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This is a topic that I would guess everyone has an opinion about and maybe even a strong opinion.

 

I have a reputation with my family and friends for wanting to keep my layout, layout room, and my workshop area clean.  I even get picked on for being too worried about it.  I admit it might seem a little over the top vacuuming while we are still working on a project, but nothing makes not want to use something more than dirt and clutter.

 

I can't quit for the day without cleaning up the saw dust, putting tools away, and generally making it a place that I want to come back to.

 

I was that way at work too, I had to have my desk clean at night before I went home even if I had to hide it a drawer. 

 

How do you guys feel about it?

 

Art

 

 

Last edited by Chugman
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I try to keep things neat and organized as well, I also get hassled about my 'place for everything and everything in it's place' house keeping, OCD I think my family calls it. Some times they even come down here and re-arrange all my neatly organized stuff.

 

Actually I think I am somewhere in between kind of messy and sort of neat. I can let something I am working on go for a few days until I'm finished or at least to a good stopping point, but I do put my tools away when done for the day. If I don't put them away, I can't find them the next day.

Last edited by rtr12

Chugman, I'm like you to a "T" & I would have to guess it's from working in a professional mechanic shop for 14 years. We kept the bays clean & neat not only for our own benefit, but customer relations reasons. Now at home, I like it neat so I know where everything is, just like at the shop, & the customer relations translated into visitors to the layout. I want them to be impressed & not be distracted by a big mess. Your work reflects back on you & I want it to be organized & neat because I try to be professional about it & I don't like cobb jobbing things together. 

Yeah, I would like to have the organizational gene.  Best I can tell you is every time I try to get organized another project presents itself and the mess continues.  At least now i try to keep my drills in an index and my taps in a row.  I guess my collets are in order too, but not clean.

 

No - here is what I want - just 1/2 of the clean gene, and keep the part that has me making things.  I have no desire to be obsessive.

I try to keep a clean and organized workshop but clutter has a way of accumulating. I do sweep and vacuum the floor and other surfaces frequently. Keeping the layout clean is a real problem because of the desert dust here in Arizona. I have an air filter but the dust still accumulates. I do vacuum to top of the layout from time to time. Two things that help with the dust are a paintbrush and a silicone treated dust cloth. Workbench surfaces get cleaned periodically with spray cleaner and paper towels. I also wet mop the bare concrete shop floor every couple of months. The water comes out black. I wish i'd laid down vinyl flooring or an epoxy coating when I moved in. It would be easier to keep clean. 

I like everything clean and organized.  However, for me it depends on a few variable factors.

 

1) First it depends on what level of construction I am currently in (right now, constant).  If I'm doing a lot of cutting of lumber that will take a few days I'll wait until I complete an area before I clean it up.  I like to get from point 'A' (the start) to point 'B' (completion) as fast as I can, so unless dirt and debris are in my way I wait until I'm done to clean it up. 

 

2) Clutter is directly proportionate to the storage space I have vs. the growing train inventory.  Right now during my redesign I'm relocating items that I won't be using until much later (scenery, buildings, etc.) to a spare bedroom as I lose storage space under the layout where I am making changes, then move the displaced trains into the vacated storage areas.

 

3) My wife is a self proclaimed 'pack rat'.  Not anything near a 'hoarder' but she has some personal possessions stored under the layout.  I don't mind as it's a small price to pay for having the whole basement…errr, Train Room 'to myself'.  I don't want to damage anything during deconstruction.  Negotiations are pending.

 

Now, once heavy construction is completed (yes it WILL happen) then touch up painting, room decor and thorough cleaning will make it a comfy and fun place to run trains and entertain.  Then I can keep the area and layout clean as I go from there.

 

But remember what they say, a clean desk is a sign of a sick mind!!    

I am going out to clean my shop and the storage area in the attic above. One of my major problems is that I don't have enough room. I used to keep my totse of loads in the attic of the shop, but that is a real pain to drag them up and down. I still have two sons at home, and one is an avid hunter and fisherman who uses the shop for dressing fish and game, and the youngest has his quad stored inside.

I do put tools away after finishing for the day, but that's where neatness ends. Here are some photos as proof.

Don

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Fred,

My workshop looked like that once! I did clean and organize the attic storage area; two thirds of it that is. My oldest, the hunter gatherer, uses the other third for his gear, and after seeing my side, he CLAIMS he's going to organize his section. I gave him a head start by rearranging his canning supplies which were partially on my end. I have all my extra track sorted, and all my packaging materials and extra trains sorted and stacked too. Next project is the shop, but that's going to wait until after next Sunday's train show.

Don

I have to be honest that I am a reformed slob.  First, my wife is a very neat and clean person.  Dirt, junk, and clutter drive her crazy.  And she has always had a way of making me unhappy when she is unhappy.  I quickly learned that it was not worth it to leave messes and start WW111 over them.

 

Then I had a boss that I worked for in the early 70's that I credit for making a man out of me in many ways.  He was an extremely hard worker and demanded that out of his people.  If I went home with anything left on my desk, I had to hope that he didn't see it before I could correct it.  He would ride in our company cars as a means of inspecting them for cleanliness.  One day we went out in the parking lot and looked in the windows of all the company cars.  We found some trash in one, empty Coke cans, food wrappers, that sort of thing, and he instructed me to give this person a warning that if he wanted a company car it had to be kept clean and not used as a garbage can.  Then he chewed me out royally for either not knowing about it or just not doing anything about, neither of which was acceptable to him.

 

Was a hard man to work for, but I respected him and loved him for making a better person out of me.

 

And that is how I got over being a slob and have loved it ever since.

 

Art

Last edited by Chugman

Art, As a college student, one of my summer jobs was as a TV cable installer/technician.  I had a mentor that was very good at teaching me the trade.  Hard and rough as you described, perfection was so important.  It was done his way or the highway.  I'll never forget George and all that he showed me.   I just hope that some of those who I touched in the last 40 years pass the trade on.    Mike CT

My father used to say,let me see your car,I will tell you what kind of person you are.My shop and train room is kept immaculate.I clean and organize as I work.I believe the end product is better because of it.Would you get on an airplane if you knew its mechanic's shop area looked like a disaster area?NickOriginally Posted by Chugman:

I have to be honest that I am a reformed slob.  First, my wife is a very neat and clean person.  Dirt, junk, and clutter drive her crazy.  And she has always had a way of making me unhappy when she is unhappy.  I quickly learned that it was not worth it to leave messes and start WW111 over them.

 

Then I had a boss that I worked for in the early 70's that I credit for making a man out of me in many ways.  He was an extremely hard worker and demanded that out of his people.  If I went home with anything left on my desk, I had to hope that he didn't see it before I could correct it.  He would ride in our company cars as a means of inspecting them for cleanliness.  One day we went out in the parking lot and looked in the windows of all the company cars.  We found some trash in one, empty Coke cans, food wrappers, that sort of thing, and he instructed me to give this person a warning that if he wanted a company car it had to be kept clean and not used as a garbage can.  Then he chewed me out royally for either not knowing about it or just not doing anything about, neither of which was acceptable to him.

 

Was a hard man to work for, but I respected him and loved him for making a better person out of me.

 

And that is how I got over being a slob and have loved it ever since.

 

Art

 

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