I've tried any number of ways to accomplish the task till I finally found
one that took the worry out and works for me. It was quite simple actually.

All I did was admit that at no time during the life of a project could I
keep the shop from looking like a localized tornado ran through it. From
there the solution was obvious, I organized the chaos. I mentally divided
the shop into areas for types of clutter. Scrap wood gets tossed to the
right of the table saw, the odd screw, nail, and other hardware gets kicked
under the table saw, Misc. tools go in a rolling cart I keep around, usually
piled high with everything from chisels to hand power tools, etc.

Now, while the shop still looks like a war zone, I at least have a general
area to go too and sift through for what ever I need.

Good luck in the quest but I fear that you will eventually have to face up
to your addiction. Oh sure, like the majority of the rest of us you will
start out with good intentions. You'll enter your pristine shop with a pure
heart and the gleam of a convert in your eyes. But it will just be a matter
of time before that first cut off falls off behind the table saw and you let
it go because you are too preoccupied with the task at hand, or the open box
of brads falls to the floor, or you pull the drained battery on you cordless
drill, put in the new one, then put the drained one down in some convenient
spot you'll immediately forget about, or, ,,,,, well, you get the picture.
You'll always be on the verge of that slippery slope and it will be only a
short time before you fall back to the level of us lesser mortals.

--
Mike G.

Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net
"dhmeiser" wrote in message
om...
HI All,

It seems that my ISP does not allow posting to groups only downloading
so I am using google post! (sorry if this becomes a duplicate posting)

After becoming totally frustruated at my workshop I have decided to
knucle
down and get the place organized. OK how about sharing your tips and
methods for keeping such things as your hand power tools, their
accessories
organized. How do you keep such items as nails, screws and other
hardware
sorted and redably available. Also how do you keep small items shuch
as
screw bits and such orderly.

I would like to have input on what has worked and what has failed.

Right now I have two locations for my tools one is in the upper
section of
my barn where my big power tools are located, tablesaw, Joiner, RAS
are
located. the other tools tend to "float" between my bacement the barn.
The
barn is unheated so this time of year I don't use it as much as the
bacement. One of the ways I have tried (unscucessfully) was to put the
tools
in toolboxes labled with the function of tools (general, electrical,
plumbing ...) So what has worked for you and what hasn't?

Thanks,
Dave M