shop clean up strategies??

[AHill]

Here are my rules:

Everything has a place.  That way, you know where it's supposed to be.
Schedule time to put away tools and clean up.  If you don't schedule that time, there's a tendency to let things get disorganized.
Cleaning up is as important as returning things to storage.  Shavings, sawdust, rags, etc. can hid valuable tools and there's a risk a tool might get tossed in the trash.
I organize tools by function.  I have tool cabinets dedicated to turning, marking and measurement, hand tools, table saw, etc.
When you make cleanup and storage a habit, it's easier to accomplish.

[daddo]

When I need a tool, I don't want to have to go find it. Be it a power tool or hand tool. It takes too much time going through drawers- I prefer shelves or counter space arrangements. Obviously, some tools are ok in drawers if you rarely use them. I even have a ratchet set handy in it's container. A basket next to the vise holds hammers and pliers and chisels- the hacksaw hanging on a nail. Almost all power tools are ready to go.  A paint brush sits next to drill presses, band saws, grinders and so on, ready to brush shavings and chips away. Drill bits sit next to the drill press in the open ready to go. I use three different wheel grinders set to do what I need- polishing, wire wheel, fine and regular grinding wheels and so on. No clutter is allowed on the table saw or floor to trip over. I made a sanding room with an exhaust blower to stop the shop from being covered in dust or spray paint. Stopping from time to time to vacuum and toss clutter helps a lot.
I find I work with a better attitude and it's more fun with a half decently kept work area. My shop isn't very large and it took years to get it where it is efficient enough to actually get things done at a good pace without wearing myself out. It does get messy, you can't prevent that, but it stays workable while doing a project and without getting lost in clutter which drives me crazy.
I do wood working, metal work and everything in between- combining these into one shop was the biggest challenge.
I may be making furniture one week, welding up a metal gate the other or overhauling an old engine the next.

 If you use it- clean it and put it back.

 I thought this too be handy, but some shops aren't big enough for it and some applications are different.

[Arlin Eastman]

Over the past year, I've been getting frustrated with my shop's state of organization and my discipline to keep it that way.  On the spectrum of naturally obsessive to clutter-blind I fall in the middle somewhere (though my wife would say more toward the clutter-blind
) Lately it's become overwhelming and I tend to not want to go down there because my time is less productive. I suspect I'm not alone in this. 

1. How have like minded woodworkers solved the same problem? 
2. What strategies have you employed to maintain a shop with clear, clean flat surfaces? 
3. What rules or systems do you have for tools and wood organization?
3. Also realizing for me this is partly because of unfinished projects piling up, how do you keep momentum to the end of a project? 

Here's some panos to give you some idea of how bad it is and some well-needed public shaming
https://photos.app.goo.gl/j2dY2LvtavqwX7Az1

This is how I go about organizing and cleaning

First I determine what tools I use the most and store them close to where I am working.  Then I put everything else off the floor as much as possible to help cleaning the floor easier and better.

Then I make sure I sharpen everything before I am done for the day so I can go right in and get to work.

Last thing I do it blow off the tops of all the shelves and equipment and then vacuum and sweep the floor.

I make sure when I am done using that tool it gets put right back where it belongs so my work area is not all clustered up with things I am not using and it does not make a major job of putting everything back and cleaning at the end.

Also putting everything away when you are done with it makes it easier to come back to if called away for some reason or another and if you have to stop for the day you have much less to clean up to.

[Bald Trace]

Over the past year, I've been getting frustrated with my shop's state of organization and my discipline to keep it that way.  On the spectrum of naturally obsessive to clutter-blind I fall in the middle somewhere (though my wife would say more toward the clutter-blind
) Lately it's become overwhelming and I tend to not want to go down there because my time is less productive. I suspect I'm not alone in this. 

1. How have like minded woodworkers solved the same problem? 
2. What strategies have you employed to maintain a shop with clear, clean flat surfaces? 
3. What rules or systems do you have for tools and wood organization?
3. Also realizing for me this is partly because of unfinished projects piling up, how do you keep momentum to the end of a project? 

Here's some panos to give you some idea of how bad it is and some well-needed public shaming
https://photos.app.goo.gl/j2dY2LvtavqwX7Az1

This a little late and not really advice.  But, your question struck a chord with a memory from when I was teaching.   A student asked me, "Why do you want us to do all of this nitpicky detail stuff?  I'm a big picture man".  I gave this answer, "Have you ever cleaned up a garage?"  He answered yes.  I then asked what did you do to accomplish the cleanup.  He said he picked up something and put it where it belonged.  Then ?", I asked.  He said that he kept doing that until all of the things were in the proper places, and then he swept the floor.  I said, "Cleaning the garage was the 'Big Picture', putting every thing in its place was the detail work.  One of the best examples I ever came up with.

[handi]

For any but the smallest projects, I expect and plan to need a cleanup DURING the build.

My advice may not be too helpful, since virtually everything I do in my shop is filmed, I have been pretty well forced to clean up as I go. 

You are correct that a messy, disorganized shop is far less pleasurable to work in. Takes a bunch of joy out of the hobby. 

Maybe planning a couple of shop organization projects? Something you have wanted to do that would get you both back into the shop and help with your organization.

[Cian]

I have two rules that help me.

!. Everything has a place to go. 
2. If I am unable to find what I need in just a glance or two then it is time to put a few things where they belong.

My real problem is that I do not have a place for all the wood scraps I save, so they are always in the way.

Nodding to this.  I also habitually clean up or at least attempt to put tools away at the end of every session even while mid-project.  This is because my shop time is fleeting - I may not come back until a few days or even weeks later - and I get my emotional bennies with walking into a clean and organized shop.  I admit that shop "building" is part of my overall enjoyment of this hobby which includes coming up with effective workflow and storage solutions.

My saw blade tower:

[Cian]

I don't have a solution, because mine is terrible, but I know the cause, and I suspect that's a good place to start.

Limited time.

I have a wife and almost 4 year old I like spending time with, or have to do stuff for. So I'm constantly just "running something out to the garage" that I got at lunch or whatever. Or dropping what I'm doing at whatever stage because nap time is over.

Really that's mostly an excuse but it has gotten way worse since Jack was born!

IMO, you have your priorities straight.  Your shop will always be there, but Jack will be getting his driver's permit before you know it.

[sawdust703]

I haven't spent much time in my shop in the last almost 6 months due to health conditions. I've cleaned & tinkered around, but that's about it.
The way I've got my shop set up is places I can sit down around the shop bcause of my back. I'm a scroll sawyer for the most part. I sit in a barbers chair at my scroll saws. They all have casters on them so I can move them myself.
My ts has casters on it. My ras is along the south wall of the shop so when I come in with lumber, it can go right on the saw. My shop is 400 sq. ft. of work space & I rent it.I have some shelves, & storage made for sandpaper. My stationary tools are placed equal distance from the wall & each other for ease of use. My lathe tools are stored in their original wood box, air nailers, routers, bits, circular saw, electric drills, sanders, are stored under the project table, all in their their original plastic cases & boxes or tool cases. Biscuit cutter, dremels, & other power tools are on a shelf on the west wall. Clamps are in a corner out of the way. I've also got a screw bin on the north wall, with a shelf above it with more screws, & assorted sizes of nails for the brad nailer, pinner, framer, crown stapler, finish nailer.
Most of my hand tools I have are in tool rolls hangin on the north wall. I have my drill bits stored in drawers closer to the drill press. In amongst all this, I've got two lathes, a drill press, & 3 scroll saws. It looks cluttered at times, but, When I'm able to work & spend time in the shop, it stays perty organized & clean.

[Belle City Woodworking]

Nodding to this.  I also habitually clean up or at least attempt to put tools away at the end of every session even while mid-project.  This is because my shop time is fleeting - I may not come back until a few days or even weeks later - and I get my emotional bennies with walking into a clean and organized shop.  I admit that shop "building" is part of my overall enjoyment of this hobby which includes coming up with effective workflow and storage solutions.

My saw blade tower:

Cian,

Great Saw Blade Cart!  Where did you get the black blade holders?

John

[Arlin Eastman]

On a more personal note (and self reflection), our young dog bit my 11 year old son in mouth Monday night completely unprovoked. He needed 25 stitches and I had to put her down at animal control Tues morning. Hardest thing I've ever watched. 

It might be hard seeing the animal put down, but you would even feel worse putting you son in the grave.  It was the right thing to do.