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Restoration Madness

Chief Brody

Chief Brody

"Amity Island Welcomes You"
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I need some ideas...I got so mad today that I was throwing stuff again because I couldn't find something I was looking for...I knew I had it, I just couldn't find it.

I cleaned out my garage before I started this restore and it was real clean...now I cannot find anything because stuff is piled up....all the sandpaper and solvents and stuff is all over, the doors and tailgate and all the parts and nuts and bolts are everywhere.

The engine is in the garage, the transmission is on the floor and the transfer case is on the floor...I can't move out there...I have to walk sideways to get anywhere....

How the heck do I begin to clean up this mess and get stuff to where I can find it?

Need ideas for containers and stuff to organize the bolts and parts...:confused:
 
You think you have it bad with only one vehicle in the garage?

Try moving around a 30 x 50 shop with 3 vehicles in it, tons of other parts and your own personal items such as furniture, totes with clothes and toys in them, etc., etc.

I'd go out to take a picture of my shop but its too cold out right now.
 
When you figure this one out, let me know.
I have been trying for a couple of years now to clean up, but I have 7 years worth of trucks, parts and tools crammed into my 3 car garage and my 24'x60' RV parking and it's so bad I have to squeeze in between parts to go from side to side, so to clean up I have been trying to organize a little spot that I clear by scrapping some stuff I know I will never use, and so far, I haven't been able to create enough of a temporary space to move things around.
I have finally cleared enough space to pass thru between some of my vehicles, but not all.
It's a continuous battle for me.
I have recently rounded up all my tools from all over and organized them in my toolboxes, and everytime I start using them again, they are all over the place and take me a week or so to get up and put them away where they should be.:dunno:
It's a sickness.:doah:
Chief Brody said:
I need some ideas...I got so mad today that I was throwing stuff again because I couldn't find something I was looking for...I knew I had it, I just couldn't find it.

I cleaned out my garage before I started this restore and it was real clean...now I cannot find anything because stuff is piled up....all the sandpaper and solvents and stuff is all over, the doors and tailgate and all the parts and nuts and bolts are everywhere.

The engine is in the garage, the transmission is on the floor and the transfer case is on the floor...I can't move out there...I have to walk sideways to get anywhere....

How the heck do I begin to clean up this mess and get stuff to where I can find it?

Need ideas for containers and stuff to organize the bolts and parts...:confused:
Click to expand...
 
I am the coffee can king! :woot: :haha:

they rule for various hardware, I have a couple dozen 3 lb'ers for nuts, bolts, NPT stuff, switches, etc, etc.. than I keep another dozen or so around for mixing stuff, that I rotate out when they get too skanky...


it's one of my organizing methods.. another is go to wally world and buy the semi-large plastic storage bins, they are cheap... much easier to fill those with parts, then stack em... also bagging smaller parts groups, ala certain bolts, than putting them in the coffee cans or containers..

SHARPIE EVERYTHING!!!!! BAGS, CONTAINERS, ETC...

utilize wall space by hanging things up or building shelves..... every sq ft of the walls in the Dungeon have something hanging there, plus numerous built shelves.... it's worth the $40, 50 ya spend in lumber..

you need to dedicate some time to it... at least a couple days worth of time... a weeks worth of evenings after work can do wonders..

I know "you wanna get done, wanna get done, wanna get done", but working in an organized shop will speed progress in the long run...
 
first thing first.


Take EVERYTHING out, this is the only way I truly get my garage clean.

After that have some cash saved up to go get totes, plastic bins, cheap tool boxes etc. Watch craigslist for this stuff.

Then find a place for everything.

Trust me it aint easy. I plan on doing it this spring major remodel/ clean of my garage
 
ryoken said:
utilize wall space by hanging things up or building shelves..... every sq ft of the walls in the Dungeon have something hanging there, plus numerous built shelves.... it's worth the $40, 50 ya spend in lumber..
Click to expand...


What's the best configuration for shelves? Simple 2x6's or 1x6 on the wall or a more elaborate shelving unit? I also don't have a bench for a vice and stuff...would be nice to have a bench below and the shelves above it.
Whats a good way to organize your sand papers and rolls...

Would like to see a good example of shelving in a garage...
 
well, Greg has some nice built in shelving... mines a complete hodge podge of stuff...

whatever you can get to work... i find a full wall shelve setup to be best.. 2 x 4 from floor to ceiling out a couple feet off the wall, than shelved accordingly off the wall... 2 x 4 from side to side attached to the wall at shelf height... than 3/4 ply for the shelves... and framed accordingly... one nice shelf config is to set a lower shelf height a bit higher than a milk crate.. i'm big on milk crates and it's nice to have a low shelf setup for a bunch...


sandpaper and body stuff... i keep in a set of kitchen cabinets hung on the one wall...
 
I sort of like this setup...but I don't know how well braced that is..

Garage Shelves.jpg
 
yeah, that's nice, but for heavy car parts, I like my suggestion of full legs all the way to the floor on the front...
 
you don't, the weight of the shelving unit is on it...
 
ryoken said:
you don't, the weight of the shelving unit is on it...
Click to expand...

OK...I can see that the wall side is easy...you just attach the "furring strips" or 2x4s to the wall studs...creating the place that holds the shelf boards.

What I am not getting is how the front 2x4's that are also the legs attach...
 
you frame out off those wall mounts, to the vertical ones in the front... short pieces the depth of the shelf...
 
well, for the front.. i like it to be a permanent structure built off the wall, not free standing.. with the way i described it, you really don't have or need vertical 2 x 4's at the wall end.. not that it doesn't hurt to add short rear vertical kickers between the shelves.. i find the 2 x 4 screwed to the wall method to be the best foundation, as opposed to freestanding, just a much more stable platform.....
 
Your problem isn't that you don't have enough space, it's you have too much chit laying around. Put your truck together and throw away or sell the crap you don't need. Problem solved.
 
More space and organization = more chit. Its a self propagating problem, just like lawyers.....
 
Also if you have exposed ceiling beams you can do a floating shelf with chains from the rafters. This will give you a strong overhead shelf everywhere you need the floor space.
 
ryoken said:
I am the coffee can king! :woot: :haha:

they rule for various hardware, I have a couple dozen 3 lb'ers for nuts, bolts, NPT stuff, switches, etc, etc.. than I keep another dozen or so around for mixing stuff, that I rotate out when they get too skanky...


it's one of my organizing methods.. another is go to wally world and buy the semi-large plastic storage bins, they are cheap... much easier to fill those with parts, then stack em... also bagging smaller parts groups, ala certain bolts, than putting them in the coffee cans or containers..

SHARPIE EVERYTHING!!!!! BAGS, CONTAINERS, ETC...

utilize wall space by hanging things up or building shelves..... every sq ft of the walls in the Dungeon have something hanging there, plus numerous built shelves.... it's worth the $40, 50 ya spend in lumber..

you need to dedicate some time to it... at least a couple days worth of time... a weeks worth of evenings after work can do wonders..

I know "you wanna get done, wanna get done, wanna get done", but working in an organized shop will speed progress in the long run...
Click to expand...

:sign17: When I hit the point you describe I took the time to do it as ryoken describes, except I didn't buy any totes. Like blazinzuk said as well, get everything out FIRST, you will need to basically make a bigger mess to get this done right.

My garage is about to get organized yet again, since the Camaro project has spread pretty badly. When I originally moved the Camaro in I spent about 4 days (weekends) pulling everything out, then organizing. I also took the time to get rid of things that I didn't need/want anymore. I had to push the blazer tub around, and I had left it on car dollies making this possible, but I couldn't move it outside because of the lip at the front of the garage. I worked around it as best I could until I could get it slid into a location at the very back of the garage. It would have been much easier and faster if I could have moved it out. This left me a ton of room to have the Camaro in there, and room to get around the car. With everything out, I was easily able to organize the shelves that were already there, and get pretty much everything for the Blazer project grouped.

I have one small metal shelf I had given to me, but they are available on CL or other places cheap, that I keep spare parts on that can work on the Blazer, Camaro, or in some cases the Safari. I have a big Rubbermaid cabinet that was given to me that I keep my sandpapers, spray paints, fluids, and pretty much anything else that is clean and reusable. I have 2 other metal shelves that were given to me, but I have yet to get them put into place so I can start using them. That is the plan for this weekend, more organization, more stuff permanently moved out and, most importantly, more room to work. The biggest step is getting started, and committing to seeing it through to the end. It will pay big dividends in helping your project come to completion, and keeping your sanity.:D

And get a ton of quart and gallon zip lock baggies to put nuts, bolts and small parts into. Use the sharpie to identify them. I have baggies marked for the fender, hood, headlight header, bumper bolts, and so on for everything I have taken off the Camaro. When it comes time to put things back together, I just have to grab the bag and everything is right there where and when I need it.
 
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