I finally got a free day and enough motivation to head back into my building for a little work and organization. To be honest, the situation looked nearly hopeless when I first walked through the door and it still doesn't look at that good right now, but I can definitely say that improvement can be seen.

I hadn't actually planned to do the task Saturday, which is probably why I ended up doing it. Seldom do I ever actually follow a plan these days if I'm not working. I was going up to the building to find my string trimmer line when I noticed what a mess everything was in. I mainly noticed what a mess it was in because I had to step over stuff in the floor to get around and because I couldn't find the trimmer line, which is the reason I went into the building to start with.

Nothing drives me crazier than not being able to find what I need when I'm trying to do something, especially when I know generally, but not specifically, where it might be.

While I'm not a neat freak by any stretch of the imagination, there is a certain satisfaction that only can come from having one's tools well organized. Besides, there is also a certain necessity to being able to find one's tools when the need to do a task, no matter how menial, arises. From the wrenches and saws to the sanders and carpentry tools, everything needs to have its place. In looking at the building, it was quickly apparent that the only things that couldn't be found in the clutter was organization and string trimmer line.

Yes, I got a new toolbox for Christmas last year, but no, I still haven't gotten it all in order. My tools were still strewn about in three different toolboxes and in a few other places, including on the desk that is the current ‘catch-all' for the building.

One of the problems with organizing was the fact that the building materials that were left over from the original construction were blocking most of the walking areas.

While looking for the string, I ended up moving out the mower's pull-behind cart and, after I rolled it over a pile of lumber to finally make it outside, that's when I decided to get started on my final leg of building the inside of my long-ignored structure.

I finished the wall that separates the equipment storage side of the building from the other side, adding a covering of thin plywood and insulation.

I then erected a few overhead hangers on which to place the long pieces of lumber that heretofore had been cluttering the floor in between the rooms. No matter how you look at it, 16-foot-long pieces of anything are not easy to store. The overhead option was best based on what I saw, especially since it kept the stuff off the floor where I was constantly tripping over it. The concern is always there that heavy lumber stored overhead might make a rapid descent onto one's head, but so far that worry has proven unfounded.

I suppose organization becomes all the more important when looking at the even bigger picture. While there certainly is a great deal of stuff in the room that needed to be looked over, sorted and organized, there also is a great deal more stuff that still hasn't even made its way to the building. From my collection of canning jars to a number of sundry items still stored at my mother's house, I still have work to do before everything that I need in the building even arrives on site. Those kinds of revelations should have lead to much more of a pressing desire to organize everything prior to Saturday, but my own sloth, the apparent cause, easily could be the topic of an entire column. But I'll get to that later, I'm a bit too tired, or maybe lazy, for two columns.

I think I've said it before, but a building is much more than just a place to store things for a man. It is the palace of male; the place where a man can run power tools on the counter, beat and bang to his heart's content and even leave engine parts strewn across the floor. It also is a place to have a few minutes to gather one's thoughts, especially in the cabin-fever months. I love my family, but there are times when the solitude and mind-clearing facets of a simple task done in solitude prove to be just what the doctor ordered.

Sharpening mower blades, servicing or repairing equipment and even just piddling around can help give the mind a welcome respite from the occasional storms of life.

With the fall coming on, I suppose the feeling of haste has finally come to me. All through the lazy summer days, the heat and the hectic schedules that come with the season pretty much kept me busy with my summer building hiatus. But with winter just a few page flips of the calendar away, it is growing more and more important to get things ready. My other thought that continues to press upon my mind is firewood. Unless I get moving soon, I'll likely be calling someone else to deliver it to the house. Of course, I doubt I'll really do that, but the very idea might serve to motivate me if I think that way. At over $100 a load, I'll need to try to gather as much as I can on my own to prevent an untimely rapture of my checking account balance.

Did I mention that I still need to buy some kerosene before winter sets in? I use it for back-up heat, especially when the family is going to be away from home for a period of time. It's hard to keep a wood fire going while not present and accounted for.

I usually only put in about 100 gallons a year, so I'm probably looking at an expense of some $400 this time around. Sometimes it makes me wonder how normal people are ever going to be able to get ahead, what with filling up the truck costing about $150 and filling up the kerosene tank costing more than $1,000, I figure I better make every dollar go about as far as I can just like everyone else. Did I mention that my taxes are due?

It'll all work out; it always does. But in the meantime, I might do well to use my few free moments to get the building ready and get some firewood put away. After all, it's going to be another long, bill-filled winter. The

re's nothing like a positive outlook, is there?
 

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