Channeling my inner Fred

[JasonGotaProblem]

I am not an organized person. I never have been, but that doesnt mean I cant ever be. Sometimes when Fred posts stuff about his workshop I'd comment something about how I wishni was that organized. Well I decided to stop wishing. A year and a half ago I didnt think myself capable of working on reels. A year ago i didnt think I could handle rod work. Maybe this is the year I get organized.

2 of the major takeaways I've gotten from Fred's posts is keep the stuff you use close at hand, and use clear bins. So thats what I did.

On the first round I tried stacks of bins off to the side. But that didnt work. I'd unstack to take stuff out, but tended to just leave stuff on the counter when finished. So I put in the shelf, so everything frequently accessed was single stack. So far so good?

[Midway Tommy]

You've got a good start, Jason.

Fred's a little over the top with his OCD  for my situation, but then he's got a lot more stuff to keep track of than I'll ever have. I learned a long time ago that the key ingredient to efficiency, no matter how big or small ones operation is, is to have a designated place for everything and make dang sure when you're done that anything you used gets put back in its spot. Trying find things a guy uses regularly, or even not so regularly, wastes way too much time. 

[steelfish]

looking good Jason, nice spot to work on rod/reels you have there

[foakes]

Nice setup, Jason!

You will find that your shop will never be finished — just a little better each change your make.

Best, Fred

[Crow]

Looks good !

[Gfish]

Alright!
I foresee tools hanging off those fancy upper cabinet doors...

[Glos]

Pst, > more of these:

[JasonGotaProblem]

Thanks all. I suspect it'll always be a work in progress.

One of my attempts at wisdom was to dedicate a "to be filed" bin for things I'm too lazy to put back. So that way instead of dropping on the counter, it goes to a container. As that container fills up, I make the time to sort it. And if I cant find something in its designated place, that's the 2nd search location.

I do have that peg board. I may eventually start using it to sort tools.

Thankfully the whole area is bathed in intense overhead LED lighting. But I also have a forehead lamp that I use, when doing reel work, such that where I'm looking is always well lit.

[happyhooker]

You are so right, Tommy.  I get so frustrated knowing I have something, somewhere, that I need, but that I just can't lay my hands on it.  Worse things are simple fasteners (screws, nails, washers, bolts); do you realize how many kinds of these darn things there are?  I did make a start with sorting stuff into marked bins & cans, and it helps a lot.

Frank

[thorhammer]

Peg board is a must. But, for your basic reel work, I have a little shelf on the pegboard with Cals, marine grease, Abu oil and corrosion X. I have a small tray with an Alan wrench (that Alan Tani Penn wrench), small crescent, Phillips and flat screwdrivers, one each, ice pick to line up holes, and some steel wool. This covers 90 percent of basic reel work I do. Bearing pullers, files, dremel, hex sets, etc. are also close at hand but I have a lot of pegboard space. Keep that stuff in your drawer. 

[jgp12000]

That is a nice setup! Funny thing is I had the same countertop in our second house, and when we upgraded to granite, I repurposed it to my shop work bench. A backsplash is nice to keep things from going into never never land...