Having Trouble Finding Parts You Know You Have ??

[w30bob]

Hi Guys,

I'm wondering if anyone out there in M37 land is as disfunctional as I am when it comes to finding parts you know you have? I know as I'm getting older that my memory is going to hell.....no question about that. But it's really starting to bug me when I know I have a part for something and can't find it amongst my stuff/junk. Like last night......I keep all my M37 stuff in boxes in a number of shelving racks in my workshop. I KNOW I have a box of junky wiper motors somewhere because I remember looking for a box of tail lights a few weeks ago and only found a box of wiper motors. Now I know that box of motors is somewhere.......and I wouldn't have moved them out of that area. So now I'm going to tear that room apart (again) until I find them.

But this stuff happens to me all the time. I know I have something, but when the time comes when I need it I can never find it. So it is just me......or do I have a parts eating gremlin in my house that I need to make friends with? Do you guys have any good organizing tips you could share? Otherwise, when I die some poor slob is going to have a lot of work to do getting rid of all the junk I could never find but that's here somewhere.

Have a great Sunday,
bob

[Carter]

Bob; I have never figured out a way to store all the parts I have because if the limited space in my garage so most ends up in boxes stuffed away anywhere a spot is available or piled on my workbench.

[w30bob]

Carter.....I love those teaser pics of those parts. You got me wanting to hit a military swap meet right now!!!

Last week I tried to do a make-shift inventory of parts. I went thru a number of boxes and made a list by part number of what was in them. Well.....that didn't work out too good, as many parts didn't have part numbers on them. So.......back in the boxes they went. Didn't really accomplish anything except to waste a few hours and get my hands dirty. Oh well.....maybe next life.

regards,
bob

[Carter]

Teasers to you maybe but reminders to me of what I have squirled away, because out of sight, out of mind.

[52 M-42]

I've recently started going through my 32 year accumulation of parts. Good Lord what a mess! The most dependable system I could come up with just involved putting all the same type of parts in the same box and then storing the box. All the exterior light assemblies go in one box (mounts, covers, lenses, bulbs, etc). All the voltage regulator parts in one box (brackets, isolators, grounding straps, etc). All the fuel pumps, fuel pump shields, bolts, studs, etc in one box.

Yes there are lots of boxes, but when I'm looking for something I seem to have more luck finding it. It is an on-going sorting process, and it takes a lot of time, but I don't feel as senile when I'm looking for specific items.

Cardboard boxes from the grocery store are free and we have lots of markers from when the kids were little, so no cash out of pocket.

Just time, lots of time in the garage.

[Cal_Gary]

I think we all have this problem Bob, too many parts waiting to be installed/rebuilt/replaced/repainted/re (you get the idea). I try to keep my radio stuff in one spot; body parts here, nuts bolts, cotter pins over there, cab top stuff up there on that shelf, boxes and boxes of hodge podge stuff here and there. You should see the piles of stuff surrounding the CCKW hard top I have laying on my basement floor (and yeah, my PRC77 radio is over there too).... Sheer madness but we LOVE it!
Gary

[M37UK]

Bob,
Why not take a digital photo of each item and then number the photos according to the box they are in?
You could then have a library of photos on your pc and you could organize them any way you like in folders, by type, part number etc.
You could even take a photo of where they are in your garage

Cheers
Stu

[T. Highway]

Bob,

Stu has a great idea, now you just have to remember where that camera is.

Bert

[M37UK]

Good one Bert !

[w30bob]

Stu.....that IS a great idea. Only problem is I'm not regimented enough to continue taking pics of the new parts I get. I'll end up saying "I'll take the pic later" and then stick it in a box somewhere........probably never to be seen again.

But seriously.....it's a good idea!!

PS....I did finally find that box of wiper motors I knew I had. They were in a box labelled "wiper motors" on the shelf with some other boxes of M parts. I guess it doesn't matter how organized you are if your brain can't notice the obvious.

Have a good one guys,
bob