Tool Round-up: Garage Edition

Moving and never totally unpacking really puts a dent in the cleanliness factor. So today, we went full UFYH on the garage. Having a garage and a barn, we have tools and projects scattered between them. Today's goal was to get those all in one place. Garden projects? In a garden bin. House maintenance/materials? In a house bin.  Car materials? Fencing swag? You get the picture. The main MAIN goal however is to be able FIND the materials we need to finish up projects whilst dad is away YET STILL be true to dad's organization system enough that when he gets home, HE can find and rearrange as necessary. 

oh. em. gee. Do we have our work cut out for us! 

In true Washington fashion, it was raining most of today! So I threw up our little cabana over my truck bed to help the transition from garage to barn be less moist. Cardboard and rain just don't mix, you know? 

Woo! Part one complete! Our initial focus was "do we need immediate access to this? or can it live in the barn?" and keeping this in mind, we were able to free up space. We compounded computer boxes from 3.5 to 2, took Boy-Child boxes to his room for HIM to deal with, and got rid of the trash. We keep a box of cracked corn for the chickens in the garage as their treat (mostly called "crack" because, well... it is) but there have been some spills which encouraged rodents to roost and defecate. Mum has also been collecting the empty feed bags, they're canvas and so would make great grocery bags. Well, they still had bits and pieces of food left in them- also encouraging rodents. Unhealthy droppings EVERYWHERE: on the floor, on top of boxes, and, in the case of some un-taped boxes, INSIDE. At the stage this photo was taken, Mum was pretty happy with what was left. The pegboard will continue to be scant and disorganized until ALL the tools are rounded up, cleaned, and redistributed accordingly. It is a great idea, just needs tools!

At this point, the back wall looks pretty good but there are two tool stations that still could use some UfYH-ing. Mum focused on the smaller station (right photo) first while I got rid of trash, broke down boxes, and prepped stuff to be hauled to the barn. Dad's tool rack and shelves is pretty sacred ground, but he hasn't had a chance to properly move-in or arrange things to his liking. We tried to keep true to what he DID organize.

 Topmost shelf is exterior lights (a few motion sensor ones and the solar lights for the yard), next shelf down is adhesives and sprays. Everything from WD-40, to super glue, to Rustoleum. It's all in one place. Next shelf down is actually pretty empty- we found a bunch of stray fishing paraphanelia as we were cleaning (both the inside cupboard and the garage) and were able to relocate them to a tacklebox. The three shelves to the right have car supplies (Dad recently did the brakes on two of the vehicles), Door making materials, B&D sander, sandpaper, mum's awesome Dremel, etc. All within easy reach and within sight.

We did a little rehab on dad's poor tool-tower, pulling all the paper to one drawer and electronic/electrical materials to another. Top drawer is for misc nuts, bolts, screws, blades that can be gone through another time. We pulled all of the actual tools, though, and put them in little green army bags for easy moving.

The right hand photo is actually immediately to a person's left as they exit the house from the laundry room. Mum wanted to keep the car supplies (windshield washer fluid, oil refills, and cleaning materials) to their own shelf. Dad's boots have been cleaned and tucked out of the way for his return.

Speaking of tool round up - man that wrench in the center is Clue worthy in heft! 

All these puppies and the bits and pieces of tool boxes have been culled from the house and now the garage, and are ready to move to their second to final stage: the barn. Once there, that will be ALL the tools possible and they can be cleaned, organized, and delegated throughout the property. We'll KNOW what sets are complete, what needs filling, and what just ought to be replaced. 

The next, NEXT project is the barn. Which is now mostly classroom, haha. But will be barn again once mum moves into her new classroom right and proper. Before that, we have a PUPPY COMING as well as guests so the organization and puppy-proofing of the house is a priority. 

So have a picture of our chickens to tide you over :D

Puppy Possibilities!

So - quick news update. We ARE getting a puppy after all!

Isn't he a cutie pie? Well, we're spending the next few days re-puppy proofing the house- having all but given up on puppies until next spring. We put carpets back down and took out gates and stored the toys away... 

First things first- where to put the food? While mum was researching local puppy training programs and terminology, I cleaned out the front closet. We had all the winter coats and boots, not to mention two incredibly messy boxes full of tools and miscellany. I pulled the coats and for now they're in the upstairs closet, but will eventually (once the garage is conquered) go in a winter box in the garage. Having pared down to just the rain coats and guest sweaters, vacuum and mop to one side- we were able to store all of the puppy necessities on the other.

Mum found these great gasket lidded, ant proof food bins- the upright one holding up to 50lbs. The best part is they require thumbs to open, so while the dog food will be in a room near the puppy, the puppy will not be able to access the goodies. Same goes for the smaller pig ear/chew food box. Thinning out the gloves and heavy socks and the tons and tons of extra plastic bags freed up a basket and a few canvas bags for toys, leash, collar, and wee-pads.

Easy to access- for us! but still well out of reach of critters.

But what to do with all the tool miscellany that puppy products replaced?

I don't have any before photos for you, so you'll have to just believe me, but there were two boxes full of tools and odds and ends and three partially completed tool boxes. Having tools spread between the house, the garage, and the barn has been crazy and frustrating - so going through this closet is only the first step on a property wide tool round up. Some of them have been left out in the elements (victims of fence building in the rain) and require some cleaning, sanitizing and others have just wandered so far from their original locations that their purpose is also obscured. 

I pulled everything out of the boxes, one piece at a time, and separated them by type and use. Are they for inside the house projects? Like toilet/shower repair? Like light switch plate replacement covers? Or are they for long term projects, or seasonal ones, where they could be better served living in the garage or barn? 

Here you can see some of the oddities (8 alan wrenches- some pictured here, end of a plunger, squeegie, and ... necklace clasps?) I separated as I went through the boxes. I decided to bag each thing individually by type (nuts, bolts, washers, screws, hanging materials, etc) and label them with a sharpie. Organizing, I was able eliminate one box entirely. All of those things are better suited elsewhere (soldering kit, useful but probably shouldn't live in the kitchen). The top drawer has quick access things like the aforementioned nuts and bolts and screws and nails, as well as masks (safety first!) and tape, white grease, mysterious yellow plastic triangles (they remind me of the cones used in pottery but you know, plastic. I'll have to inquire after the sailor for explanation), and gloves. The idea is to keep all the little bits from getting everywhere so we here at home can fix things while the sailor is sailing and yet, when the sailor comes to shore he can get (and rearrange) at will. 

Voce was overseeing the efficiency of this project.

The inside doesn't look terribly organized, but everything is bagged and labeled so a quick rummage will allow anyone to find a project (curtain rods for the sewing room par exemple) with ease. Things in here are quick fixes (under-carpet fabric to keep carpets from slipping/curling etc) or project materials, things we will need access to but not necessarily all the time. 

I think there's enough room for this guy to live in the front closet, but an alternative is finding somewhere in the laundry/mudroom or just outside that door in the garage. The idea is immediate access and knowing where things are- mise en place. 

Next stop tools! We consolidated the three mostly full toolboxes into one, leaving that one, a box cutter, and measuring tape within immediate reach above the rain jackets and vacuum. But the other two are joining the migration to the barn- where they'll be gone through and organized properly. 

This is a quick update- but don't worry, there will be puppy pictures and puppy prep discussions this weekend.

Spring Cleaning

Guest Author Girl-Child here, providing a weekend update! 

As mom is in the final stretches of her National Board, I've offered to update the blog when I do projects. 

      The weather has been doing some soul searching and has yet to make up its mind. Hail, sun, rain, partly sun, gorgeous day, ice rain, mist, sunshine- sheesh! Luckily, this past sunday was a gorgeous and sunny day. Having got ahead of my school work for once (narratology leaves my brain leaking out of my ears more days than not) I opted to get outside and conquer the... dun dun dun POTTERY SHED. 

        So the Pottery Shed has pretty much been sitting since we moved in. As things were unpacked, they went into the shed and as mom revved up for last summer, more things got added. It has shelves running three of the walls, has a nice big farm sink, and a overhead rod for hanging plants. I don't think mom ever had a spare moment to actually arrange and set up the shed to her liking after moving in so upon opening the door, I discovered a menagerie of spiders, dead plants, and higgledy piggledy pottery.

First order of business- I pulled everything out and organized it on the lawn by type/use. The chickens ran around investigating everything, nipping at cobwebs and taste-testing ceramic. When I was through, I mixed a 5 gal bucket with distilled white vinegar and hot water and brush/washed all the shelves. We had a slight flooding problem- I turned on the water to the farmer's sink (there's a hose spigot on the outside wall) and the whole pipe started leaking. This is of course the moment our up-hill neighbor chooses to introduce himself. It was great to finally meet him- but by the time I was able to turn off the water, the floor was pretty flooded and we had a nice bog around the outside. Half hour of sunshine later- it was clean and dry! 

 I adjourned at this point to consult with with Boss about the Proper Placement of Pottery Accoutrements.
 Mom has quite a collection of pots, both ceramic and plastic, as well as some more decorative, painterly ones. The end result was a workable space where everything is Mise en Place. To the left, under the hanging planters, are empty shelves for working. All the bigger pots are in the far right corner, plastic pots in the back and ceramic monsters up front. There was this empty three-drawer plastic tower hiding in the corner that I repurposed to hold gloves, knee pads, misc plant paper (receipts, labels, etc), and seed packets.

       

 All that's left is to hang the tools! Mom and I couldn't decide if we just wanted to hammer straight into the wall (there's a few already in there) or add some sort of cork/plastic backing like what dad has in the garage. But that's for another weekend entirely!

See you next weekend!