De-Cluttering & Re-Organizing the Inside Reel Shop Upstairs

[foakes]

In my little reel shop upstairs —- there was too much stuff on the floor and too much clutter over the last 90 days.

The main 8' X 3' bench was a mess also.

Picked up a rolling vertical storage shelf unit that I could roll out of the way when needing to get to stuff behind it.  This holds client reels waiting for service, restoration, repair, and parts.  Plus a fair amount of reels that I'll eventually get around to readying for sale.  Vertical is the key for storage in a small shop that works the best for me.  Shelf unit had only 5 shelves, which meant that there was wasted space in between shelves.  So I just bought another unit —- and was able to double the shelf space.

A good portion of the storage units in the rest of the shop were given to me.

Alan gave me the Steelmaster bins, loaded with parts for Penn, Mitchell, and DAM Quick reels.

Wayne gave me the dental cabinet which I repurposed into a giant organized storage for Penn & DQ parts, plus an additional counter on top.

Picked up the college drafting tables and drawers for $50 each —- which made a great workbench.

Home Depot gave me all of the overhead organizer bins, plus a Stanley top box —- for free.

Behind the display of 50 different DAM Quick reels, and the new rolling shelves unit —- I built out cabinets and shelves that hold about 700 mostly DQ reels, some Mitchell's, and around 400 DQ spools.  All organized into bins and labeled.

There are five other storage shops where I keep ABU, Mitchell, and all other types of reels in an ordered arrangement.  But this is all I have room for in this little upstairs shop.

This seems to work pretty well for now, as I have transitioned away from working on every type of reel that came across the bench —- to just specializing in top quality spinners by DAM Quick, Penn, ABU Cardinals, Mitchell & Daiwa.  Not the new plastic reels —- only the vintage spinners in these brands between the early 50's thru about the mid to late 80's.

I have invested in quality tools over the decades —- but this shop is at least 50%, or more —- gifts, used tools, and/or very low priced storage items.

I'm very grateful for the generosity of a lot of our members.

Best Regards, Fred

[happyhooker]

Organizing is not only a bit of a lost art, but it can involve a lot of drudgery, and you always have the feeling that "organizing" is taking away valuable (and more interesting) time from things like fixing, fishing, etc. It does feel good when you can get some organizing done, though.

Frank

[reelynew]

I'm seeing serious reality TV potential for these organizational skills. Marie Kondo better start checking the ratings.

[Brewcrafter]

Organizing is not only a bit of a lost art, but it can involve a lot of drudgery, and you always have the feeling that "organizing" is taking away valuable (and more interesting) time from things like fixing, fishing, etc. It does feel good when you can get some organizing done, though.

Frank

Yep, I definitely can improve my situation and Fred is an inspiration.  As my Dad you to say "If you can't find it or don't know where it is, you might as well not have it in the first place because it's not doing you any good."  Side note: Organization can be a very personal thing.  In my professional life my office had a very unique layout but it worked for me.  Same with my tools at home.  I know that goes into what drawer with what.  That being said I recently did a spreadsheet for insurance purposes documenting all rods and reels (took awhile, need to do tools next) and I am STILL missing a black Abu baitcaster somewhere in this clutterpit  - john

[CincyDavid]

To me, organizing is cathartic at times, and makes me more efficient when I do attempt a project. To paraphrase Abe Lincoln, if he was given 8 hours to cut down a tree, he'd spend the first 6 hours sharpening his axe.

[MarkT]

Wow, you're even more obsessively organized than Adam Savage!

[jgp12000]

It is frustrating not to be able to find things when you need them.

I have put things in a special place thinking I will remember    which actually means hiding it from myself.

If its in a labeled bin that takes the guess work out.

My buddie's shop makes mine look great, he gave me a tip on finding stuff, turn the lights off & use a bright beam flashlight that will concentrate your focus .Sometimes while scanning in my mind the lost item is larger or a different color than reality.

Fred never will need that tip...

[oldmanjoe]

  There must be multiple definitions of cluttered shops !   I fall under organized chaos  !