Workbench crowded

[RoGeorge]

Mine developed so many piles and layers, that it will take days to sort out all the mess.

Do you just throw all the parts from the desk in a box, to sort them later (if ever), or maybe use some other strategy?  How often do you clean the workbench/lab? 

[AVGresponding]

Are you trying to trigger my PTSD?   

I usually manage to motivate myself to tidy my bench when it becomes an avalanche risk

[globoy]

You can often tell how hard someone is working by how messy their lab desks are.  It's like the wanna-be artists who create a beautiful studio and then never use it as opposed to real working artists whose studios are often a mess and usually in whatever space they could find.

I tend to let things get messy during a project and then clean-up between projects.  Usually left over parts go into a box for that specific project (important for client projects).  Some left over parts go into a  set of large overflow boxes that I look into when I just need to find that one component.  Strangely enough I also clean if someone will be coming over to my lab or before I go away on holiday (I like to come home to neatness).

[soldar]

I have a serious problem with this. Any horizontal surface is soon covered with all sorts of things to the point where it is impossible to work on it.

[tooki]

Yeah, I suffer the same problem.

Mercifully, at work I’m just finishing up a big project, and that will both figuratively and literally free up some space. I had some downtime while waiting for delayed parts to come, and I did use that breather to tidy up a bit. Still nowhere close to where I want it to be.

At home is a different scale altogether. I don’t even know where to start tidying up that disaster. :/

[Sal Ammoniac]

Jim Williams seemed to have the same problem.

[jonovid]

suffer the same problem

[tom66]

I don't feel so bad now about my cluttered office!!

[the Chris]

It is mainly because of the feeling that one will forget about proceeding or even finishing a project once it leaves the desk.
Leaving each one on the desk at least for some time will make sure it has been given a fair chance of completion.

[nctnico]

I used to be a clutterer but nowadays I keep my workbenches clean with a strict one project per work area policy. A clean work environment is a productive work environment. Excess part go into a donation box to enable hoarders who are not in recovery like me 

[David Hess]

Mine developed so many piles and layers, that it will take days to sort out all the mess.

Do you just throw all the parts from the desk in a box, to sort them later (if ever), or maybe use some other strategy?  How often do you clean the workbench/lab?

Sometimes, but more often I rely on the theory of superposition; lower layers are older.

I try to clean as I go, and if I cannot find something, clean until I find it.  I am still organizing my work area after moving, part of which is detail cleaning my parts cabinets.

[temperance]

If something can not be found, start cleaning up until you find it.

[tszaboo]

I've reorganized my garage this year with used Euroboxes. It's not cheap, but going from a selection of random plastic/cardboard boxes to nice stackable plastic boxes was totally worth it. I even organized it thematically, I have a 600x400x200 box for plumbing stuff, two for electrical, several smaller ones for tools, etc...
I'm going to order ESD Euroboxes for storing stuff for my electronics. A 300x200x120mm ESD box is like 5 EUR, so even if I order 20 that's only a 100 EUR. One project per box. In the end I have to order different sizes, but I already measured it out and though about it. And it's a standard, so it will be available for the years to come.

[soldar]

I build shelves, workbenches, boxes, etc from scrap particle board, pallets, etc. Pretty much for free and made to fit in the spaces I have. It just takes time but I have plenty of that and I have been doing it over the years anyway.

For smaller things I use shoe boxes. For larger things I used plastic crates which I have picked up for free and I also build some boxes with scrap wood. I am particularly fond of the "Japanese-style" box which has a lid held in place by a wedge. They are simple and easy to make, strong, easy to handle, completely rectangular so they stack up well. I love them.

[pqass]

Clear shoebox + wire shelves = organized
I also have "double-wide" shoeboxes and double-height for larger items.
All test equipment at eye level on the wire shelves. 
Narrow (depth) and wide desk pushed up against the shelves.

[brabus]

I've reorganized my garage this year with used Euroboxes. It's not cheap, but going from a selection of random plastic/cardboard boxes to nice stackable plastic boxes was totally worth it. I even organized it thematically, I have a 600x400x200 box for plumbing stuff, two for electrical, several smaller ones for tools, etc...
I'm going to order ESD Euroboxes for storing stuff for my electronics. A 300x200x120mm ESD box is like 5 EUR, so even if I order 20 that's only a 100 EUR. One project per box. In the end I have to order different sizes, but I already measured it out and though about it. And it's a standard, so it will be available for the years to come.

Believe it or not, I use the exact same boxes and logistics in our small company. One box --> one project, clean desk policy (including the test bench!), minimum storage space.
My life changed in the very moment I started working this way: I spent years over crowded, overfilled benches and accumulating TONS of useless semi-used components. Then I snapped and threw all the old stuff away.

Messy benches must remain a thing of the past. It's not the '70s anymore.

[dietert1]

I don't wait to do the cleanup but try to avoid huge piles of things. Rarely it happens that i can't find something i need and i know it's there. Then it's time to tidy up and i take my time to separate out some junk.

We have a huge amount of reusable antistatic plastic bags that are nice to keep things in order. I can put a circuit board and some parts into the bag, close it, stuff it into a drawer or a box and later take it out to continue.
Another method i adopted in order to support work on previous projects is writing little work protocols or reports in the PC. Sometimes i have been using this forum for the same purpose. Even after years i can find it, remember where i stopped and try to continue. Right now, during the last two weeks i am working on a project i started in 2021.

Regards, Dieter

[soldar]

My workroom and bench are such an untidy mess that I would be ashamed to show to anyone. But being anonymous here....

[jonovid]

I used to be a clutterer but nowadays I keep my workbenches clean with a strict one project per work area policy. A clean work environment is a productive work environment. Excess part go into a donation box to enable hoarders who are not in recovery like me 

I have good intentions of one project per work area policy But-
projects get held up because of all manner of reasons. so multiple projects sit waiting for that missing component or mini or sub-project completion needed for the 1st. example a test jig or testing circuit.  sometimes its just that more research is needed before a project can proceed further.
as for the number of work areas that is limited because - family members - space available as the number of plastic storage tubs that can fit in a room is also limited.  stacking plastic storage containers also has its height limits. as weight on the plastic lids at the bottom.  steel shelving maybe an answer.
but it need to be of modular design covering all walls in the room floor to ceiling.  but then family may disagree.

[G0HZU]

Jim Williams seemed to have the same problem.

I've seen various images of Jim's bench and I think it has been preserved in a similar state as a kind of shrine at Linear tech.

If you look past the clutter, his bench is actually laid out very efficiently in terms of access to the test gear. Mine is very similar with an L shaped work area, but mine is mirrored compared to Jim's layout. The crazy thing is that it would only take about half an hour to put all those dev boards into some kind of storage system. Then his bench would be very similar to mine, although my test gear is mainly RF stuff. Some homemade shelves would have helped a lot as well. I made my own custom shelves and they have transformed the work area.

To store old dev boards (and I have many...)  I use large biscuit tins and then put these inside huge drawers that live under one of my benches. I have storage tins for LNAs, oscillators filters etc.

I still have to spend a fair bit of time battling against the build up of clutter. In my case, it's usually coax cables and wires and previous test boards and various RF adaptors and attenuators that gradually build up a layer of clutter. I try and tidy up most days, but it nearly always looks a bit untidy.

I have a few rules that help maintain a good working area and these rules are:

No hand tool storage on the main work bench.
No component storage bins on the main work bench.
No more than a few old dev boards allowed on the bench at any one time
Only a few items of test gear live on the bench all the time. Most of it is stored like sardines in another small box room and I only retrieve it when needed.
Always leave some shelf space clear and always try and put away stuff that won't be needed for a few days or so.

This lets me fit three work benches into my small work room and on a good day they can all be fairly free of clutter.

[EPAIII]

And I thought my electronic benches were bad. Thanks a million for posting that photo.

Jim Williams seemed to have the same problem.

[EPAIII]

I use wall mounted shelves in my garage shop. They have standard shelf depths of 12"/300mm and 16"/400mm. They are on rails so the space between them can be adjusted.



On the shelves I use cardboard bin/boxes. They come in multiples of 2" width (51mm) and are the same depth as the shelf. They make similar plastic bins, but the cardboard cost less and the un-assembled ones take up a lot less space. I am able to keep five different sizes, no six when the 16" deep size is included.



In those bin/boxes I use both cardboard mini-bins and plastic bottles from my prescriptions. The Rx bottles are, in a sense, free: I just toss the empty ones in a bag until needed. The ones my pharmacy uses have a child-proof lock that is easily cut off with flush cutting wire cutters.



For small parts I have found these "bead" storage boxes in the arts and crafts area at Walmart. They have 24 screw top bins and the entire box fits vertically on a shelf, only taking up around 1.25"/35mm of space. And they are made of clear plastic so everything is instantly visible when I pull one out. They make very efficient use of space for a small price per bin. They are a common item in the arts and crafts stores so are easily available there and on the internet.



My system is both modular and inexpensive.

[SiliconWizard]

Yes, that's when you realize that your own lab is not so bad after all. It even looks tidy. Thanks.

[iJoseph2]

I try to adopt the approach of keeping my home in a reasonably re-saleable condition. It's not perfect but its not bad either.
Whatever's lying around will either get boxed up and put into storage or thrown in the bin when the time comes.
When I got mine you could see it was on and off the market for a few years, but an identical one (well..mirrored and a slightly smaller garden) was snapped up in a couple of weeks for significantly more. The main difference was the clutter.

[Mortymore]

I read somewhere that Jim Williams had is desk in mess intentionally so when visited by other engineers they could never devise in what he is working on. But he knew well were everything sits