Not long ago, we had a sewer line collapse under the slap in my garage and had to mostly empty it so repairs could be made. Since it was empty, the wife and I decided that it was time to make some upgrades to help my ADHD brain stay better organized. We thought about adding a few cabinets, but stumbled onto a great deal on take-out commercial cabinets Friday at a nearby Habitat for Humanity ReStore and wound up going big. After working all weekend installing cabinets, here's where I'm at...


This is the south wall of my garage. All of the base cabinets are installed and ready for a counter top when we find something reasonable. They did not have enough upper cabinets for this wall so we're hoping we can scrounge up additional ones soon to finish off the row.

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This is the west wall. Unlike the south wall, this is the extent of the cabinetry and all it just needs is a counter top.

As I mentioned earlier, my brain doesn't do organization very well. I would appreciate any thoughts on how to effectively use this new space. To give you an idea of what happens when I don't have some method to my madness, here's a couple of before shots...

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Thanks in advance...

 

Well Dave you are on a roll so far, you have already your POL (petroleum, oil and liquids) in one area. Just continue that, but do it safely. You know their such a thing as a POL locker. And as you reorganize, time to inspect the POL products for being dried up, could be trash can time.

If you are going to be in front of the work bench a lot, build a tall bench, get a flat top padded stool with foot rail or get some horse stall/horse trailer rubber mats from TSC.

And I know they are already in, but did you build them to a good working height for YOU, if it is low now and you do not want to take them back off to put in a bottom riser. When you get the counter top, that is you chance to make it higher for the taller person (like you) to be standing there working on stuff. That will also help the back.

A couple of HF LED shop lights $17.00 mounted under the upper cabinets helps alot also. Also where are you mounting your vice? A man needs a solid vice when we have to hammer on stuff. Same for a bench grinder....

Also if you are doing a lot of welding you want that set up that in a place away from flammables, and so you can ventilate it easy. A steel welding table on wheels is a place to put a vice and roll to the edge of the shop door when you need to weld AND it can be a mobile work table.

 

For the POL locker Rich mentioned, I use old refrigerators that do not work. Have a couple I put a light bulbs in to store my paint to keep it from freezing in the winter.

 

I'd like to keep POL on the shelf, but the wife has suggested using the cabinet next door store those items. Her thinking is that the since the shelf is a nice heavy duty unit, it might be better suited for heavier, odd-ball sized items that wouldn't fit well in a cabinet. She's got a good point and it would keep the POL from being knocked off the shelf by accident.

 

The old fridge is a great POL locker, but a space eater. Good thinking on the wife's part to put the light stuff on the light weight shelf and heavy stuff on the HD shelf. You will get it figured out, just try to put thing where you have muscle memory of where they are/were if you can.

I added some shelves and cleaned up my shop a while back and then I could not find a dang thing.

 

She usually has better ideas than I do about such things. As for muscle memory - I'm already fighting that. I spent way to much time opening the wrong drawer on my tool boxes over the weekend simply because I switched them left/right when I moved stuff around. Once everything is settled in, I'm planning on labelling doors and drawers in an attempt to remember where everything is.

 

I kid you not, take a thick end sharpie and either number the drawers or write on the drawer face or cabinet door, what is mainly in there. I have my pull draws #'ed and can send Penny in the shop to grab X or X in drawer 1 or 2 or 3.......

Get some white cardstock and tape it to the complete drawer face or cabinet door and write it on that until you make it a memory.

 

I'll probably need to make a map...

 

The row of cabinets where you got the end cabinets that are smaller than the center cabinets. Move the two outer shorter cabinets to center. That lowered section would be great if you ever get a compound saw it would make a good wood working bench.
if no wood working when you get a bench top you made yourself another cubby out of that low section as the bench top would go over the lower section and cover it

start looking for cabinet slide drawers. You can make your own pretty cheap too. That will further organize the million cans and bottles. Also make sure you level the cabinets before putting the tops on.