How do you organize your parts, tools, etc.?

[alchevy]

While I was working on my car and gathering up all of the parts needed, I couldn't find anything when I wanted to. Then I went over to Chris Shultz's to see his project and saw how he had everything neatly in boxes and on the outside of each box, he had written what was in each box and checked it off when he put it on the car. Soooooo I went home and found some cardboard boxes and went to work organizing things. That worked for a while, then when the car got on the road, I was so happy to be able to drive it that I just left tools and leftover parts there and drove the car. 18,000 miles later and now I am still adding things to the car, I'm back where I wuz. I even took a CB radio out last Summer and neatly put everything in a box by itself. I just found that box last night. Last Fall I had to take the carpet out of the car to do some work on floorboard and so I cleaned out everything from under the seats and put it in a box. In that box was the seat belts for the back seat. Just found that one last night too.

[BFS57]

Hello;
Well, Some folks are organized, some folks ain't! I am at time organized and sometime I ain't! But the box thing is good, I just forget to label it! Another method used is by placing boxes of things for one car on or in one area! That way if you know where the car you are working on has it's storage you can go directly to that area and search.
My '32 stays pretty much together, but my '57 Chevy is scattered everywhere about my garage as I am working on various different things like the Pacific Rain Gear that I have yet to install! Also have a bar grill that needs some tlc, Not to mention the complete TPI set up with the serpentine belt system, computer and harness! Then there is the original power steering system, I thought I wanted to install but  really want to try one of the new 500 series power boxes. This all added to a set of new Torque Thrust wheels in boxes, other things I have taken off the car to either upgrade or replace and you are lookin at a funky garage to say the least!
The only thing I can say is you have to be mostly organized but being overly organized is not in my nature!
Just my thoughts!
Bruce

[GPster]

I wish I could build a car that wouldn't run unles everything it needed was there and didn't have any more than it needed to run. of course you can throw that idea out when you think you can build two cars but that is the problem you face after you get the first car down to the minimalist necessities and you have all those left-over parts. GPster

[alchevy]

At least I'm not alone in the way I do things.

Organizing the shop is one thing, then I start thinking about organizing the tools in the trunk of the car. I had everything in one plastic box to be waterproof, but it was not easy to find things. So I asked my Mom to sew me some bags made out of my old bluejeans. She did, and it turned out real neat. She used the legs of the bluejeans and cut them off in various lengths and sewed up one end & put vel-cro on the other end with a flap. Now I am able to put all of the wrenches in one bag, screwdrivers in another, pliers in another, etc. Going to write on each bag pliers or screwdrivers or wrenches soon. I put my jackstands in a plastic box and put these bluejean bags around them to keep them from rattling. Well I took out the items above of the first plastic box and still had a full box, so now there are two of them in the trunk. So my battery is back there along with these two boxes, socket set that won't fit in the plastic boxes, spare tire, jack, tire wrench, a crate filled with various fluids, etc. This used to be a big trunk.