Converting your garage into a woodshop - Step 9

For convenience - Click any IMAGE or BLUE text for information or to purchase that item.

Wood and Supplies, Storage & Organization

Okay so this is now my third attempt to write this post. Apparently, I get all bent out of shape about storing your left over wood and sheet goods, who knew?

Lets just say this and leave it there...

"Don't keep every single scrap of wood", it'll drive you nuts. Nothing good comes from it.

If it's smaller than a beer bottle throw it away.

Here's what you do:

Bigger pieces of hardwood stock go in a rack and should be stickered so air can get to every part of the wood.
​

Lumber Storage Rack Portamate PBR-001. Six-Level Wall Mount Wood Organizer Rack that Holds Up to 100 lbs. per Level. Ideal for both Indoor and Outdoor Use.

For everything shorter than a couple of feet, build yourself a box with compartments so you can organize your off cuts..

Why not build some 1/2 inch plywood compartments into an outdoor storage box. That way, it's out of your way.

Lift the lid and everything you need is right there in front of you and dry.

Something like this should work.
​

Suncast DBW7300 Mocha Wicker Resin Deck Box, 73-Gallon

Panel stock should be stored ideally against a wall and it's well worth building a storage solution for that too.
​
Check out my post tomorrow, I'll show you how to design a storage solution for sheet goods that keeps them out of the way and accessible.

As for everything else, well, most things will find their way onto shelving, sometimes within cabinets you build. Sometimes within infeed and outfeed solutions you build for your tools. Just think twice about adding doors to those cabinets.

Contentious, I know but I believe, cabinet doors (whilst looking nice), get in the way, quickly get beaten up, add to your future to do list and slow you down when you need something.

Better to store things within arms reach whenever you can.

This for me is the fun part to owning a wood shop.

You can look at something like, say, a quart of polyurethane and come up with a shelf or cubby that's dedicated to finishing supplies.

Why not... The more you do that, the more efficient your shop gets.

Over the next few posts, I'll show you how I design and build storage and organization solutions for my shop.

​See you next time...

Disclosure - We provide shopping links to every product we write about so you can buy without needing to search for them yourself. The fringe benefit is that we get paid if you do. We only link to trusted vendors like Amazon and you DO NOT pay more for the privilege.

That's how we keep the lights on around here... Sometimes...