Getting Organized to Save Resources

 I grew up with a dad that was pretty close to actual genius intellect coupled with an almost eidetic memory. Yet, he never knew where any of his tools, hardware, or other stuff was. Why is that? Partly, because he had the attention span of a gnat and since his brain was always thinking about the next project, trip, or event, his mind was rarely focused on what he was doing at the time. He left most projects 80% done, never to be finished. But the trait that this entry is about was his inability to know where his stuff was. He never put anything away. Typically, his tools would be left wherever they were last used or they were in a bucket or box that he used to carry them back to our shop in the barn

 I was the only boy in the family so I was often assigned projects by my dad, such as repairing a piece of farm equipment or building a cold frame for the garden. Or, quite frequently, I was asked by my mom to complete one of my dad's half-finished projects. Fine, I was good at this. The problem was I could never find the tools or hardware I needed. 

 Every winter, after the hunting and trapping seasons were over, I would go over to our shop, get a good fire going in the potbelly stove, turn the radio on, and get to work organizing the tools and hardware. And every winter I would find the "lost" tools stashed in a box or bucket out in the barn having never made it back to the shop. When I eventually got everything back in its place I would find that we now had two, three, or sometimes four of many tools, extra packets of screws, boxes of nails, packs of wire nuts, etc. etc. These were all new things he bought because he couldn't find what he already had.

 I won't lie, I have a genetic predisposition to be as lackadaisical as my dad but I am fully aware of this trait and so I continue my child and teen year's drive to frequently organize. My biggest hurdle is that I have acquired more "stuff" than I have room for. But I do get my storage and work spaces returned to a reasonable degree of orderliness.

 If you are a long time reader, you might remember that while in the Army I had access to dumpsters and worksites where way too much brand new hardware was simply thrown away to avoid re-shelving it back at their shops.  Consequently, I have loads of misc. nuts, bolts, nails, and other small hardware items. I had them in various large boxes, Tupperware, cans, bags, etc. But it was hard to know what I had when I needed something for a construction project or a repair. Last year I decided to fix that.

 I used some scrap 2x4s and one inch plywood pieces from an old entertainment system cabinet I took apart for the wood to build this shelf unit for my hardware parts trays. The top two shelves are for purchased boxes of screws and some catch-all bins for misc. pieces. Behind me, when I took this picture, is an old jelly cabinet I hung on the wall, which has dozens of peanut and coffee cans full of bulk nuts and bolts, hose clamps, etc. (It is astounding the stuff that gets thrown away at construction sites and by the Army maintenance workers.)

 I used to keep my hunting, fishing, and camping gear in the basement but two years ago my wife emptied some shelves that are in the hallway between my house and our attached apartment. I brought up the fishing and kayaking gear that I use the most so that I wasn't going up and down the stairs so much. After a season of grabbing stuff and then hastily putting it back at the end of a weekend, this area was in a sad state of disarray. Yesterday, I fixed that. 

 I have a couple pieces of salvaged peg-board in my basement workshop and I wanted to be able to hang a few items for a grab and go. The grey cabinet came from a local firehouse that was renovated two years ago. I mounted the peg-board to that shelf with some salvaged oak I got at a cabinet factory. The hangers for the peg-board were salvaged from behind a retail store many years ago. Now I can see the items that I need for certain weather conditions or the type of fishing trip I will do.

  The two brown shelf units were part of a German Schrank (living room cabinet unit) we had when I was in the Army. The other parts of the Schrank eventually broke or became unsightly but these two pieces are still solid. I spent two hours sorting all my lures and putting them into trays by type or by the location they will be used. I have one tray that is just for use on a certain river I fish in New York and I have another tray that is lures I use on the Lehigh River in my state. These lures are those that work best at those locations and this way I can just grab that one tray when I go fishing at those places.

 I have two larger lure boxes that hold components for building lures; plastics, creatures, hooks, weights, spoons, etc. I build most of my own weedless lures and like to have all the components easy to have on hand. I now have a well-lite work space to do that kind of work.

 So, final thoughts. Having all this stuff organized generally prevents me from buying components and parts (hardware especially) unnecessarily. I can see what I have quite easily. When I get low in something, I put it on my shopping list and pick it up whenever it is convenient. I can make my own repairs, saving thousands of dollars a year, or I can build things I need at a fraction of the cost of buying the item new. These are good skills for an uncertain future and the money saved can go towards securing food security and buying other necessities.