Being organized in your workshop or woodshop is one of the pillars of craftsmanship. Some of us may function better than others with clutter or slight chaos, but overall being neat and organized leads to better efficiency with projects.

I can openly and honestly say I am at times a mix of being both highly organized and chaotic. I know that seems contradictory, but stick with me for a bit on this. At the end of a project day I tend to always clean up and put things away in their spot. The sander has it’s specific shelf, the chisels have their slots and the drill resides on the top of a certain cabinet.

We all have our habits and places that “feel right” to us about our tools and workspace storage. What’s best then when it comes to organizing your workshop? The short answer – start small and take tiny steps. Don’t jump in with a massive overhaul and total redo of your space if it’s an area you’ve been working in for any bit of time. Take a peek at the tips below that have worked for me in my workshop over the years and keep in mind it’s a constant work in progress that can be reevaluated and redone when needed.

CLUSTER IT UP – Usually when things in life are a cluster-mess it’s not ideal. When organizing your workspace it can be a wonderful way to be efficient. Imagine having a socket set but all the sockets were in different places? Or a sander with 5 different grits of sandpaper but each is in a different corner of the shop. Talk about inefficiency! Plan out what corner, shelf or area is for a certain tool setup or purpose – take sanding for example. Make that spot nothing but your sander(s), sand paper, sand tools and anything you deem sanding related. Lay it all out so it’s easily accessed and at the ready.

DON’T PLAN FOR MINIMALISM – We all enjoy having a clean, neat and streamlined work area. It’s visually appealing and allows you to feel calmer and more in control of your workspace. This can sometimes be detrimental to efficiency though. Imagine having to unpack all the sandpaper every time you start a new project and get to the sanding phase. Talk about a time suck. Having a dedicated sanding station or sanding spot can allow you to leave the tools and paper grits readily available for use. The same goes for a table saw, jointer, chop saw, welding station…the list goes on. Having to break down & re set up stations everyday JUST to work on a project is time consuming, inefficient and honestly just frustrating.

GET FEEDBACK – This tip depends on your comfort level to share your workspace AND your ability to accept criticism. If either of those aren’t “your cup of tea”, skip it for now as it can always be revisited. However…if you’re like me and are often looking to improve…read on. Having outside perspective can be invaluable on many things…your workspace is no exception. A lot of times when you’re finished setting something up or organizing yourself you tend to think it’s ‘perfect’. Then someone comes in with a suggestion and you can get defensive OR even offended. I get it, I’ve been there. Try to look at their point of view with an open mind. Maybe they have a lot of experience at this too. Maybe their method works great and is worth a try. There’s almost always a way to reflect on yourself and your setup.

MID PROJECT CHAOS – I’m guilty of this and have been for most of my life. I get involved in a project and will grab another tool that is better suited to what I’m doing in that moment, but I never put away the original tool I started with. The same goes for project steps/phases. If I’m done with the jointer or table saw and move onto the surface planer, I don’t always clean up one of those earlier work spots first. This can lead to a bigger cluster mess at the end of the day. Not ideal. It does take practice and focus, but work on cleaning up one area before moving onto the next step or project phase. This saves a bunch of frustration at the end of a work day or a project day. I’ve also found this to help my focus and attention with the next step.

What’s in your workshop that’s been bugging you lately? Something that needs a change? A redo? Reorganizing for a fresh perspective with how you work on projects can be a big win 😉