Stay Organized...How do you guys do it?

[spy590]

I'm currently in the process of cleaning up my shop/man cave, and man do I have a bunch of components/parts laying around! I've tried various approaches to keeping my components organized and "searchable", but I haven't quite found the best way.

What do you guys do? Parts bins, bags, boxes with compartments?

[keysandguitars]

I bought two of these http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/bins-containers/40-bin-organizer-with-full-length-drawer-94375.html
These house my resistors and caps. Used a sharpie to write values on each drawer.

I bought three of these http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/bins-containers/24-divider-storage-container-94458.html
I use these for pots, diodes, sockets, LEDs, switches, etc.

Wasn't too expensive and it's been very nice knowing where everything is.

[dwstanford]

Yeah, ive got about 6 of the suitcase type bins like keysandguitars listed and a few larger bins for the big stuff.  It keeps everything easy to find and easy to handle.  I can put them all neatly away when i'm not using them.  My building station is a little corner in my recording/practice space, so it helps to be able to put most everything in a closet when its not being used.

[jimmybjj]

check out this thread

http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=134.0

[spy590]

Right on guys. I have an "out of sight" room dedicated to all of my guitar gear and I think this contributes to my lack of organization. I have several compartment type boxes, so I'm gonna go for some of the drawer setups that you guys pointed out. Thanks for the help! Now back to my chunk chunk....

[TNblueshawk]

Yep the parts bins is the only way really for easy access. You just have to take the time to label correctly, have enough of them and then label in an organized way so you don't spend time trying to find stuff. Also, the better you are organized the easier it is for inventory taking and future orders etc... Takes time to organize though. I've got them lined all along my workbench in my garage. Really need a few more and have no idea where I'll put them really.

[raulduke]

I pretty much have exactly the same arrangement as Keys and Guitars does.

I kind of found it therapeutic organizing my stuff but that might just be me!

Once everything is sorted it makes building a lot more fun as well; less time searching for components.

[spy590]

...the easier it is for inventory taking and future orders etc...

Yep, this is why I need it. As I've been cleaning up, I keep finding parts that I just recently re-ordered even though I already had some "hidden" in my shop. Then again, you can never have too many parts can ya!

[TNblueshawk]

...the easier it is for inventory taking and future orders etc...

Yep, this is why I need it. As I've been cleaning up, I keep finding parts that I just recently re-ordered even though I already had some "hidden" in my shop. Then again, you can never have too many parts can ya!

Ha, been there even when organzied  I usually will wait for an order splurge then I'll pick a nice weekend day, pop open a few beers, some good tunes and then commence to labeling etc... I don't seem to mind it as much if I prepare mentally for it. The problem is while I do it I keep thinking of a build I could be finishing instead !

[crash]

I have two of those 64 drawer storage bins.  Each drawer can be divided in two.  So that's a total of 256 compartments...that's still not enough.

[jkokura]

One thing I cannot recommend enough, is staying organized through paper/digital work. Use spreadsheets and inventory programs. Keep track of all your builds, all your inventory, all your plans and such.

I use a Mac, an I use pages and numbers extensively. On my iphone I use an app called home inventory. Bento is also a helpful program for me.

Jacob

[keysandguitars]

Jacob,

Care to post a screen shot of the numbers/pages docs? I've got both and am going to start up an inventory list.

[add4]

I'd be interested too ..
i started the same thing but i've never used numbers in a more than very basic way.
Basically i was imagining having a sheet with all the components and prices at different sellers
the list of materials would be dynamically pasted into the other sheets.
one sheet would be what i have in my stash stock, others would be BOM for different projects, with different sums : lowest price, price if everything is bought at one single supplier, etc
one last sheet would be the list of what i'll buy with the next order and how much of what..
i can't make the dynamic list so far
i'd be curious what you came up with jacob:)

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

I have to admit that it's can be very hard to keep track of everything. My desk isn't so much a problem of being messy as much as keeping track of all the orders, where the parts are, etc.. I like to make collage sheets of the DIY projects I wanna build, then print them so I can remember, otherwise I get overwhelmed with wanting to build too much..

[jkokura]

Jacob,

Care to post a screen shot of the numbers/pages docs? I've got both and am going to start up an inventory list.

First off, I'll describe in full my shop organization:

I have 2 60 drawer units the ones posted above, one of which is full of resistors and the other has capacitors and more resistors (I think there's like 85 drawers of resistors I have). Then I also have two other smaller units with 15 small drawers and two large drawers which holds my knobs, some other hardware and miscellaneous stuff. I also have several divider bins, much like you would find useful holding beads and things if you're crafty, or for lures and fly tying if you were into that stuff. One very large and deep one has all my pots (I think my last order was for 135 pots, and I still have about 75 pots left from my last order), another large one has my switches, and still another has all my jacks. A set of smaller units hold my diodes, IC's and transistors. I also have some even smaller units that hold my power diode/regulators, my sockets, and one other I can't think of what it contains right now.

As to the paperwork, I'm not really up on how to give a screenshot, but if you or anyone else wants some more details:

1. I have an overarching 'project' document that I consistently update. In this pages document I have several lists:
a) a list of current and future projects
b) a list of the enclosures I have, I need to order, and details about what state they're in
c) a list of the current decal stock I have, what I need to order, and details about colour and stuff like that
d) a list of the current PCB stock I have
e) a list of the current PCB stock I need to verify as working
f) a list of projects that need debugging/trouble shooting or are questionable/put aside

2. I have a Master prices list. This is a numbers document that a column for part category (resistor, IC, etc), Part Value, Part Number, Part details, and part price breakdowns in amounts of 1, 10 and 25. I have this document setup so that it has several sheets, so that I can set one up for Smallbear, one for Mammoth, one Pedal Parts plus, one for ebay sellers I consistently use, and one for Mouser (which I haven't set up yet). This is VERY helpful because it helps me keep track of the part numbers and makes it easy when I'm setting up a quote sheet...

3. I have a numbers template setup for creating a project quote sheet. What I do is look at a project's Bill of Materials, and then recreate that in the quote sheet by part amounts. Then I can go to my Master price lists and find the deals I need. I try hard to only use one supplier if I can, but sometimes I have to go to multiple suppliers, in which case I spread it out among those suppliers looking for the best deal I can get on stuff. Smallbear is my default for most things, except PPP where i get my enclosures.

4. Once I have a quote sheet, then I know exactly what it costs me to do a build. I print out that sheet (or just bring my laptop) and go to my shop space. Once there, I have an organized parts stash of a LOT of parts (see above). What I do is go through my stash and find out what I have need of if I'm planning one build. However, I usually build in batches of a dozen projects or so, so it can be difficult to estimate precisely how many parts I need. In that case, I take all those project quotes and I collate them into one big spreadsheet document. Then I can take that to my stash and cross things off or highlight them if I need to order them.

I would like a more efficient system for keeping inventory, like being able to do a build and then just subtract those items from a database I keep, but truth is that when you've got a drawer full of 10K resistors that's more than 500, trying to count them out and make up an inventory database is a bit silly. It's better to take that massive list that says I need 26 10K resistors in my next batch of builds and cross them off because I obviously have more than I need. But if I need 5 330R resistors for that same batch of builds, and my drawer for that value only has 3 in it, it's time to order 25 or 50 resistors right?

That's how I do things. If you want more details, you'll have to ask questions.

Jacob