Too often power tools are stuffed in a cabinet with no thought about accessing them later. When it comes time to dig one out, the power cords are often entangled. This complicates removing the tool and sometimes results in damage.
Mounting the tools on the back wall of the cabinet leaves the shelf for their power cords. This reorganization allowed me to store one more power tool in this cabinet.
The left side was formerly inaccessible I used a 4x4 with holes to mount two drills and an angle grinder. Photo 3 shows this assembly before installation.
Photo 3
I used a hole-saw to cut the holes and drilled each center hole through the 4x4 so I could leave driver bits in the drills when stored.
Fundamental elements of efficient shelf use
Every shop and garage has storage shelves. Organizing items stored on these shelves in an orderly manner can make a big difference in how efficiently you work and how much you enjoy that work.
Three important elements of efficient shelf use are:
Access
Visibility
Vertical usage
Access
Inaccessible shelf space is inefficient and becomes the location by default for dead storage items. Dead storage items are those things you don’t need but cannot yet part with. Eventually they are sold, given away, or scrapped. Until then they are relegated to a less accessible location every time you reorganize your shelves. Optimizing shelf space requires turning dead storage into live storage. The good news is that dead or inaccessible shelf space can be made accessible with a little innovation and dead storage items can be better managed to hasten their day of final disposition.
Vertical Usage
If you can see a lot of open space between your shelves, you are not effectively using vertical shelf space. This is actually good news because it means you have lots of space to claim. Claiming this space can be as easy as mounting things on the back wall of each shelf or reducing the distance between shelves. Both of these fixes can often be accomplished without buying anything.
Visibility
If you can’t see what’s on a shelf it is basically a dead storage location and the items stored there become dead storage items. You can easily forget what is stored there and you may even buy another one considering the old one lost. With a little innovation these invisible, dead storage areas can be made visible and brought to life.
Go High and Save
Vertical storage is cheap but the higher you go, the more challenging it is to keep that storage active. Wire shelving is good for visibility. If you must put that stored item in a box write the contents on the front of the box in big letters you can read easily. A mirror on the ceiling is another solution. If it’s dark up there, you can shine a flashlight on the mirror to illuminate the contents of the shelf.
For boxes that contain several items take a photo of the contents before storing it. Then post or file that photo in a handy location for future reference. Easier yet take photos with your phone and put them in a special album to help you find things later. It’s a lot easier to search a file of photos than a lot of boxes stored up high.
Paintbrushes
Those who know will tell you that a paintbrush should be stored laying flat in a place protected from contamination but open to the air. I found a good way to accomplish this. I added a narrow shelf at eye level.
Summary
For a commercial enterprise focused on efficiency, the goal is to make all storage active storage and to insure that all stored items are actively used. For your private shop or garage the same concepts can be used to enhance enjoyment of your free time by reducing frustration and improving your personal efficiency. For more ideas like this go to diybench.com.
