Had a dream last night where I was folding laundry but every shirt had to face north or it wouldn't count

I woke up and realized that's basically how I've been organizing my garage for years now. My neighbor Bob came over about 6 months ago when I was putting away tools and said 'you know those wrenches go from small to big, right?' I thought I was doing it fine but he showed me his setup where every socket is grouped by drive size and then by millimeter. Now I can't look at my pegboard without seeing all the spots where stuff is out of order. It's like my brain decided Bob's system was the only real way to do things. Anyone else get stuck following some random piece of advice from a neighbor like it's gospel?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_claire1mo ago

I mean, I get where Bob's coming from with the socket thing, but honestly I feel like that kind of advice can mess with your head more than it helps. Maybe it's just me, but I think there's a difference between having a system that works for you and suddenly deciding your neighbor's way is the only right way. I've seen people get so hung up on someone else's perfect setup that they forget their own garage is supposed to make them feel good, not anxious. If your tools are easy to grab and you're not losing anything, who cares if the wrenches aren't going small to big the way Bob does it?

the_jennifer1mo ago

Oh man, I gotta push back on this one a little. I get what you're saying about not letting someone else's system make you anxious, but honestly, sometimes another person's way just clicks better. I rearranged my kitchen cabinets after my sister showed me how she groups her spices by how often she uses them instead of alphabetically, and now I cook way faster. It's not about Bob's way being the only way - it's about finding a system that actually works better, and sometimes you don't know what you're missing until someone shows you.

tessa_murray1mo ago

Oh wow, I never really thought about it that way but you might be onto something here. I used to be all about following whatever system my dad showed me for organizing my stuff, and I'd get so anxious if things weren't perfect. But reading your post and the comments, it's kind of making me realize that Bob's advice is just one way to do things, not the only way. Maybe I've been way too hard on myself trying to recreate someone else's system instead of just... having a garage that works for me.