Toss It, Keep It …
Johnny-on-the-Spot … by John Foster …
The Fosters have a one-car garage that has become our workshop.
When we purchased the home more than 30 years ago, I had visions of finding a “50’s something” car that I could park in there and tinker on.
But, that thought was short-lived when we decided we needed a workshop to accommodate our “do-it-yourself” urges.
About once a year, the sawdust and cob webs get to a point that you can’t see the floor or the work surfaces.
That’s when we embark on a cleaning war.
That occasion was just last weekend.
I just casually mentioned to my bride that we ought to go through that “stuff” leading against the wall and see what we needed to keep or toss.
This is as good of a place to explain why these events can impact marital stability.
My wife is a crafter which means she has all sorts of “ideas” stored in her computer, in her head and in the workshop.
Sometimes they pile up in all 3 locations and some purging is needed.
Me?
I’m a “tosser”.
If I don’t think I’m going to need it or used it within 90 days, I’m ready to unload it.
But sometimes, Neav gets in a “tossing” mood and the key is for me to pick up on that and ride that horse to the finish.
I knew we were going to develop floor space when I grabbed a small piece of a 1X6 and she said, “Get rid of it!”
That lead to us filling a large, plastic garbage can about five times with primarily wood pieces that I burned.
I have such a large carbon foot-print!
We swept as we went and filled a bucket with small pieces if wood and sawdust and that fits really nicely into my backyard composter.
Geneva re-assembled a storage shelf we had in our barn at the campgrounds and that became home for pieces of lumber and tubs filled with remnants for her crafting.
Suddenly, open shelving appeared like magic in another part of the garage and it was all because I suggested we root through some items leaning against the wall.
There’s still the moveable workbench that needs our attention and that might call for another “Toss-it/Keep it?” session.
By the way, we have a lot of very disturbed spiders after this cleaning attack.
At one time I could swear I heard the pitter-patter of sets of tiny 8 tiny feet from a number of corners.
Now, we still have to figure out where we’re gonna put at least one moveable workstation, but we’ll
figure that out.
Probably the first rainy fall day we see will force us to wrap up the war on dirt and dust in the workshop.
Over the years, we have these “cleaning frenzies” and whenever we attacked the kid’s bedrooms, as soon as we got done, the two of them would be in there to play.
It was as if they re-discovered their bedrooms and all their toys.
Over the years, we’re discovered if you make moveable storage bins and work surfaces, you will keep them neater.
I have a standard workbench in one corner of the garage.
Right now, there’s about one square foot of it available for working.
It’s on the waiting list.
How can you call it a workbench if you can’t work on it?
It’s actually a piece of our old kitchen countertop that I attached to my Dad’s original work bench.
When it’s cleaned off, it doesn’t look like a workbench.
Pegboard can be really handy to hang things on it a workshop.
But items can get hung there and become fancy dust collectors if they’re not used enough.
We might need to do a peg board cleaning session as well.
We’ve accumulated a great number of tool and such over the years, so the workshop can clutter up real quick if we let it.
Now, there’s an old sled that has been collecting dust with that lumber we addressed on the weekend.
Neav finally got an idea on how to re-use is while gazing at one of her crafting sites.
You simply paint it and attach some greenery to it and it can become part of the Christmas season display on the front porch.
At least, that’s my hope.
Right, Neav?