# Don't you love it when cleaning the shop



## higtron (Jan 26, 2011)

And you find all the things that you told yourself you where only going to set down for just second. It's like Christmas in October.


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

I don't like cleaning the shop in general, but when I do, it is fun finding those hidden treasures.

It's that moment when you decide you weren't going crazy afterall and that you REALY DO have that thing-a-ma-jig around here somewhere!


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## Momcanfixit (Sep 19, 2012)

What?


> You don't clean your shops at the end of the day


?
The horror…


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

You mean, like, EVERY day?


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

Cleaniliness is a sign of a sick mind…


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

I *HAVE* to clean after any time in the shop as it is in my garage and with the door open the afternoon wind just blows everything throughout the garage/shop and that is even harder to clean up then!


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## higtron (Jan 26, 2011)

I try and thoroughly clean my shop from time to time, I'll get about half way through and, decide I need to build something. I have the attention span of a gold fish when it comes to shop clean up.


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## tefinn (Sep 23, 2011)

I still can't ever find any of my pencils. They're like socks in a dryer.


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

I dont clean my shop…

I just occasionally REARRANGE the clutter!


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## NickyP (Sep 6, 2013)

My wood shop teacher back in 8th grade instilled the "clean the shop at the end of the day" thing in me and it really stuck in all my endeavors over the years. I have found that even the dirtiest shop is no problem when it's maintained on a daily basis. However, I can see and understand that perhaps a greater level of testosterone lives in those that wallow in their wood shavings. SCREW IT! I'm not cleaning up today! DANG! I just can't do it :-( . . . where'd I put that dustpan?


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## higtron (Jan 26, 2011)

I'm about half done cleaning, Maybe I should build that rolling clamp rack, or maybe that wall mounted chisel holder.


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## rrww (Aug 12, 2012)

NickyP don't feel bad - we must have had the same shop teacher. Every day everyone in the shop helps clean up. I does make for nicer mornings.


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

I'm horrible, for as long as a project is going on, its a mess and i can NEVER find a tool or piece i need. It's bad. At work i always clean up after a certain task, maybe i should try that…hmmm.


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## Momcanfixit (Sep 19, 2012)

If my shop weren't in the garage, I'd be tempted to let it stay messy more often. But I do like it to be tidy. Not sparkling clean - just tidy and floor swept up.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

I was raised/trained that "the job ain't done until the evidence is destroyed". I can't help myself. My shop gets cleaned up at the end of the day.


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## shawnmasterson (Jan 24, 2013)

gfadvm Oh god thats good stuff.

I have been working obscene hours (7/12's) for 3 months. and to boot I have been hoarding stuff that would have been thrown away. I have 10 new light (freebie) and all the material to reframe my shop ceiling into a vaulted ceiling. For the last 3 days I have been cleaning to prepare for the reframe. I am almost there. as for the mess it usually stays until the finishing stages. When a project is all said and done I bust out the leaf blower and go to town. Weather its -10* or 100* every job ends with the final dusting. The snow always look so pretty with a fresh layer of sawdust.


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## BAM157 (Sep 3, 2013)

You may find lost items but then you lose more because you can't remember where you put the stuff that you supposedly put away or maybe that's just me.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I found a woodworking magazine behind some storage shelves dated Apr 1988.  had to sit down and browse through it.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

I never find lost things in my shop until after I buy a replacement.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

I clean my shop at the end of the day. When I decide *which* day, I'll let you know.

Seriously, the problem with cleaning my shop is that it makes me hesitant to start a new project and mess it up again.


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

Charlie, I have the opposite problem. Since I avoid cleaning my shop until I have to, it makes me hesitant to start a new project because I know I'll have to clean up from the last project first.

;-)


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## TechRedneck (Jul 30, 2010)

I like to keep a relatively clean shop. Too much clutter gets on my nerves.

I don't clean up at the end of the day, however like to clean when I get "stuck" on a project or need to just step away from things to think about what I am doing.

When you start doing dumb things like cutting out the tail instead of the waste on a dovetail, then it is time to step back, turn on some tunes and clean up a little. Then you come back with a fresh mind, a clean shop and some ideas on what to do next.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

I guess that I'm one of the guilty ones who cleans at the end of the day.
I often hear "Why don't you use the shop? It's too clean." Maybe it's my anal gland, but I can't STAND clutter.
OOPS! I must dust the bench top.
Bill


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

I suppose that TECHNICALLY I clean up after each project…. (Not saying how much after each project) But definately BEFORE each project. You still need a safe work area.


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## woodbutcherbynight (Oct 21, 2011)

When I die I want people to come over, have a drink, smoke a cigar, look around and see all the pictures from Iraq then tell some stories about how crazy I was. As they look around they will see the shop with all the various projects and stuff on every bench and say, "It's like he expected to work in here today."

Someone else, NOT me can have the honor of cleaning it out. Guarding the Pearly Gates with the rest of my Fallen Marine Brothers I will look down and say, "Wow, I had alot of crap."


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## higtron (Jan 26, 2011)

bondogaposis I have had that very same thing happen, right after you replace the thing you lost that's when you find the original damn thing LOL.


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## realcowtown_eric (Feb 4, 2013)

Ever since the floods in June I've been working m-f on site, saving sat sun for my antique repairs, and the mess has piled up.

That's about 5 months of fly-by, drop it off, pick up stuff and be on my way. No time for regular cleaning!

It got to the point where the table saw was inoperable as it was covered with an 8' harvest table top, the assembly area was taken up with the base,

Time for a clean up to be sure. Rationalize the offcuts, some fellas say if it's under 2' discard it, but what if its flamed white oak, or 4×6 maple (perfect lathe mtl) Decisions Decisions Decisions!!!! Would you toss out 18" of 8/4 flamed white oak?

Oh I am gonna have so much fun! and yet it will be hard!

Outside of the off-cut decisions, Theres about 4 major equipment projects "round to-it" projects to re-engage with for distraction. 2x foley saw sharpeners, 50's 8" general jointer, parts coming to ressurect 2 drill presses, and then there's the VS metal band saw, and if that ain't enuf, gotta find space for the new lathe and tooling, finalized donation of sewing machine…(don't laugh- there's two of em in the assembly area- one is a classic 99singer leather machine, and the other is a left over from an upholstery project!

it's all good sh*t, but it does pile up!!!And the "assets" have started to become "liabilities" Past due for the clean up, and I know it.

Time for me to get closer to a "balance" of fun and productivity
So how do you do "boot camp" clean up at your shop? What rules have you imposed on yerself?

Would love to know what other folks do when the shop becomes a mess and intereferes with productivity and enjoyment!!.

I feel that it's hard to keep a positive perspective when yer faced with a mess. The enjoyment ebbs a tad or more, but gotta keep working towards the resolution of my self created dilemma!!!

Moreover, when I come off-site, there's a whole whack of materials to find storage for, and gotta free up space for that. And also keep the storage and mustering oriented to the upcoming projects.

So what I plan to do is start at one corner and slog and work my way as far as I can

What do the other LJ's do when they reach the tipping point. How do you attack shop clean up??

Eric in Cowtown


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## JustplaneJeff (Mar 10, 2013)

Can't stand sawdust under my feet{and I make my share of it}, So as my work benches and tables pile up, my floors are kept somewhat clean. that being said, there is usually a pile of sawdust in a corner or under a bench that can easily be retrieved to soak up a spill.


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