how clean is *your* shed?

[Burdekin]

As I said earlier if someone likes to be ultra tidy I have no issues with that, it is their way of working and it suits them and keeps them happy doing their work but it always seems to be these "tidy" people that are opinionated and tell everyone else how they should do things, maybe it makes them feel superior.

If I go to work on a boat I clean up after me, if I work in the boatyards workshop I put things back where I got them, when I am in MY workshop I do as suits me because guess what, it is my workshop and it works better for me when I do that

It was you that was preaching first, I just added my opinion having been around this all for a good while and this is how I was taught from being a fitter turner apprentice. If you didn't clean the machines or sweep the floor you got an earful from the next person. Clean and tidy should just be part and parcel of being a decent tradesperson.

 

[mrsbruce]

I’m taking over the hubby’s hut, and just had the plyboard, insulation, and spare metal hut (for repairs to his metal hut) delivered yesterday, so all set for transformation.

Point is, if you really wanted to see disorganisation, you missed it, because I never took a picture of the real ‘before’ of his hut. No machinery could be used, until everything was moved off it. You could forget getting a tool out of a drawer, because it might have been in there last week, but that was last week.

Bless his little cotton socks, but organisation was not his strong point.

The hut floor was always hoovered clean every day though......

 

[Hood]

It was you that was preaching first, I just added my opinion having been around this all for a good while and this is how I was taught from being a fitter turner apprentice. If you didn't clean the machines or sweep the floor you got an earful from the next person. Clean and tidy should just be part and parcel of being a decent tradesperson.

Sorry but please quote where I preached that others should be like me.

 

[Maker]

The problem is when you only have one space be it a garage or a shed, or a small workshop, you still have to put garage and shed things in there.

In the workshop, there’s bloody strimmers, chainsaw, brooms, shovels, sometimes the mower, all squeezed in.
Then I’ve got the buckets to wash the car, cleaning products, etc etc.

You guys must have the same problems?

If anything our garage is cleaner, but that’s because I moved everything out to convert it into a dwelling but that got put on a back burner.

My garage is just a workshop, there's a roofbox and bars tucked away in the rafters but everything else is mine.

The shed is a different story though; all our bikes, an air compressor, three pressure washers (Two don't work, don't ask ), all the decorating stuff, gardening stuff, camping stuff, probably more stuff I can't remember because it's shoved right at the back.

 

[MattF]

It's like living in a grovel v living in a clean and tidy house. The only difference is a bit of pride brother.. :-)

Regarding the house anology, cleanliness & clutter are two very different points. Cleanliness doesn't require tidyness. I personally prefer a bit of clutter. It makes me feel more comfortable than a well ordered, sterile looking environment. Cleanliness though, I do class as necessity. Now with a workshop, it's not feasible to keep everything dust free, for example, hence the revolving cleaning I do in stages. Cleaning up after oneself is important though, IMO, as that makes using things each time round far easier.

End of the day, it all boils down to personal preference, nothing more. I personally couldn't give a monkeys how someone else treats their own space or kit. I do however make sure my kit is treat correctly if someone else uses it.

 

[Burdekin]

@Hood "I find it hilarious at the pious nature of some tidy people, I don't take a fit when I see someone who keeps a tidy workshop and don't preach to them that they shouldn't. It is the way they work and feel comfortable with so good on them. I am the opposite, I thrive in clutter especially when it is of my own making. I am the only person that works here so no one needs to come behind me and tidy up. "

Soap box enough?

 

[Hood]

I fail to see where in that quote that I am preaching that others should not be tidy and should do as I do.
Maybe you missed the "don't" and "shouldn't" in there?

 

[HughF]

Mine usually looks like this , but without the smoke...

 

[Carl Wilson]

I don't want to see this descend into acrimony. If you want it tidy, fine, if not, fine. Your choice.

I understand that people work in their own ways. My remarks were mainly intended to be in the context of team operations, where one person let's down everyone else.

I also get that there is a big difference between a working mobile shop and a static hobby one. That said, my friend Shaun's mobile work workshop is tidier than his hobby one.

I'm just doing things the way I was trained in the RAF. They used pain assisted learning so it is something I'll never forget.

 

[Richard.]

It’s getting silly. What’s the point in arguing about individuality.
Different people work better in different environments
Nothing wrong with that. I can’t work well with my stuff scattered about it drives me up the wall in the same respect some people can’t work with every thing homed and tidy as they go. Organised chaos they call it. I get that absolutely. I say it all the time.. the world would be a god awful place if we were all the same.

 

[balmerchris]

Mine usually looks like this , but without the smoke...

View attachment 153352

What is the machine beside the wood burner hugh?

 

[Carl Wilson]

Yes the talking about the relative merits of cluttered vs tidy in an individual setting is a sterile debate.

 

[Hood]

Yes the talking about the relative merits of cluttered vs tidy in an individual setting is a sterile debate.

But it was you that said

Untidy, messy working areas are not a sign of industriousness. When I see something like that, my immediate thought is that these guys don't know what they are doing. They don't have pride in their work. They can't have, if they can't get the basics right.

That was where I had a wee chuckle to myself and thought, well I better not say what I thought

.......I say it all the time.. the world would be a god awful place if we were all the same.

It is amazing though that through time and as people get older they get better taste in equipment

And before anyone starts to get uppity with me about that comment to @Richard. it is an in joke

 

[maz0]

Just moved into this new place last month and my shed became the dumping ground for us and my father in law as his 20 year lease on his garage/compound came to an end. I cant stand the clutter and I've got a lathe, mill, 50ton press and a 4 poster ramp coming soon.

And after investing in some racking:

It still needs organising and sorting (this weekends job) but its much bigger than my last shed !!

 

[Carl Wilson]

HughF you have a Harrison Mill like mine.

Well probably not like mine. Yours probably works.

 

[Burdekin]

This is a forum, this is the whole ethos of the place is to discuss and debate stuff. I'm with Carl, untidy workshops aren't somewhere that is a space I want to be. Untidy and messy tradesmen aren't how I was brought up or taught so if folk want to advocate that messy and untidy is a good attribute in a treadesperson then fine but you wouldn't last in any of the places I worked and I wouldn't want to work with someone's who's workplace is a tip.

 

[Richard.]

And before anyone starts to get uppity with me about that comment to @Richard. it is an in joke

They won’t know what you mean mate regarding that. Anyway my “taste” hasn’t changed. It’s very good and quality but it will always be ugly mate

 

[gt6s]

@Hood "I find it hilarious at the pious nature of some tidy people, I don't take a fit when I see someone who keeps a tidy workshop and don't preach to them that they shouldn't. It is the way they work and feel comfortable with so good on them. I am the opposite, I thrive in clutter especially when it is of my own making. I am the only person that works here so no one needs to come behind me and tidy up. "

Soap box enough?

My workshop and sheds are a tip too. However there is reason for this I rarely throw anything out. In this chaos I do know where to find ALMOST anything and it is surprising how often junky items or pieces of come in handy. It works for me how others work is not my concern. BTW this is the way I was raised, my father worked exactly the same way.
Laurence

 

[Hood]

This is a forum, this is the whole ethos of the place is to discuss and debate stuff. I'm with Carl, untidy workshops aren't somewhere that is a space I want to be. Untidy and messy tradesmen aren't how I was brought up or taught so if folk want to advocate that messy and untidy is a good attribute in a treadesperson then fine but you wouldn't last in any of the places I worked and I wouldn't want to work with someone's who's workplace is a tip.

If someone else is paying my wages and they pay for me to tidy I am quite capable of doing that and have no problem in doing so.
As I said earlier when I am out working on a boat or in someone else's workshop then everything is tidied and put back where I got it.
My own time, my own workshop then I do as I am happy and comfortable with and if you don't like it you can get in the flipping sea

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Mine atm, the welder/plasma trolley does wheel back to the bottles, and the worktable folds flat[ish] for storage but at least I can see bits of floor . Another small, wheeled trolley is planned to take the bench grinder cum polisher [also the bender hiding behind it, which I've only used a couple of times so far, but was a half-price bargain - who could resist that...... ] off the floor and be easy to move around when access to the cupboards is needed.

The tidy v. chaotic debate could ramble on ad nauseam [and in so doing, create divisions ] but I suspect many here, like me, work on their own in their shed/workplace so it's a case of whatever works for you imo.