[Organized Chaos]

Some of the messiest home garages can get it done. When you ask the garage owner where a set of sockets with a ratchet can be found, they’ll likely ask if it’ll be a 6-point or 12-point and deep or shallow welled. Then without skipping a beat, they’ll follow up with the exact location of what you need. BTW, if you’re going to borrow any tool from a mechanic, please thank them and bring it right back in the same shape you got it.

These garages are the ones that when you walk in, you’re visually overwhelmed and you try to find a focus point. It makes no sense how any task or project is accomplished. There is a place for everything, and when tools are misplaced it drives them mad. They’re masters of their domains.

My first attached garage was in a dumpy house in Fort Walton Beach, FL. The house’s interior had been newly renovated, but really, I just wanted the garage and it was the cheapest rental on the market at $800/mo. It was a single-car with a non-motorized bay door. I realized I had no vision for a grand garage, because somehow I always got away with basic hand tools. This would be where I would rebuild my Supra.

It started with a generic four shelf stand on which I piled gloves, spray cans, oil, car parts, and a 120pc tool kit. The engine stand and hoist sat in the opposite corner of the shelf; both of which were purchased from, and delivered by, a Fort Walton local. Lastly, a small air compressor was free as the previous renter left it behind. Eventually lawn care equipment lined the walls. After a few years, I met my wife and we bought our first home together.

A prerequisite for our home purchase was a two-car garage. Five years and several project cars later… the garage became nearly overwhelmed. All but two shelving systems were street curb or dumpster finds to include peg boards. The attic right above the garage became the long term storage. I couldn’t recall the timeline of how and when I acquired the amount of tools and spare parts, but I could tell you where they are.

The whereabouts of various tools would surprise most inquirers. Let’s say someone asked, “What do you need to shim your cylinder head?”, to which I’d respond, “Special tool, so prob where the measuring stuff is at. Black tool chest–drawer with the JE sticker on it. Calipers will be in a black case. You’ll need the feeler gauges in the drawer with the ARP sticker on it.” The same can be said for hardware, but only to the extent of big nuts & bolts vs. small nuts & bolts. The separation and organization of metric and standard sizing along with thread pitch is left to the ultra-OCD’ers.

I have friends with beautifully organized tools that appear meticulously placed for photoshoots. I also have friends with toolsets in such a disheveled manner that they legitimately will be used a time or two and never be seen again. A lot of us fall somewhere in the middle of that mix. Yes, I could tell you where my tools are generally, but I’d lie if I said I never misplaced a tool. However, I rarely (if ever) lose a tool. The level of organization we proclaim may drive some insane, but it’s what we come to love and embrace the “Organized Chaos.”