# After project cleanup



## gthomson (Apr 25, 2015)

I'm terrible about putting away tools after a project. Doesn't matter the type of project - could be woodworking, plumbing, gardening, etc…
I finish the project, and 80% of the time I bring the tools into the garage, but they go into random places. 20% of the time - okay, where did I leave that one?
Often the project is a multi-day project, so I don't want to put all the tools away because I'll be using them tomorrow, the day after, etc…

But I need a better strategy to deal with this.

Do you put away all tools daily, regardless of project status?
Do you have some kind of 'work in progress' cart to put things at the end of the day for multi-day projects?
At the end of the day, do you clean up, and put every tool back into it's place, so that the next day is a good clean start?


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## northwoodsman (Feb 22, 2008)

My shop is a 2.5 stall garage that I share with two vehicles and they are parked inside every night. At the end of every "shift" I thoroughly clean my shop and put every tool in its' place. It's a pain but it sure is nice getting a clean start every day and not having my wife complain that her car is outside or that there is always sawdust being tracked into the house. It becomes habit.


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## sansoo22 (May 7, 2019)

I used to have the same problem and my shop was a constant mess of after thoughts of projects past. The first thing I got to stay cleaner was a decent shop apron. I have it loaded up with small squares, pencils, tape, DC remote, etc. I make sure its properly outfitted at the end of the day.

After I take the apron off I like to do a small amount of cleaning up. Sweep up saw dust and take a mental note of what the next day will be like in the shop. I leave out anything I know I will need at the start of my day and put everything else away. I may not wrap cords on like a ROS since it will most likely get used but I toss it back in the cabinet none the less.

I find that having a mostly clean and organized space has increased my accuracy and thus my enjoyment in my wood shop.

Oh and I should mention I ALWAYS put my clamps away. One too many times of glue setting up on me because I couldnt find the clamps I needed. I should probably just buy more of them but I find if I actually put them back I have enough to get most things done.


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## jkm312 (Jan 13, 2020)

I'm in the clean it up and put it all away camp too. I work out of my garage like a lot of us do. I want the car and truck inside every night. I think it helps a great deal to stay better organized with all of it picked up and put back. It takes just as long to clean it up as it does to wander around the next day trying to figure out where you left what you are looking for. I've been trying to train myself when I am working in the shop to put things down in the same general area, after an exhausting search and rescue operation retrieving the DC remote. It was in the drawer with all the oil filter strap wrenches, and the like. Why did that moron (me) put in there?


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

for the most part everything gets put away except small tools that i know ill use tomorrow because my truck and the wifes car get put in the garage "shop" every night.


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## WoodenDreams (Aug 23, 2018)

I do clean up during and after each project. If I don't need a tool till later, it gets put away. All tools are normally readily available when they are put away and within a arms reach if needed. I also vacuum several times during the day. The only things not put away seems to be all the wood scraps. I ended up with a habit of tossing the small wood scraps behind and next to the drill press.


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

I just leave it like cat 4 hurricane would leave it until my wife yells at me and then I clean it up right away.


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## WalkerR (Feb 8, 2017)

I'm the same way. The first step in any project for me seems to be cleaning up all the tools and scraps from the last project, which might have been a day ago, or several weeks ago. Obviously the better plan would be to clean up when the project is done, then the shop would be clean and ready to go when the next project begins. I'm the same way with dishes. They sit dirty in the sink until I'm all out and I need to clean some if I want to cook anything. Would be much better to clean them right after use, and they'd be ready to go when I needed them. I always tell my self I'll be better, but alas, I am who I am.


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## dbeck (Jun 1, 2017)

I am in the clean up between projects camp mostly, but if things are getting a bit to wild i do midproject clean up. I do put clamps and such up but small layout tools stay out till im done with them. Some things are put up after use simply to protect me and the tools edge or setting, i dont leave a chisel laying around cause i went to er once after one fell and got my ankle so bad it was squirting to my knee lol.


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## CaptainKlutz (Apr 23, 2014)

According to my wife, a clean workshop means nothing is being built. LOL

+1 Like to clean up bench(es), put hand tools away, and sweep floor when done for day. 
Helps to keeps dust/dirt out of house, when I skip a work day or two in shop; and folks are walking through garage. 
Being a process engineer, tend to work in planned stages and/or build modules of project and not attempt to do everything simultaneously. Will clean up my work surfaces after each major step. Though when I am gluing up a stack of panels the clamp/glue mess stays out for duration. Planes and chisels get put away every day as I also don't like to bleed, and being a klutz it happens when least desired.

Another reason I got in habit of a clean up at end of day or work session; is never know what work needs to be done tomorrow? Might have to roll the tools to side and work on bork'd vehicle radiator, or get out welder and fix the lawnmower. Metal dust ruins wood surfaces and is not nice to sharp hand tool edges. So when rebuilding WW tools will spend a couple weeks with shop in metal working mode, have a major clean up, then spend time in wood shop mode using the new WW tool.
YMMV


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

> I finish the project, and 80% of the time I bring the tools into the garage, but they go into random places. 20% of the time - okay, where did I leave that one?
> 
> - gthomson


Only 20%


> ?


 I'd say you're doing pretty good .


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## controlfreak (Jun 29, 2019)

I was laying awake at 4:00 am and thought "where are the spare blades to my fret saw"? My problem is not the car but storage and organization. I need to build a tool cabinet to have a place for my growing collection. I can't start that until I have a quality workbench with vise options. Too many surfaces gather tools to the point that I can't even do any work without some basic clean up. I think I know what I need to do but getting there is still a long road to go.


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## Bstrom (Aug 30, 2020)

Space is the major issue it seems. Make more space and you won't need to put up your tools or wonder where they are. Money solves everything…


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## dbeck (Jun 1, 2017)

Horizontal surfaces are like fly strips to tools, off cuts..etc The more you have the more you will lay on them. For me more surfaces was not a luxury but a nuisance as it means i leave more lay till later then put off clean up longer. Now i like enough surface to set my tools i am using and my materials i need soon or am working on. When no more fits instead of piling i put something away, motivates me lol. I am in the midst of a big project for me and when i walked back to the work room this morning i was shocked,,, i had done a full clean up and forgot. Nice.


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## DaveM123 (May 2, 2020)

I'd say I am in the 50 - 50 club. 50% of the time I clean everything up and put everything away and 50% of the time I leave stuff laying around for a while. It really all depends on the project I am working on. That said I have 4 or 5 tape measures and they seem to be able to find good hiding places regardless!


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## controlfreak (Jun 29, 2019)

Hah, it took me a week to find my tape measure recently.


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## Axis39 (Jul 3, 2019)

Funny, when I work on a jobsite, I clean up every day and put every tool away (usually back in my truck). I leave jobsites cleaner than when I arrived, every time. But, when I work in the shop, there are usually several projects going on at once and there are usually tools out on the bench, and scraps everywhere…. Along with shavings on the floor.

My wife is the exact opposite, she cannot stand disorder and doesn't understand how I can work in my shop. She cleans up in the kitchen as she goes most of the time. (Although, not so much when she;'s sewing… hmmmmm)

But, honestly, the more organized I get, the more things get put away. I have been slowly building more and more storage… and it really has led to me being neater in the shop. I find myself putting things away in the middle of projects, a lot of the time right after I use them. Tools don't pile up and they are getting more and more exact places to be stored. I have always been one to put things back if they truly have a place…. The problem is I haven't always had a place for everything. Still don't really, but it's getting better.

I still don't sweep up every night, like I should. Let's just say thank goodness for the dust collector!

The biggest culprit today is scrap wood, cutoffs, etc. I have a very hard time throwing wood away. But, I've been trying to break myself of that habit as well…. Some days I break out in a cold sweat looking at cut offs and moving towards the trash can. It is the one habit I am having the toughest time breaking!


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## squazo (Nov 23, 2013)

Im terrible at it. 2 things that help are good storage that is easy to use. A tool box (to me at least) is useless if you have to stack things in it and dig through it.. So I've built shelves and only stack things one item deep. The next thing that helped is using a cad program to design stuff before I ever make a cut. Instead of thinking things through while making a mess, I make a digital mess, way easier to clean up. A cut list helps alot. I generally have less than 10 items out when I follow a cut list, instead of everything I own.


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

Hello, I'm a messaholic 8^)

I have a dedicated woodworking area so no vehicles or other non-wood related things to worry about. The space is mine and only I have to deal with my mess..
That being said, I typically do a good cleaning (putting stuff away and sweeping) when thinking about a new project. Ideas come quicker when not dealing with a mess.

For odd jobs out of the workshop, I usually carry my tools and supplies along in a 5-gallon bucket, everything gets put back in the bucket at the end of the day then gets put away at the end of the job (I like keeping tools confined to the workshop so I only need to spend a few days to find something versus spending a month+)


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## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

> Hello, I m a messaholic 8^)
> For odd jobs out of the workshop, I usually carry my tools and supplies along in a 5-gallon bucket, everything gets put back in the bucket at the end of the day then gets put away at the end of the job
> - splintergroup


This is me too, this whole COVID crap has me working my side hustle like crazy, any side job I can get from other families in the neighborhood I've been working. I did GREAT with vinyl railings on porches with many houses in the hood. Most of the jobs were a block or 2 from the house so I just used 5 gal buckets to carry most everything I needed on site. I do have a nice carpenters type tool tote that I only used when something didn't fit a 5 gal. but the same logic applied, finish work, everything into bucket, next day grab buckets go to job.


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## paulLumberJock (Aug 5, 2020)

I generally leave things out and not put things away at the end of the working session.
Lots of times, I only have maybe 60 minutes in one evening to do woodworking, so I come down, the sander
is still out, I sand 60 minutes, then leave and pick it up the next day.

Whenever I can't find something, I start putting things away until I find it. That really helps a lot. I mean, you are wandering around, looking through stuff anyhow, make good use of that time.

Another thing, it's cliche, but make sure you have a place for everything, and it makes sense.. Like I have a drawer for all wrenches and plyers. Another drawer for all screwdrivers, etc. Be very careful when you bring a hammer or whatever out of the shop to do something.. at least put it back in the shop when you are done. Nothing worse than having to scour the whole house a few weeks later trying to find something.


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## mtnwalton (Aug 4, 2015)

My shop is a 2 car garage, cars are outside except in the middle of winter. All tools and bench are on wheels, but it's still a chore to convert to storing my wife's car in there if needed. We're staying put at least for the foreseeable future. Both in late 60's and currently doing a renovation including an elevator. Live in a HOA so building a shop on the property isn't going to happen. I've got 2 large deck boxes outside that help to store some stuff. One is nothing but dust collection stuff.

All that to say cleanup needs to happen often enough at least to avoid tracking sawdust. I've got a place for everything, even scrap wood, which seems to keep growing. This helps a lot , just knowing where stuff is. I've got 4 6' tall metal cabinets, each has 2 doors and 2 deep drawers (Sears). These hold everything from paint supplies to power tools. My bench is bordered on two sides with these and a 72" rolling tool cabinet.

i think it helps to stage stuff where you'll be reminded to grab it on your way in or out. Laundry room in the mudroom immediately inside. So if I'm working on a project in the house, I'll put stuff on the dryer to remind me to grab it when i go past and store it away. When i was young, lots of steps didn't matter. I've got drawers on both sides of my bench etc. No labels, I try to remember where everything is. Anyway, having a shop cleaned up gives you confidence for that next project . i don't always keep it spotless, but i try.


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## AGolden (Mar 22, 2020)

I have a few scarp wood trays for small parts (screws, hinges, odds and ends) and a small-ish benchtop box that I chuck tools in as work (i.e. instead of putting the router back in it's case, my chisels back in the chest, and the mineral spirits back in the cabinet, I put them all into this benchtop box). That way I am not putting everything back in its assigned slot each night and taking it all out again the next day for a given project

Generally I do run over all the wood shavings and sawdust with a vacuum when I stop working unless I am really pressed for time but mostly for the big stuff. I don't make it perfect every day.

All that being said, I still do have a few half finished projects floating around but there's not much you can do about that.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

I use my saw top for a workbench. I leave it 'as is' most of the time. I clean off the saw and/or the router wing on an "as needed" basis. This forces a cleanup on new project start.

I keep a 5 gal garbage bucket for useless scraps at the left edge of the saw so I can just sweep the little lumps off the edge.









There is a method to the madness! (They don't call me *MadMark* for nothing!)

The right side of the saw under the router wing is for "useful" unsorted scraps.


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## fivecodys (Dec 2, 2013)

I remember Norm Abram saying that the Shakers had a motto of "Everything should have a place, and everything should be in its place" or something like that. I have to put my tools away after I stop for the night or it really bugs me. There is something about knowing that everything is put away that soothes me.


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## tomsfoolery (Oct 29, 2020)

I am more in the cleaning. I usually like to sweep every night sometimes if I done with cutting I sweep good otherwise just the main mess. I have a part of the workbench for sanding I leave sander out and the papers or disc that I always use. I leave my 6" and 12" calipers out most of the time. For the most part, I put away my tools.I have got lazy once and awhile.


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## woodbutcherbynight (Oct 21, 2011)

Tools get put back every night. So I know where they are next time. Spent slot of time getting that set up. Sweep as needed because some nights are design work and little else.

Horizontal surfaces. Yeah about those. Needs improvement. .


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

I typically just leave everything strewn about for the duration of a project. Once a project is complete, I put everything away and do a good thorough cleaning (aka open the bay doors and fire up the leaf blower). Fortunately, my shop is only my shop and I don't put vehicles in there and my wife never goes in there for anything except to talk to me so I can do this and get away with it


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## Bearcontrare (Oct 6, 2020)

I'm kinda in the same group as Kenny. If there is a project in progress, and I know I will be working on it again the next day, i leave the tools I'm using out but all together where I can find them. If it will be several days before work can resume, the tools get put back.
End of the day, every work day, sawdust and shavings get swept up and dumped in the trash. the shop may be messy, but I generally know where most of my tools are.


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## MarkCh (Jul 7, 2020)

This may be heretical, but I throw a piece of scrap away (almost) every time I walk into the garage. Doing laundry, grabbing my bike, and so on. It's brutal, but there are very few times I've regretted it.


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## sansoo22 (May 7, 2019)

> Be very careful when you bring a hammer or whatever out of the shop to do something.. at least put it back in the shop when you are done. Nothing worse than having to scour the whole house a few weeks later trying to find something.
> 
> - paulLumberJock


I solved this by having a set of "house" tools I keep in the entry way closet. Its not much to it. Mostly hand me downs from the shop but basic screw drivers, wrenches, a cheap Husky socket set, a hammer, and a couple small levels. They rarely get used but it keeps me from going out to the shop to grab something like needle nose pliers and dragging in some saw dust for which i get yelled at.


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## gthomson (Apr 25, 2015)

Thank you all for sharing your stories as well - seems many are similar, and many have also found helpful ways to keep things going in better directions, also, to help avoid too much pile up of things before they need cleanup.

Too funny on the one that said their kitchen sink is the same. I battled that one already. I'm a single guy with a pooch. So I only keep 1 or 2 of each type of thing in the kitchen now - plates, coffee mug, etc… - didn't make sense for me to have a set of 6 of everything - it all then piled up in the sink. Now… I use it, and either I wash it after use, or before the next use. But lots less piling up in the kitchen now.

I'm starting to make better use of roll around garage shelving - just the cheap stuff from big box stores, but it's helping to 'get a place for everything'.
I think once I start getting some rolly bases for some of the larger tools - drill press, band saw, etc… - that will get it even better to help in being able to more easily pull them out, and put them all back, and move them around so I can get to the rolly shelves behind them, also, for the more organized smaller stuff.

Somebody else also mentioned having an outdoor shed, and no, I don't have one  But I do want to build one. And that's part of the reason for the cleanup process for me. I've got a bunch of garden tools that I want to get out into a garden shed. And they're taking up too much space in the garage, that it makes it harder for me to start on that garden shed project.

Possibly one of my worst habits is putting the tools I just used on the table saw top, figuring at least they're all together, and then at some point I'll put them back in their place.
But then I delay doing anything that needs the table saw because I have to clean it off first.

I saw a few mentioning they have a bucket they put things in when the project is done, or for a multi-day project. Will be trying that way to see if it helps keep my table saw top better cleaned off.
Maybe I need a few buckets - one for plumbing project progress, one for woodworking tools, one for gardening projects 

Those small clippers for gardening, and gloves to wear while gardening, both seem to disappear quite often. I'm thinking it's either the squirrels or the crows taking them if I leave them out, but I'm not sure which.
I've heard from a guy in Wales that Magpies do similar at stealing his stuff.
And I wouldn't put it past crows and squirrels to do the same - both are smart, and strategic I think.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

Spoiled after years of having a dedicated, larger sized shop, and counter top space around most of the walls. It's the rare day I go out to the shop with the thought of putting tools away. If I ever had to go into a smaller space, or give up the shop, so car/cars could fill the space I'd need therapy.


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## Peteybadboy (Jan 23, 2013)

A place for everything and everything in it's place. (from a book i read about the Shakers)

What helps me is my tool wall. I now put things back because I now know when something is missing from "it's spot". I also know if my wife borrowed something. 

The tool wall is new to me over the last 2 years. It really helps.


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## HackFabrication (Mar 11, 2019)

> Do you put away all tools daily, regardless of project status?
> 
> At the end of the day, do you clean up, and put every tool back into it s place, so that the next day is a good clean start?
> - gthomson


Yes. At my age I tend to 'set things down', then cuss/swear because I can't find them later. I know they are sitting quietly laughing at me as I chaotically search….

Yes. I tend to clean up as I go. Since I work in a confined space (basement), I have to move the larger tools around to get other tools into use. I do a lot of brushing/vacuuming/sweeping throughout the project. Yeah, it's time consuming, but there's no telling when I'm going to get pulled away from the shop to 'fix' something else that's gone awry in the house.


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