every one to explain them.

I had a friend who gave me a dismantled crate, so I already had this sitting around. There was much need to have somewhere to collect scraps that were more than 4 ft, but less than 8 - 10 ft, as I already had my long lumber laying on a pair of saw horses. Shelving for that will be in the future I'm sure. I decided to re-purpose this crate by building it bigger (sideways) and needed to give it a bottom. The peg board seemed ideal for drying purposes, and letting dust fall through. Besides, I already had brought it down with other peg boards that were pre-made for something else, by someone else. They were just tucked away in my machine shed, serving absolutely no purpose except to collect dust. I also found some castor wheels that would assist with mobility of such a large crate.

This room needed many changes, and needed to be done without any pocket change to spare. I had free access to some white plastic disposable tabletop covers. I seen this would serve a dual purpose, one, keeping the insulation on the wall, (which also helps insulate the room) and two, the white back wall would definitely help brighten up the room. Then there's the pre-made pegboards that are 10 ft long. I knew there had to be a way to utilize them, even without having any pegboard hangers. I used roofing nails instead, they seem to work quite efficiently. Also, a little bit of large tool placement, to help make the shop more functional.

Order in the workshop is key Shelving helps this out by utilizing vacant wall space, and converting it into useful tool storage. Anything that can be done without spending a penny makes it that much more worthwhile! With all said and done, I am much more happy with my new shop now that it is organized! :)