I found my space

– by David Everett

I have a spot now. My own space, where I can do my stuff. I don’t have to finish  a job or pack it away when I’m done for the day. I honestly never knew I needed  this spot. I always felt it would be good  to have one, so I could actually do the  handyman and amateur carpentry  tasks.

But needing a spot of my own  was a new discovery. I always wanted  a study for my assorted Doctor Who  and pop culture memorabilia too. 

We came to Hervey Bay in 2008  and since then rented the same dull  standard estate place. It was just  a house where we lived. There was  no workspace, so tasks were done  on the grass, or in the garage if they  weren’t too messy (hmmpf) – all kept  relatively simple. With four active  children there are a lot of other things  that need the space. 

Then we moved and beat nine other  applicants. Now we have a five  bedroom house, elevated with views  over Hervey Bay, a deck, gardens and a  shed. The plan was that I would have  my tools down one end of the shed,  and the rest would be set up for the family’s gymnastics and karate training. It  didn’t work out that way and I couldn’t be happier. 

The shed came with a workbench, a bench grinder mounted to a massive lump  of steel and a set of wobbly wooden shelves that had seen better days. 

The timber from the shelves was repurposed to become a garden tool rack,  the workbench was strengthened  to handle heavy duty work and the  grinder, well I now have sharp chisels  and shiny tools again.

My brother  described it as a mini Bunnings;  packets of nails, screws and the like  hung in neat organised rows, a long  tool board where everything has it’s  own place and in easy reach, a mobile  workbench in the middle and steel  shelving abounds for stuff (neatly  organised).

It’s not a Man Cave and I have no  intentions of making it one, but it is  my space. I can look at my tools and  see the little items that were passed  onto me from my Grandad’s shed  when he died, the peg board my dad  installed to hang the assorted battery  tools and the vice my parents recently  gave me for my birthday. 

These really are calming things that  help balance out my working life. Well that and having the kids bring me a cup  of coffee and slice of cake then hang around to watch and do.