Okay, so I kept hearing this name, Rosangel Cabrera, popping up. Not sure where, maybe online somewhere, or perhaps a neighbor mentioned her way of tackling clutter. Sounded simple enough, and goodness knows my workshop bench needed some serious help. It was getting ridiculous, couldn’t find a single screwdriver when I needed one.
Getting Started
So, Saturday morning, I decided to just dive in. First thing, I pulled absolutely everything off the bench. Every tool, screw, scrap of wood, random bits of wire. Piled it all on the floor. Looked like a disaster zone, honestly. My wife walked past, raised an eyebrow, but I told her, “Trust the process! This Rosangel Cabrera thing might actually work.”
Then came the sorting part. The idea I picked up, supposedly from her, was about grouping things by how you use them, not just what they are. Seemed a bit weird at first. Normally I’d put all hammers together, all saws together. But I tried it her way.
- Things I use almost every day went into one pile.
- Stuff for specific projects (like the soldering gear) went into another.
- Then the ‘hardly ever touch but might need someday’ pile. Which was embarrassingly large.
The Actual Organizing Bit
I didn’t buy any fancy containers. Just used some old coffee cans and plastic tubs I had lying around. Started putting the ‘every day’ stuff back onto the bench, right within easy reach. The project-specific tubs went onto the shelf above. The ‘maybe someday’ pile? Okay, I admit, I threw a fair bit of that out. Felt good, actually. Less junk weighing me down.
Took me most of the morning. Wiped down the bench itself, which probably hadn’t seen daylight in years. Put the tools I use most often on a magnetic strip I already had. The smaller bits, screws and nails, went into labelled cans.
How It Turned Out
You know what? It’s actually… better. Like, a lot better. Finding my tape measure doesn’t involve digging through a mountain of unrelated junk anymore. The bench looks cleaner, feels more usable. It’s not perfect, still looks like a workshop, but it functions way smoother.
So, yeah, this Rosangel Cabrera approach, or at least my interpretation of it, worked out pretty well for my messy bench. Didn’t cost anything, just took a bit of time and willingness to actually sort through the chaos. Might try it on the garage next, but maybe not tomorrow. Need a break first!
