How do you store your "stuff"...

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Cuda416

Cuda416

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Ok, some background... I'm about as ADD as you can get as an adult and still function :). Well not THAT bad but I tend to forget where I put my 3/8" socket as much as my collection of 10mm.

I have committed myself to straightening up my shop so it's actually usable and not a cluttered mess. It's 36x48, has a 10' wide loft at the back and a small 10-14 "room" that's supposed to be an office. hindsight tells me I should have made that as an extension of a corner rather than taking up valuable floor space but it is what it is.

I've decided to get some small parts "cases" from the box store like these

https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-...ment-Plastic-Small-Parts-Organizer/1000783926

for carb kits/gaskets/parts etc. Don't laugh, it's a start.

I'll probably do the same for other similar things like trim clips, brake fittings/parts as well.

I've got two large 'box store' versions of heavy duty shelving (resembles pallet racking but not as big) that I've replaced the wire grate shelves with 1/2" ply that sit side by side along one wall. I have "cased" tools on that as well as materials, abrasives, aerosols and some car parts. I also have a slightly smaller shelving unit which is littered with 'stuff'

I haven't seen the top of my newly made welding table for 5 months, which is when I built it.

There is a 2 post lift, three tool boxes, and two project cars, two Gen3 hemi's (6.1 and 6.4), 4 transmissions, air compressor etc.....

As you can imagine, it's a fricking mess and there's no reason for it.

Some of you have you **** together such that your shops look like they are used professionally, which may actually be the case.

I'm asking for some help, serious help. Might sound like a joke, but it's not. my wife and I live in different worlds, opposite ends of the spectrum if you will. She's extremely organized and I'm not by any stretch of the imagination. If I'm going to be successful at doing anything serious, like restoring my 70 Cuda' vert, I need to get my **** together.

So, as the title says, how do you "store your stuff"? How do you organize things so they make sense?

Again, not a joke and yeah I realize how ridiculous this seems. A grown *** adult, asking for advice on "cleaning his room"...
 
Mine is pretty much a disaster too lol. I bought similar containers for small stuff, but the dollar store version lol.
I have a few different sizes, they are handy. Mech, elec, trim clips etc. When I take the 67 out, I usually throw the elec bin in the trunk, just in case.
 
4spdragtop said:
Mine is pretty much a disaster too lol. I bought similar containers for small stuff, but the dollar store version lol.
I have a few different sizes, they are handy. Mech, elec, trim clips etc. When I take the 67 out, I usually throw the elec bin in the trunk, just in case.
Click to expand...

Dollar store is fine by me! The link I posted was the first thing that popped up.

If you've seen any of my posts, you know I'm a self proclaimed "cheap ***" lol.

I'd much rather make something than pay for it if I have the materials to do so.

Wheel storage will be made using some extra steel I have to make wall racks for them.
 
My shop is the basement of our house. It holds 3 cars and all of my automotive stuff. I have been selling off what I'll never use, organizing and building storage for what I want to keep for the last five years. Most parts go in totes. Cardboard boxes are gross after a while. I built shelves, 4 x 4 posts, 2 x 4 shelf support and 3/4 plywood for shelving, for my 9 blocks, a couple dozen heads, and about 12 intake manifolds all wrapped in 3 mil trash bags. AFB parts in a tote, AVS parts in a tote, TQ parts in a tote, QJet parts in a tote, Cranks hang from another home made shelf and from brackets on the side of a bench. Carb cores in small totes, complete 330 Desoto Hemi on a home made dolly, 340 on an engine stand, 341 Desoto Hemi on another engine stand. 383 on a Mancini HD engine dolly. Auto transmissions on the floor wrapped in 3 mil trash bags. 8 3/4 pumpkins it 15 gallon metal trash cans. Brake stuff, suspension parts, and engine parts in totes along the wall. Exhaust manifolds in pairs in totes. Small parts are in freezer baggies, grouped by engine or function in the totes. Tools on pegboard or 2 roll around tool boxes. Dashes, Neon rack and pinion, Bikes, front and rear sway bars hang from the rafters
 
I have a combination of cardboard boxes and plastic bins. Put labels on the boxes. I also use pegboards. I like the baker rack type of shelving since they don’t collect as much dust. Get your wife to help. First step in organizing is to purge. Get rid of crap!
 
Make sure that you label your storage containers for what is in them. I try to group similar items together on my storage racks.
I would post a picture but my organization has been overrun with my wife’s real estate paraphernalia. She is the disorganized one and fills my empty spaces as soon as I organize her clutter. It’s a battle.
@pishta had a well organized garage.
 
Mine is a much smaller scale. My wife during the quarantine helped me organize my hardware boy is it nice not having to look thru coffee cans.

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Those plastic storage bins are great for storing parts. I like them because you can see through them and have an idea of whats in them at a glance. I bet you I have several hundred of those bins. I keep them on those metal wire shelves they sell at BJ wholesale (like cosco) for about $100.
For most of my engine parts I have them stored on some shelving I bought from a hobby store that went out of business. Wish I had the money to buy all of them but did not back then. Those retail shelving are super heavy duty...very expensive new. I will have to get some pictures to post.
 
TexasDart said:
Mine is a much smaller scale. My wife during the quarantine helped me organize my hardware boy is it nice not having to look thru coffee cans.
Click to expand...

Thanks @TexasDart , I think an important aspect is going to be labeling everything. I should probably add a label maker and some of those cardboard/wire tags to write stuff on to my shopping list.
 
Since my workshop is small. I just clamp my vise and grinder to my bench. The one extension to my bench is actually folds down. It was a door off my grandpas barn.
 
MoparMike1974 said:
Those plastic storage bins are great for storing parts. I like them because you can see through them and have an idea of whats in them at a glance. I bet you I have several hundred of those bins. I keep them on those metal wire shelves they sell at BJ wholesale (like cosco) for about $100.
For most of my engine parts I have them stored on some shelving I bought from a hobby store that went out of business. Wish I had the money to buy all of them but did not back then. Those retail shelving are super heavy duty...very expensive new. I will have to get some pictures to post.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I appreciate it. Seeing how people do this is going to help a lot.
 
TexasDart said:
Since my workshop is small. I just clamp my vise and grinder to my bench. The one extension to my bench is actually folds down. It was a door off my grandpas barn.
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention thayt. My big vice is clamped to the corner of my camoflaged weldind table using two welding clamps. Seems to work OK. I'm probably going to do something like mount it to a steel plate with locating pins that will fit into holes on the bench. Nice to re-claim some top space if you can
 
Clear "craft and bead" cheapies I bought yesterday. There were no none in the "man" section, so I waddled over to the "craft " section. I would have liked the grey ones with orange latches, but no stock. Some organizing to do.

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Use some of your clutter as man cave art. We actually like hanging out in the ‘cabin’. I also put one of those magnetic screens on the double door. It’s been great to keep bugs out. Makes it like a screened in room.
 
TexasDart said:
Use some of your clutter as man cave art. We actually like hanging out in the ‘cabin’. I also put one of those magnetic screens on the double door. It’s been great to keep bugs out. Makes it like a screened in room.
Click to expand...

Well I have a lot of that. License places we have had throughout the years, parts I'll never use, my favorite being the fan that was on my cuda when it was in the accident in 78. Looks like a fricking tulip lol.
 
First you need a much larger shop! That way you can spread stuff out and not bury it all. You see, I relate to your problem. I am the same way, even down to that work bench built!
I also use those organizers for small stuff only because someone gave them to me for Xmas! Otherwise, it ll would just be in cans and cans.
When I can't find something, I just say it is because of DRS Disease (don't remember ****) and being darn near 73. I will make it in 14 days unless I get Covid and kick the bucket.
Best setup that comes to my mind after years of this was a mechanics shop down in Lake Charles, La. It was at decades ago. I was in Mo and down visiting a Mopar bud in N La and we went down to see a 71 Hemi Cuda roller my bud was interested in. OK so in 1994 -5 maybe it was, $10,000 for such was not cheap! ha
The mechanics shop had a big loft with shelves about 3 ft wide and going from floor up to about 6 ft up. There was an isle between between them and probably 7 rows. You could walk along and see every part sitting there. Heavy stuff on bottoms, and everything grouped. Ie, 4 speeds, then bells, and then shifters, stacked basically. Then carbs, all arranged by type, size, etc. The guy had lots of parts.
 
I'm getting ready to organize mine as soon as it warms up. The FAA has tried to investigate it 3 times, cause it looks like a plane crash! :BangHead: I've acquired 20 or 30 Totes with tops, and gonna organize things in groups, with tags on the outside of the totes. I have some done already, and use blue tape to label the end of the tote, and also the top. I just need to come up with a better plan for engine storage. I have four 318's, five 340's, eight 383's, three 400's, and three 440's. The one 5.7 Hemi that doesn't even have enough miles on it to be broke in is gonna leave as soon as I can dig it out of its hidey hole and take pics! If I can shame my wife into selling the Jet Skis we never ride, and putting her "Workout" equipment in the space they occupy in our basement....I'll have more room in the garage!
 
barbee6043 said:
First you need a much larger shop! That way you can spread stuff out and not bury it all. You see, I relate to your problem. I am the same way, even down to that work bench built!
I also use those organizers for small stuff only because someone gave them to me for Xmas! Otherwise, it ll would just be in cans and cans.
When I can't find something, I just say it is because of DRS Disease (don't remember ****) and being darn near 73. I will make it in 14 days unless I get Covid and kick the bucket.
Best setup that comes to my mind after years of this was a mechanics shop down in Lake Charles, La. It was at decades ago. I was in Mo and down visiting a Mopar bud in N La and we went down to see a 71 Hemi Cuda roller my bud was interested in. OK so in 1994 -5 maybe it was, $10,000 for such was not cheap! ha
The mechanics shop had a big loft with shelves about 3 ft wide and going from floor up to about 6 ft up. There was an isle between between them and probably 7 rows. You could walk along and see every part sitting there. Heavy stuff on bottoms, and everything grouped. Ie, 4 speeds, then bells, and then shifters, stacked basically. Then carbs, all arranged by type, size, etc. The guy had lots of parts.
Click to expand...


Thanks @barbee6043. I need to make better use of the loft. Not sure it would take that kind of weight, but for smaller stuff it would be perfect.

As far as a bigger shop, no argument. Especially since it pisses off my neighbor to no end.
 
JDMopar said:
I'm getting ready to organize mine as soon as it warms up. The FAA has tried to investigate it 3 times, cause it looks like a plane crash! :BangHead: I've acquired 20 or 30 Totes with tops, and gonna organize things in groups, with tags on the outside of the totes. I have some done already, and use blue tape to label the end of the tote, and also the top. I just need to come up with a better plan for engine storage. I have four 318's, five 340's, eight 383's, three 400's, and three 440's. The one 5.7 Hemi that doesn't even have enough miles on it to be broke in is gonna leave as soon as I can dig it out of its hidey hole and take pics! If I can shame my wife into selling the Jet Skis we never ride, and putting her "Workout" equipment in the space they occupy in our basement....I'll have more room in the garage!
Click to expand...

You can "store" some 340's in my shop. I'll take one for the team...
 
You really need to look around and do some purging. My brother is pretty bad. His place would drive me crazy. He realized after watching some hoarding shows he had issues and he did get rid of a lot. But it’s still a mess. But right now he has a lot on his plate. I’d help him but he’s in MO and im in Bama.
 
We have 2 cudas(67 and 69). The 69 is a shell, and i have probably 80% if it in totes. Get decent stackable ones. Put labels on several sides of each bin. A label for one, then a list to go with that label. Bin labelled "IA", stands for "interior A". And i make a corresponding list for that bin. Helps to see what you have duplicates of and how much $$ I've bled into it.:BangHead:
Lots of good ideas here.

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