Early Spring Cleaning

During the fall and winter months, things get piled on the workbench in our garage. I really quite enjoy tinkering out there, but with the garage being unheated, it is often too cold to utilize. So, my workbench becomes a convenient catchall for our stuff that doesn’t have a place – like tools and spare parts from various projects, or old kid’s games destined for Goodwill. It’s not just the workbench that gets cluttered either – the space in front of is a convenient place for tricycles, garden hoses, shop-vacs, bins full of outgrown kid’s clothes, etc.

Well, this afternoon I got a burst of energy and did my spring cleaning early. Maybe it was the unseasonably warm weather we’ve been having, or maybe it was the thought that our existing computer would need to go out there when the new Mac mini arrives next week. Whatever the reason, I started in with reckless abandon.

I took down the Christmas lights (one string had been plugged in above the workbench), and I stowed the Christmas tree up in the trusses. After that, it was a serious purging and organizing session – I even cleaned out my toolbox. If I hadn’t used an item (especially old slotted-head screws), I simply threw it away. Before too long, I was able to get my garage sound system going again – which gave me another little boost of energy. I stowed a couple of the subwoofer boxes down in front of the workbench (I have plenty of them) and hooked them up. I can safely say that I once again have the best sounding shop stereo in the neighborhood.

After I got everything cleaned up, I decided to do a little tinkering. I helped a friend purchase a new stereo system a few years ago, and she gave me her old receiver, thinking that maybe I could fix it. Well, I did a little troubleshooting and determined that both the A and B outputs on the right side are bad, which means the whole right side of the amplifier section is toast – not something I want to mess with. So, I tossed it in the back of the pickup. Unless Roger wants it, I will just throw it away – but I think he has plenty of other junk just like it.

Now that my work area is clean again, I hope it will stay that way. But judging from past history, it won’t...

Posted by jethro at January 22, 2005 11:36 PM | TrackBack