Process Essay - Tools

  Every now and then I get the uncontrollable urge to play carpenter. The project that is now at the top of my list for construction is a built in liquor cabinet that is conveniently located in a prior doorway that has been closed off on the back side to expand the bathroom. This project would probably be finished by now if the process of locating the correct tools didn't take so long.  I always start the project with the tools that I think I will need, but it's never enough. I end up spending ten minutes looking for the correct length nails, then I usually have to locate the level or the sander, which never seems to have the right grit of sand paper attached. And in the end, it never fails, a trip to the hardware store is needed.  By that time, I am usually so frustrated that I just give up and throw everything into the spare room in an unorganized fashion even though I know this act will just lead to the same process the next time I decide to play carpenter.
  When I start a project, I try to visualize what I will need for tools to accomplish the task at hand and it always involves a hammer. Now we have two hammers in this house, but do you think I can ever locate either one of them when the need arises? I always start looking where it should be; that's the logical thing to do right. When that fails, I try to search my memory bank and remember where I used it last. With no luck in that search, I start asking the other members of the household, and usually someone knows where it is. Great!  The first step down. I have found the most important tool needed, but there goes 20 minutes of my day.
  Nails are a necessity in any building project, and I have lots of them. The problem is the carton they come in when you buy them never stands up to the rigorous abuse I put them through. So, over the years these half used cartons of nails have all been dumped into one large coffee can. This means that I can count on spending at least a half hour sorting through these nails to find a sufficient amount of the same kind needed to finish my project. Or, maybe even get it started at some point.
  The final tool needed to get any worthy carpentry project started is the skill saw. I do take great care at the end of a project to wrap the cord neatly and put the saw back into its' proper case, but locating that case is the issue. Is it in the spare room closet where it belongs, or is it in the garage, or maybe mom still has it from the time we used it to board up her house. I can't rely on any one of the other family members to help me locate it because I am the only one that ever uses it. The hunt begins. The last hunt ended with me finding it in the back of my truck. It took a good 45 minutes of scrambling around the house looking in every possible corner for me to finally remember that I had taken it to a friends to help them with a siding project.
  I enjoy doing my little carpentry projects, but I would be much more productive if I were a little more organized. The process of finding all of my tools would be so much easier if they were all located in one area with each important tool having a specific place to live. Maybe after I finish the three projects that I have started now I will be frustrated enough with the process of finding my tools that I will be motivated to build a tool shed. How long do you think that will take me?