# I LOVE my woodshop!!! Clean, organized... and I've got more room!



## AngieO (Jul 9, 2012)

Today I had a million projects on my mind. But what I ended up doing was going out and cleaning and organizing the shop.

Here is the horrid BEFORE picture. It's probably about as bad as it's been so far. But I'm sure it's not the last time it will be like this.

Notice on the right hand side of this picture… there are totes stacked up. There are quite a few behind the plywood and other stuff. Somewhere back there… there is an AC window unit. And a Christmas tree 









And this picture doesn't really do justice to how bad it actually was.










And now… here is what it looks like… after me moving everything all by myself to a storage unit… in my minivan.










And my reorganized wood pile… This is ALL lumber that I've received free. Most from pallets. But ALL free.










After this was all done we left for an awards ceremony for my kids, followed by dinner out. When I returned I went to the garage to put something away. It's still such an AMAZING feeling walking into my shop.. I love it! A year ago I never would have thought I'd have all this. I know I'm repeating myself but it is absolutely amazing. What a feeling it is to walk in that door and see all those tools and that stack of wood. I feel truly blessed. Very grateful for the things that I have.

PS…. for anyone that's followed my other posts…. did you notice a new tool (used, new to me) in the pic? 










Slowly but surely I'm acquiring all the tools I have been wanting. Well… actually… it's kinda been moving fast these last few months. Just been in the right place at the right time.

Oh… and look to the right of that jointer… I have a stack of poplar. Those boards are 2×8's and 3×6's. Guy was going to burn them. And he has quite a bit more. 

Have a wonderful week out there. Hope you get to make some sawdust. I know that I need to go dirty up mine now that it's clean so I'm sure I will be getting busy out there.


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Miss Angie you're doing a wonderful job. Always great to have a space of your own.


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

Nice clean up


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## AngieO (Jul 9, 2012)

Oh… and YES… I found the window AC! Now there is nothing covering it up and I can keep that garage cool when I need to. There are actually two units… but this is the only one that I know works.










This entire part of the shop on that wall was being used to store totes of… JUNK. Well… totes of Christmas stuff, a Christmas Tree and other things that just needed to be stored. I took them all to a garage at work to store them there. (LOVE my boss!)

Now I can walk around the entire workbench without squeezing through or tripping over something. LOVE IT!!!!!


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## kdc68 (Mar 2, 2012)

AngieO…..Looks great !!...Congrats on the "new" jointer


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## Alongiron (Jan 10, 2011)

Angie. You never cease to amaze me ! I need you to come to my shop and do a little organizing.


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## RibsBrisket4me (Jul 17, 2011)

Way to go!


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## Blondewood (Mar 30, 2009)

Fantastic job cleaning and organizing. Congrats on the jointer. Nice find.


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

Sometimes getting from "Point A" to "Point B" can be a bit painful. But once you're there it can be SOOOOO NICE! Taking the time and effort to clean the shop can be pretty tedious, but in the end it's always worth it to look back and compare the BEFORE to the AFTER

And unfortunately, I can tell you from experience, you'll be doing this chore again. Because as soon as you realized you have so much room (and it's clean and neat) you WILL add more "STUFF" to those spaces


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

Way to go Angie,

There is nothing as inspirational as sweeping out the last corner of the Shop on cleaning day. 
It seems to unclutter the mind.

Your Sawdust Studio is coming together quite nicely.

Best Regards. - Grandpa Len.

Work Safely and have Fun.


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

A clean shop is a great motivator, of course messing it up with sawdust- - - - - PRICELESS


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Angie, I don't have any doubt in my mind that you will get to where you are going. I like your shop and I believe that you will make the most of it.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## Sanding2day (May 6, 2013)

Big improvement! Ready to mess it up again  Yay!!


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## redSLED (Mar 21, 2013)

Is that a spray painted Workmate bench holding up your planer? Good low-key colour (grey primer or flat white?). I'm thinking of doing similar.


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## EPJartisan (Nov 4, 2009)

Congratulations… looks great. I do that at least once very two weeks. I just cleaned mine yesterday… with 1,250 sf, I spend so much time cleaning, putting things away, and updating the studio that I usually have to hire someone so I can keep up on making things. I as well have thousands of projects rolling around in my head. But as I say.. what is a clean studio to have but to make messy over and over again.. I can turn a clean shop into a pigsty again in less than an hour.


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## SnowyRiver (Nov 14, 2008)

Looks great Angie. There is nothing like working in a clean shop. I sometimes stop in the middle of a project and clean up the shop. Congrats on the jointer…you will love using it.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

EP, with a 1250 sq ft shop my hat is off to you. I must say, however, whether you have 125 sq ft or 1250 sq ft you do very nice work in your shop.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## AngieO (Jul 9, 2012)

Thanks for all the comments. It's amazing how much more you want to be out there when its clean. And how much quicker you can accomplish things. Of course… Just like EP… I can trash it again in less than an hour. Lol.

I'll try this time to put things back as I work… I said "try"... We will see how that works. Lol.

In fact… I'll "try" tonight. It just don't look right with no sawdust… Gonna have to make sure people know its a working woodshop and make a little sawdust out ther. Ya know… Just in case someone comes over.


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

Shop AC-ing!? Geez, you sure know how to make fella drool… *;-)*

All said and told, you have a great looking shop and wow, looking at how your daughter has picked up on this as well, well what could be or get better than that! Angie, you sure make a lot of LJ'rs jealous on multiple levels, the shop, the family involvement, the transgender development of the WW hobby, the independence, etc., etc… WOW! Just keep it up and keep us proud of all you do. You are quite the example.


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## TimScoville (Apr 8, 2009)

Nice job Angie. Mine is bigger and messier and I'm in the middle of my kitchen remodel. I need to completely redo my shop. Having it organized for the type of work you expect to do makes everything so much easier. Happy wood working.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

That's great. When it is organized you can always find things when you need them! It makes projects go a lot faster.
I cleaned mine a bit tonight…... burned 2 30 gallon barrels of sawdust and shavings and one barrel of scrap wood
....................Jim


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## bernwood (Aug 19, 2010)

Nice shop indeed… I'm with Wayne - my shop is always clean. My old tires ankles can't take chunks of wood on the floor and I hate assembling a project you know fits well and when it's set and dry, you notice a small chip was sitting under a corner revealing a gap. I have a few dedicated cheap paint brushes to keep the work surfaces clean and a broom for the floor. It's quick and easy routine once your in the habit.

And I'm not a neat freak - I just like a clean work place.


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