Tuesday, June 7, 2011

A Beautiful Chaos: Garage/Workshop/Studio

via martha stewart
This is not a photograph of my garage, however I'd be smiling like this guy if my garage were as orderly as the one pictured.

via DIY Life 
Almost two years ago my garage was very nicely organized around the functions of encaustic painting studio, garden tool storage, and furniture reconditioning workshop.  Then my dear friends who were moving out of state asked if I would take a few of their items they no longer wanted and didn't want to move with them.  In the chaos (we all experience) of their move, they delivered extra lumber, rubber floor mats, paint and stain, vintage windows, assorted hardware items such as knobs-screws-bolts and other nameless useful stuff.  And some other amazingly wonderful things, a miter (chop) saw, drill press, table saw, router, power buffer, work bench with peg board and old furniture (projects for me).












via garage-floor
Since that September in 2009, I've not had room to park my car in the garage and moving around and working in the space has been a challenge, as well.  I already had a big work bench and an inventory of old furniture stored in the garage for future reconditioning.
Add to this assortment of disorganized wonderfulness the left over construction materials from my backroom remodel---and I have a big pile of inertia.



via martha stewart
Notice that I am not posting photos of the current inside conditions of my own garage.   


via rol.vn
I prefer at this time, to focus on what the condition can be in my garage, studio, storage space.
via southern living
As a visual aid to this focus, I've collected several photos of well-organized spaces.













via HTV 
Also, of great interest to me are innovative ideas for storing specific materials.
via HTV
The picture above shows a good solution to storing  millwork and other slender wood pieces, of which I have many.  Instead of purchasing the metal brackets shown in the photo, I am using the storage tubes and lumber spanning across the truss joists.













via HTV
I like this little roll-away cart idea for stowing the table saw when not in use.
via brookstone
A designated area for garden supplies helps eliminate more than a few headaches.

It's always easy to find storage solutions on-line with nice systems, which can also be expensive and therefore, prohibitive.  I appreciate that some of the sources I found recommend using things you already have as storage containers.  I found the article below at diy weekender.  I like their summary to the article:  

Be creative with your garage organizing.  Reuse and recycle as much as possible and remember that anything with a space inside can hold and organize your 
stuff.

Article from diy weekender:

Above:  The inside of my newly constructed garage September 2007.  I was warned, "It won't look like that for long---clutter happens!"

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