Organizational Tips

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Jesse Smith

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Hey fellas. It’s been a while, and unfortunately some real world stuff has kept me busy basically all summer, but I finally have a free weekend to get going on my restore. Was wondering if anyone had any tips or ticks that you might have used on your restoration to keep things organized, like photos or organizers of some sort. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks y’all!
 

1987 GMC Jimmy

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I use an accordion style binder to keep important invoices, schematics and service/owner manuals. Not this particular one but something like it.

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Blue Ox

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For parts, Ziplock freezer bags (because they're heavier and usually have that little patch to write on. And those multi-bin storage cases from Harbor Fright, or similar divided trays from any hardware store, plus ome masking tape and a Sharpie to label what you put in the bins.

There's an endless amount of hardware on these things and being able to put "taillight screws" in a bin and know that they're for the taillights months later is priceless.

I have a friend who used to work on generators in powerplants and the amount of photos he takes when he is working on a project is incredible. And he started with film. In the age of digital photography it's even easier, and nearly free. Plus the camera will date stamp the images so if you actually follow through and take a million pictures like you should, and upload them to a computer they are a great resource for not only knowing what goes where, but when you did something. I once solved a mystery problem on my boat with photos that allowed me to date the installation of faulty components that I thought had been operating prior to an issue. Turned out they were not installed when I thought they were. Problem solved.

Learn how to use Windows File Explorer or whatever file system your operating system uses so you can create folders and have an organized filing system. Having information is one thing. Being able to find it when you need it is another.
 

84 M1008

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I just heave everything into my shed from 10 feet away, makes it really mentality stimulating when it's time to retrieve it.
 

1987 GMC Jimmy

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Oh yeah, for parts I want to save, I just stick them in old coolers.
 

yevgenievich

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Some stuff I will mark, and things that fit only one way separately by respective areas and take pictures.
 

HotRodPC

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We were on a roll with some good tips until the peanut gallery fired up a couple weak suggestions.

I personally like taking pics, pics, pics, and save them in a folder that I can organize into an outline form as I take things apart. It's always nice to have them as a reference when going back together.
 

crazy4offroad

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Most parts I get are ordered online anymore, even stuff from Advance Auto (save a fortune with discount codes). Since all these places email an invoice I just create a folder in my email, like hotmail, gmail, whatever, and name it whatever truck the receipts go to, like "Dad's Truck", "Mud Truck", "GMC Sierra" and move the invoices to the respective folders. Makes it a cinch to take care of warranty items or get a running total of your resto to date.

Cell phone cameras are the greatest thing to happen in ages. You can take before/after photos, photos of things that need attention, you can even shove you phone up behind the dash or some other place hard to see and snap pics or video to see what the hell you can't see.

Making folders on your computer is a good way to sort pics too. Word documents listing things you want to do helps keep you on track and helps you organize priorities. But honestly for me they can be uninteresting and easy to forget. If you have Microsoft Word, or even Mozilla Open Office, you can create a simple webpage using a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) html editor. Drag-and-drop, put this here, move that there. Then through your internet service provider (or a million free services) upload it to the net. You get more out of it when you can see it in a format like that. Then when you make changes to add to it, just use your editor and upload the new version. I never thought I could do something like that till I started tinkering with it. Or even a slideshow in a video format uploaded to youtube. It gives you (and others) a more rich experience of the transformation and all the work you put into it.
 

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