Clearing a path into the shop

[ErikMiller]

When I'm deep into working on things, I tend to focus very closely on just the task that's in front of me, to the detriment of things like putting tools and supplies back in their place.

And/or I bust my ass doing a big project, and at the end of it, I'm just too beat to pick up after myself. With electronics, as soon as the thing's functional, y'wanna plug it in and play with it, which doesn't leave room for putting away the implements.

My pattern has been to let the work area, over a matter of days, get to the point where it's very cluttered, then do a massive straightening.

Something I've been doing lately, and it's helping, is to observe The Law of 5. What this means is that each time I enter a work area, be it the wood shop or the electronics bench, I put away five items.

Any 5 items count, even individual wrenches or bits. The idea is to make it fun, which it does. One problem I have with cleaning up is that I don't see the job as accomplished unless the place is spotless, so why bother even starting.

The Law breaks it down into something I can do in seconds, and figuring that I enter the shop at least half a dozen times a day, if I obey the Law, each day I can put away 50 items.

Actually, I usually put away 10 items, because once I start, it's easy to keep going. Extra points.

Choose the number that best suits you. I heard it told as The Law of 10, and immediately cut that in half. :-)

BTW, if "Law" seems too stern, make it "The Game."

[Ansil]

hey thats a cool idea. i gotta clean house all night tonight

[Mike Burgundy]

good one. Might just allow me to break down that hill of stuff staring at me (ranging from Hammond boxes to sacks of resistors to a toaster oven, a sweater and a sleeping cat (usually inside the sweater) )

[Doug H]

Do individual resistors, caps, and transistors each count as one? :lol:

Doug

[petemoore]

I've gotten this way before and I know exactly what you're talking about...the leftovers mess from the two day bender with last weeks build clutter underneath that...
 Papers with pliers between them etc.
 I go for the BIG BOX and put everything I know I'll be wanting [tools etc] away and everything else goes into the [sort later" box.

[smoguzbenjamin]

My entire room is a "sort later" box :mrgreen: Sounds like a good idea though. After I got my EA tremolo working (2nd build) I should have taken a picture of the mess