A Place For Everything???

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  • cabinetman
    Gone but not Forgotten RIP
    • Jun 2006
    • 15218
    • So. Florida
    • Delta

    A Place For Everything???

    If anyone responds to this thread, I hope there will be suggestions that will help. SWMBO, who is also LOML, made it clear years ago that there will be specified places for things like keys, cell phones, umbrellas, coupons, batteries, flashlights, and just about anything that can get misplaced.

    I guess it's the gettin' older thing, or CRAFT that sets in which lets us forget. I could go on for a long oration about how much time was spent lookin' for shed keys, or a tape measure. It seems that putting something down and saying "OK, the flashlight is right here", doesn't register in two days. What is the killer, is when you have more than one, and you can't find any of them, and the power is out, it's dark, yada, yada, yada.

    When I put in the last of the windows, LOML said for me to set up a folding table, and put every conceivable tool I would need on it in some order. Not to start until I was "tooled" up, thinking that If I needed something, I would remember where it was.

    So, for now, we have designated a specific place for keys to be dropped when coming into the house. That solves part of the problem. As for other items, I'm sure the only cure is improving ones memory. It's really very innocently done. I've left tools on the back bumper, or on the trailer, tape measures get put down, drill bits may go into a pocket and found along with sawdust when doing laundry.

    This is an ongoing dilemma, that seems to be very hard to deal with. Am I the only one?
    .
  • Uncle Cracker
    The Full Monte
    • May 2007
    • 7091
    • Sunshine State
    • BT3000

    #2
    Ummm... YES...

    Comment

    • charliex
      Senior Member
      • Mar 2004
      • 632
      • Spring Valley, MN, USA.
      • Sears equivelent BT3100-1

      #3
      I was going to respond but I don't remember what the topic was, sorry

      Comment

      • Bruce Cohen
        Veteran Member
        • May 2003
        • 2698
        • Nanuet, NY, USA.
        • BT3100

        #4
        Hey Cab,

        Not to fear. help is on the way.

        As soon as I get back from the orthopedic guy, I'll sketch something out.

        Bruce
        "Western civilization didn't make all men equal,
        Samuel Colt did"

        Comment

        • LCHIEN
          Internet Fact Checker
          • Dec 2002
          • 20913
          • Katy, TX, USA.
          • BT3000 vintage 1999

          #5
          One thing I try to do is when I put things down or away, I try and think of a logical spot for them. This means close to where you use it or in a place where similar items are known to go. This requires thinking rather than absent-minded-ness.

          However, when looking for something, it becomes easier to find; you start thinking, what was my thought process when I put it away? Rather than requiring precise emmory, it requires repeating the same logical thinking, so if you logic is the same you'll find it.

          My wife on the other hand reacts rather than thinking; her method is to put things into the nearest drawer which results in things being in random places, defying all logic except perhaps a comprehensive search and or recalling exactly where you were when you decided to put it away.

          My method is not infallible. when I can't find something I expect to find with my logocal method, I get really p.o.'d.
          Loring in Katy, TX USA
          If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
          BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

          Comment

          • MikeMcCoy
            Senior Member
            • Nov 2004
            • 790
            • Moncks Corner, SC, USA.
            • Delta Contractor Saw

            #6
            Every time I try to create a "special" spot for something, I forget where it was by the time I need whatever needed "special" storage. I've become a creature of habit and all the daily pocket items, keys, wallet, security pass gets stored in the same place all the time. Having gone through so many hurricanes has all the essential things stored in a similar location ALL the time. Same way in the shop - I have a huge military surplus aircraft mechanics chest where whenever something comes out, that drawer stays open till it's replaced. Measuring items (ALL) are hanging on my shop cabinet doors or from rafters over the work area. I find becoming more anal and automatic as I get older causes a whole lot less stress from not having to look for stuff.

            Comment

            • JeffG78
              Established Member
              • Jan 2007
              • 385
              • Northville, Michigan - a Detroit suburb
              • BT3100

              #7
              My problem is that something can be sitting in a stupid spot for months or even years and I will always remember where it is, but the minute I decide it's time to get organized and find a logical spot for everything, I am in trouble. I can't count how many times I have needed something and gone to the spot it used to be for years, only to find that I must have put it away somewhere. I spend the next two hours looking in every corner of the house trying to figure out where I would have chosen as the "logical" spot to keep it. If I would have never cleaned up in the first place, I would have gone right to it, but nooooooo.

              I just had one of these instances this morning, in fact. I was getting dressed and noticed that my watch battery had died overnight. While I wear the same watch every day, I have another one that LOML got me that is too nice for daily use. Since I rarely wear it, I keep it on my dresser in a dish that also houses business cards, receipts, etc. The watch has been there for years, but do you think it was there this morning? Of course not! I spent the next 15 minutes looking everywhere for the darn thing and never did find it. I'm sure that LOML decided one day that it wasn't "put away" and told me to put it somewhere other than on my dresser. I'm sure I put it in a spot that made sense at the time, but my memory isn't good enough to remember where that is.

              Comment

              • JeffG78
                Established Member
                • Jan 2007
                • 385
                • Northville, Michigan - a Detroit suburb
                • BT3100

                #8
                You beat me by a minute, Mike

                Comment

                • ironhat
                  Veteran Member
                  • Aug 2004
                  • 2553
                  • Chambersburg, PA (South-central).
                  • Ridgid 3650 (can I still play here?)

                  #9
                  I've learned to recognize that the thought, "I'll put it here where I won't forget it", is a fraud and I stop to think of a logical spot. When working in the shop, OTOH, I'm toooo anal about things belonging in the right place and I tend to clean up after myself too soon. The next thing I know I'm needing the same tool that I have just put away. Now, the walk-by-and-drop-it kind of clutter I'm bad at. The kind of stuff that you just bought and sling it into the shop on the way into the house. I'm not sure how that's all working out in my head but I don't like the build up of junk.
                  Last edited by ironhat; 02-11-2008, 12:18 PM. Reason: clarity
                  Blessings,
                  Chiz

                  Comment

                  • Anna
                    Senior Member
                    • Feb 2006
                    • 728
                    • CA, USA.
                    • BT3100

                    #10
                    I laughed out loud when I read about putting things away in a "logical spot." I thought I was the only one. I know where everything is until I "clean up" and put things away. Then I spend so much time looking for things.

                    It's become a running joke between my husband and myself. I eventually find what I'm looking for, most of the time, but it's sort of funny, according to my husband, to watch me rummaging through everything while muttering, "I know I put it somewhere logical."

                    I just spent the weekend looking for a bluetooth headset I know I put in a box somewhere. I have several boxes of electronics crap - wires, switches, extension cords, cables, etc - and I've been through them several times. Still haven't found my headset. At some point, when I'm not looking for it, I'll find it in one of those "Of course, that's where it is!" places.

                    Comment

                    • steve-norrell
                      Veteran Member
                      • Apr 2006
                      • 1001
                      • The Great Land - Alaska
                      • BT3100-1

                      #11
                      Gee, and here I thought it was normal to spend as much time trying to remember where that special spot was as I did thinking up where it should be in the first place. Woe be to me if I had to remember where TWO special spots were.

                      Good thing that finding the coffee pot has become a reflex action, no memory needed.

                      Regards, Steve (I think)

                      Comment

                      • MikeMcCoy
                        Senior Member
                        • Nov 2004
                        • 790
                        • Moncks Corner, SC, USA.
                        • Delta Contractor Saw

                        #12
                        Originally posted by steve-norrell

                        Good thing that finding the coffee pot has become a reflex action, no memory needed.

                        Regards, Steve (I think)

                        That's only because it's always in the SAME place.

                        Comment

                        • Wood_workur
                          Veteran Member
                          • Aug 2005
                          • 1914
                          • Ohio
                          • Ryobi bt3100-1

                          #13
                          I'll agree with Loring and that you need a logical spot to put stuff. that the easiest way to find it again, even if it does take an extra 5 minutes to put something away.
                          Alex

                          Comment

                          • Ed62
                            The Full Monte
                            • Oct 2006
                            • 6022
                            • NW Indiana
                            • BT3K

                            #14
                            The other day, my wife was looking for a piece of meat to make dinner. I was putting groceries away the night before, and put the piece of meat in the kitchen cabinet! So I probably shouldn't recommend the best techniques for organization.

                            Ed
                            Do you know about kickback? Ray has a good writeup here... https://www.sawdustzone.org/articles...mare-explained

                            For a kickback demonstration video http://www.metacafe.com/watch/910584...demonstration/

                            Comment

                            • Bruce Cohen
                              Veteran Member
                              • May 2003
                              • 2698
                              • Nanuet, NY, USA.
                              • BT3100

                              #15
                              Hey Cab,

                              Try this on for size. The entire piece should be in the Greene & Greene style.

                              And you won't hurt my feelings (not) if you hate it.

                              Yeah, I know it looks like a stove



                              "Western civilization didn't make all men equal,
                              Samuel Colt did"

                              Comment

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