new year shop clean

I've spent most of this first weekend of the year on cleaning the shop and reorganizing. I hadn't really spent much time in the shop this past semester. I was just too overwhelmed with family stuff that was happening and it took everything I had just to go to work everyday and be present and committed to my students. 

Well after a long break from working in there, I have felt so energized to reorganize. I ended up moving almost every piece of equipment I own and relocating things. It's a good time to clean every crevice and organize materials and tools. I put all of my jewelers benches and small table top machining tools up on the four post lift and I built a floor so I can have a loft to work on small scale work. This freed up a ton of space on the machining side of the shop so I just did a total revamp. I am really liking the layout thus far. I few things have changed from the pic above but it's getting really good. 

I posted about this on Instagram and asked other if they do similar things at the start of a new year. I posted the following:

Does anyone else feel the need to start the year off by cleaning and then you end up deciding to move everything in the shop just to see if you can optimize the tool layout? I do this every year and each year my body hurts more and more afterwards. At what age do I leave the heavy tools where they are?

Regardless, I always look forward to working in the shop once I get things settled into a new place. It’s like moving into a new space for the first time over and over again…

I know some might call it procrastination but my mind and hands craves a space to work in that is visually exciting to walk into.

I converted my car lift to a loft for tabletop machining and bench work and it’s created a ton of new space to work with. Now the larger machine shop side of the shop feels spacious. Never mind I still need to work on the fabrication (welding/grinding) and the middle material storage sections of the shop.

The responses were interesting. Some of the best are listed below:

I hate moving things, even if my shop is a mess, it is a mess where I know exactly where everything is. I tried working at a friend’s shop once and was completely lost. Didn’t realize how much I rely on muscle memory when I work until then. 😂

Looks great in there! I try to only move the big things every few years, and my goal is to get everything up on blocks so I can use a pallet jack to do it! I don’t have as much space as you do but my current layout feels workable. And yeah, cleaning is NOT procrastination, it’s absolutely essential for mental space and unfocused time to think.👍🏻👍🏻

I give myself a week every 6 months for shop refinement. It keeps the space evolving as the work evolves and is like a sculpture I exist inside of. Yours looks pretty nice!

But I agree with you, a studio must entice you when you walk in. It’s gotta say, “make something. Play with me!!”

I still need to finish the welding/fabrication side, but I'm getting really excited to work on some things. First on the list today was to make some new end tables for Jill for her birthday.