Re: Workshop / Storage ideas Posted by Na on May 09, 2015
So back in 2013 I mentioned losing my work area to renovations.* My area was pretty chaotic and in the back room adjoining the kitchen, which was quickly changed into more kitchen storage. So I had to pack everything up and fit it back into my bedroom.
I've finally got my workshop space sorted. I did have some temporary shenanigans set up in the meantime but my everything is finally complete.
I shipped out a ton of stuff that I decided to get rid of, from fabrics to stuff I'd been keeping for the past decade from previous projects. Most puppeteers hold onto things because they figure it'll come in handy eventually and that was my problem: too much stuff! So I got out of the sentimental mode and simply chucked (to a recycle place) whatever I wasn't using or had definite plans for. I also took the opportunity to do what most people would call a 'spring clean' and culled a lot of crap that I simply didn't want or need anymore; everything from clothes and books to sentimental objects and toys. I've still got a stack of about 6 or so tubs with stuff just dumped into them that need to be sorted/culled/reorganised.
The need for this will be obvious when you look at the photos. My bedroom is small, if I had a queen or king size bed it would take up at least 1/3 or 1/2 of the room. I even culled my furniture so that I could fit everything in. It's worked out better in the long run because it's meant a major rethink of how I decorate the room. Most people start with furniture and then over the years replace bit-by-bit but this gave me an opportunity to almost start from scratch.
My bed has pretty much stayed where it is and takes up 1/4 of the room. I have an inbuilt cupboard which is filled to the brim with stacks of plastic tubs containing my least used items/sewing machine/scraps/etc. To another side of the room is a window and against that I have laid a set of bookshelves. (Instead of standing it vertically it is horizontal, so everything is basically sitting at floor height)
The other side of the room is my work area. See photos below. It's quite simple: 3 columns of plastic tubs, stacked 2 high (total 6 tubs) are sitting against the wall. Laid on top is a piece of black-painted wood, and one piece of plain wood. These act as my 'desk' space. In front of the desk is another set of bookshelves. (It looks like a perfect fit and it is. I spent ages looking for just the right shelves to fit the space and my budget)
In the tubs are my most regularly accessed stuff. Towards the left end is a tub for paperwork (for taxes etc) and a tub for paints, glues, etc. This is the most used so it goes at the end for easier access. The centre stack of tubs is least used, a tub for random stuff and a tub containing all my patterns. The stack at the other end has food/snacks, and the bottom tub has electrical equipment. -- Food is handy because when you're working it's good to have some snacks nearby!
These things are accessed quickly as the wooden pieces sitting on top of the tubs just slide away providing there's nothing I'm working on. Even then it takes but a few moments to remove things and dig around in the tubs - as I did when putting all my patterns away, as pictured. The reason for this odd set up is numerous: within minutes I can rearrange the entire area, re-stack tubs or obtain things from the tubs; desks are expensive and usually take up more room for less storage space; I already had the wooden pieces and they're really handy for interchangeable work areas. In the past 6 months I've rearranged this area several times and found that I need the wider desk space so that I can spread out different materials. My plastic sheet for puppets comes bigger than A0, and I often like to move from computer work to building, which means having two desks used at once. This way I can do both, or even three or four things at once.
In addition, on the top of my desk area are my custom-made tool racks, with all my bits and pieces, plus a stand that has some notepads attached for reference - things to do, ideas, etc.
I had to replace my 'seat' (aka couch) that broke and was my only chair and I purchased a cheap but comfortable armchair which I absolutely love. Because there's no room for my legs under the 'desk' I have tweaked how it works: I've taped some sponge to the corners of the plain wooden desk piece and because it's not attached to anything I simply move the wood towards me like a lap-table and have it rest on the arms of my chair. The sponge is to prevent the wood digging into the chair. Incredibly comfortable even if it is a bit of an unusual way of doing things. It's mostly to prevent me from leaning over too much and hurting my back.
Continuing on, the bookshelves in front of my desk add some extra practicality. As mentioned I often use my computer but it gets in the way of builds. I decided that it would be handy to have somewhere to put my computer when I'm not using it and this was the main reason for the shelves. To the left I have a shelf where I can place anything I'm in the middle of working on but don't currently need; ie. patterns, parts, notes, etc. A way of keeping my desk tidy even if I'm not done with whatever it is that I'm using. Second on the left is an area for my most used electricals; computer, charger, ipad, hard drives. Third left is my most used puppet books. And on the right is a box of tissues and a box for medications and things.
And in the corner near my window is a floor lamp, as lighting in my room is extremely terrible and this makes it much much much easier to see what I'm doing.
(Thanks to those who donated to my fund last year because it makes creating and selling stuff that much easier and it's a weight off my mind to know that I have a decent setup to do that in/with. No matter what work I end up doing, it'll be done in comfort and ease
)
As you can see, this set up keeps everything pretty much in reach without getting overly messy.
I'm already enjoying this space far more than anything I've had previously, as I know where (most) things are as every tub is labelled, it's fairly easy to set something aside to work on something else, and if I need to I can change the structure in minutes to accommodate whatever it is that I'm working on. The furniture itself is much smaller too which means that it's easier to move, clean, etc. If I had to remove everything in the room it would take me maybe 20 minutes in total, less if I used a trolley.
Oh, and I also made myself a stand for my iphone, which allows me to 'dock' it to the charger too. This is handy for listening/watching while you work.
* Before/after pics here: http://www.puppetsinmelbourne.com.au/blog.php/2013/09/02/workspace-what-workspace
I've finally got my workshop space sorted. I did have some temporary shenanigans set up in the meantime but my everything is finally complete.
I shipped out a ton of stuff that I decided to get rid of, from fabrics to stuff I'd been keeping for the past decade from previous projects. Most puppeteers hold onto things because they figure it'll come in handy eventually and that was my problem: too much stuff! So I got out of the sentimental mode and simply chucked (to a recycle place) whatever I wasn't using or had definite plans for. I also took the opportunity to do what most people would call a 'spring clean' and culled a lot of crap that I simply didn't want or need anymore; everything from clothes and books to sentimental objects and toys. I've still got a stack of about 6 or so tubs with stuff just dumped into them that need to be sorted/culled/reorganised.
The need for this will be obvious when you look at the photos. My bedroom is small, if I had a queen or king size bed it would take up at least 1/3 or 1/2 of the room. I even culled my furniture so that I could fit everything in. It's worked out better in the long run because it's meant a major rethink of how I decorate the room. Most people start with furniture and then over the years replace bit-by-bit but this gave me an opportunity to almost start from scratch.
My bed has pretty much stayed where it is and takes up 1/4 of the room. I have an inbuilt cupboard which is filled to the brim with stacks of plastic tubs containing my least used items/sewing machine/scraps/etc. To another side of the room is a window and against that I have laid a set of bookshelves. (Instead of standing it vertically it is horizontal, so everything is basically sitting at floor height)
The other side of the room is my work area. See photos below. It's quite simple: 3 columns of plastic tubs, stacked 2 high (total 6 tubs) are sitting against the wall. Laid on top is a piece of black-painted wood, and one piece of plain wood. These act as my 'desk' space. In front of the desk is another set of bookshelves. (It looks like a perfect fit and it is. I spent ages looking for just the right shelves to fit the space and my budget)
In the tubs are my most regularly accessed stuff. Towards the left end is a tub for paperwork (for taxes etc) and a tub for paints, glues, etc. This is the most used so it goes at the end for easier access. The centre stack of tubs is least used, a tub for random stuff and a tub containing all my patterns. The stack at the other end has food/snacks, and the bottom tub has electrical equipment. -- Food is handy because when you're working it's good to have some snacks nearby!
These things are accessed quickly as the wooden pieces sitting on top of the tubs just slide away providing there's nothing I'm working on. Even then it takes but a few moments to remove things and dig around in the tubs - as I did when putting all my patterns away, as pictured. The reason for this odd set up is numerous: within minutes I can rearrange the entire area, re-stack tubs or obtain things from the tubs; desks are expensive and usually take up more room for less storage space; I already had the wooden pieces and they're really handy for interchangeable work areas. In the past 6 months I've rearranged this area several times and found that I need the wider desk space so that I can spread out different materials. My plastic sheet for puppets comes bigger than A0, and I often like to move from computer work to building, which means having two desks used at once. This way I can do both, or even three or four things at once.
In addition, on the top of my desk area are my custom-made tool racks, with all my bits and pieces, plus a stand that has some notepads attached for reference - things to do, ideas, etc.
I had to replace my 'seat' (aka couch) that broke and was my only chair and I purchased a cheap but comfortable armchair which I absolutely love. Because there's no room for my legs under the 'desk' I have tweaked how it works: I've taped some sponge to the corners of the plain wooden desk piece and because it's not attached to anything I simply move the wood towards me like a lap-table and have it rest on the arms of my chair. The sponge is to prevent the wood digging into the chair. Incredibly comfortable even if it is a bit of an unusual way of doing things. It's mostly to prevent me from leaning over too much and hurting my back.
Continuing on, the bookshelves in front of my desk add some extra practicality. As mentioned I often use my computer but it gets in the way of builds. I decided that it would be handy to have somewhere to put my computer when I'm not using it and this was the main reason for the shelves. To the left I have a shelf where I can place anything I'm in the middle of working on but don't currently need; ie. patterns, parts, notes, etc. A way of keeping my desk tidy even if I'm not done with whatever it is that I'm using. Second on the left is an area for my most used electricals; computer, charger, ipad, hard drives. Third left is my most used puppet books. And on the right is a box of tissues and a box for medications and things.
And in the corner near my window is a floor lamp, as lighting in my room is extremely terrible and this makes it much much much easier to see what I'm doing.
(Thanks to those who donated to my fund last year because it makes creating and selling stuff that much easier and it's a weight off my mind to know that I have a decent setup to do that in/with. No matter what work I end up doing, it'll be done in comfort and ease
)As you can see, this set up keeps everything pretty much in reach without getting overly messy.
I'm already enjoying this space far more than anything I've had previously, as I know where (most) things are as every tub is labelled, it's fairly easy to set something aside to work on something else, and if I need to I can change the structure in minutes to accommodate whatever it is that I'm working on. The furniture itself is much smaller too which means that it's easier to move, clean, etc. If I had to remove everything in the room it would take me maybe 20 minutes in total, less if I used a trolley.
Oh, and I also made myself a stand for my iphone, which allows me to 'dock' it to the charger too. This is handy for listening/watching while you work.
* Before/after pics here: http://www.puppetsinmelbourne.com.au/blog.php/2013/09/02/workspace-what-workspace
Re: Workshop / Storage ideas Posted by Na on May 31, 2015
Thanks. The phone dock was a good idea. I'd wanted one for a while but didn't want to pay $20-40 for something via Etsy or the Apple store. And then I remembered I have stacks of foam core and thought "I could build one!". Cost me nothing
Here's a pic of the 'table' on my chair... minus me in it of course. If it looks precarious that's only because the computer is oddly off to one side. I haven't been bothered to set it up so it plugs into a closer powerpoint.
I am definitely feeling good about my work space now. Just yesterday was making something but needed to get out my computer to do some emails. I was painting so it wasn't like I could easily move stuff about and my black-desk area was full of crap. It took me maybe 10 minutes to clean up and move my painting aside so I could use my computer. Last night I put my computer away to move back to painting, and today again I have reversed it so I can do more computery stuff. It's good how even when messy it's easy to deal with.
As for hoarding I can totally understand. I'm currently working my way through all the hoarded objects still to be dealt with that's in my cupboard. Cleaning it out and seeing just how much stuff I've bought and never used is instructive. I think trying to be less sentimental about it helps. For instance I have a stack of puppetry pamphlets, postcards and various ephemera collected at festivals I've attended. They weren't collected for any particular aesthetic or informative reason, just they were there and I wanted to grab everything I could 'in case I wanted them'. This is taking up valuable space, and yet I kept them!
... I call it 'amnesty'. It's like that old thing about clothes; if you haven't worn them in a couple of years, get rid of them. I put a line under old projects, forgive myself for not getting around to them, and move on. Ideas are a dime a dozen so I don't need to hold onto every single one that I have. At least, that works for me.
I bet if you have a good one it should hold up. We continued using my grandmother's 1950s Husqvarna til the mid-90s. I think the only reason we stopped is because it needed some minor repairs, and of course something that old would be hard to repair.
Here's a pic of the 'table' on my chair... minus me in it of course. If it looks precarious that's only because the computer is oddly off to one side. I haven't been bothered to set it up so it plugs into a closer powerpoint.
I am definitely feeling good about my work space now. Just yesterday was making something but needed to get out my computer to do some emails. I was painting so it wasn't like I could easily move stuff about and my black-desk area was full of crap. It took me maybe 10 minutes to clean up and move my painting aside so I could use my computer. Last night I put my computer away to move back to painting, and today again I have reversed it so I can do more computery stuff. It's good how even when messy it's easy to deal with.
As for hoarding I can totally understand. I'm currently working my way through all the hoarded objects still to be dealt with that's in my cupboard. Cleaning it out and seeing just how much stuff I've bought and never used is instructive. I think trying to be less sentimental about it helps. For instance I have a stack of puppetry pamphlets, postcards and various ephemera collected at festivals I've attended. They weren't collected for any particular aesthetic or informative reason, just they were there and I wanted to grab everything I could 'in case I wanted them'. This is taking up valuable space, and yet I kept them!
... I call it 'amnesty'. It's like that old thing about clothes; if you haven't worn them in a couple of years, get rid of them. I put a line under old projects, forgive myself for not getting around to them, and move on. Ideas are a dime a dozen so I don't need to hold onto every single one that I have. At least, that works for me.
Hope my sewing machine still works when I get to 70.
I bet if you have a good one it should hold up. We continued using my grandmother's 1950s Husqvarna til the mid-90s. I think the only reason we stopped is because it needed some minor repairs, and of course something that old would be hard to repair.
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