I’ve actually gotten as far as getting all the landscaping supplies in one bin (I think – there may be more out there that I haven’t found yet, because I can’t possibly have gone through 3 bags of polyfiber [:)]), and the scratchbuilding supplies in another. But it ends there. If I need a piece of 1/8" strip wood, I have to dig, and dig, and dig in that bin!
I guess it isn’t so bad being a little obsessive-compulsive after all! I tend to clean and straighten and re-organize all the time, to the point where the people who study this on an institutional level would say it’s “work avoidance”; i.e., I’m fooling around with all this other stuff instead of tackling the real layout chores.
As someone else has mentioned, though, I have a pretty reliable method for jump-starting a good cleanup when my internal system fails: I invite my 3- and 5-year-old great-nephews over for a train visit. You’d be amazed at how many deadly chemicals, sharp edges, blunt instruments, and fragile subassemblies you can put in their proper places (more or less) when the boys are on their way.
I’ll pay you to come be OC on my boxes!
The boy method doesn’t help me: the other half of the basement (where their layout is), is an absolute pig-sty of Legos, art supplies, die cast cars, action figures, and so on. I only dare venture over there to add salt to the water softener or visit the breaker box.
Two years ago I experienced a house fire that not only destroyed the home but consumed everything that I owned…including my layout, tools and well…everything! Talk about instant “clean-up” of messy areas! Good news is that the rebuilt house is gorgeous, to my design and includes a dedicated train room, shop area and a fast growing accumulation of new tools & etc. Guess what?..The new On30 layout under construction, shop area and workspaces are all as cluttered as usual! But know what? I don’t care!! Disaster causes one to look at many, many things quite differently. Quite literally, I’m lucky to be alive and able to generate clutter!!! [:)]
I do feel your pain. My wife is a pack rat and our house is like that. I lost count of the truck loads I took to Goodwill and the dump during our remodel last winter. The only thing in our house that is organized is my tool box, workbench and one wall (mine) of the garage. The train room also is organized, not neat, but organized. I am a mechanic and learned years ago, to keep the tools organized. I don’t like spending time looking for a wrench. I actually put a small roll away tool cart in the train room. I built a small portable shelf that can sit on top of it to act as a table. I won’t say its neat, but I know what drawer the screwdrivers are in. The key is to always put the tools back when done. Consider it part of the project.
This falls under the “working on anything subrule of Murphy’s Law”. I used to drag race, and whenever I worked on the car, if I dropped ANY tool, it rolled to the middle of the car, or got lodged between the engine and some unreachable area of the suspension. GOOD magnetic pickup tools rock!!! Now, I just slip a piece of panty hose over the end of the shop vac hose. VOILA!
Please forgive me. In this photo I have left some wire on the floor and two of the clamps on the left are not straight up and down. It won’t happen again.[(-D]
Brent
If it’s any consolation, we’re freezing Down Under. It has been the wettest, coldest winter in Australia for a long time (or am I getting old?). Here in Adelaide it is 57 deg F which for ‘sunny’ Australia is cold. Even our snow ski season has been extended, (yes we have ski fields in Australia). The drought in eastern Australia is well and truly broken.
In Canberra (our nation’s capital), it gets 30 deg F frequently. Which is strange considering the amount of hot air coming out of the Parliament.
I’m currently renovating my tin shed so I can do model railroading all year round. I’m insulating the place as it gets to 110 deg F in summer but I’m also installing a pot-bellied stove for winter.
The weather is crazy all round the planet. I’ve never, ever had a white Christmas, this could be a first this year.