Like mom always said, “you made the mess, now clean it up.”

Yes, there are some drawbacks when it comes to completing builds for stories. No, it’s not getting back in the office to actually throw down some ink like you’d might think—that’s the easy part. However, the part directly following the build is the part I dread.

Without fail, no matter how late it is, how tired you might be, or what kind of rush you might be in…tools need to be returned; the garage needs to be cleaned up and the car needs to be put away. You begin picking up and returning things you never even remember taking out. “Where did this wrench come from…I swear I never even used this one.” The absolute worst part is when I do builds out of the house. Usually, I’ve got someone else there like a friend helping me complete the build because I can’t exactly take pictures and handle an impact gun all at the same time. Anyway, to be honest, when we begin the clean up, I would rather just put everything back by myself than have to deal with them misplacing tools and items. I can’t stand it when I go to look for something and its not there because “someone” put it in the wrong drawer. “Why are the Metric wrenches mixed with the Standard ones?” Plus, I have allergies. So, when it comes time to sweep up the garage I'm pretty much hating life at that point. Dust and dirt fill the air and all I can think about is not sneezing.

It’s cool though, the clean up is just part of the game and sometimes we have to suck it up. It takes more time to put tools back correctly instead of just throwing them into a pile on a cart. In the long run, spending that extra hour or so cleaning up your mess can only help making the build go a little smoother next time you start. And, you’ll have piece of mind (for some of us). Some of us are perfectly fine with leaving a mess. That just ain’t my style folks! ‘Till next time…I’m signing off.