I'm a director of a Hackerspace in California, so I've got a few scraps of things learned the hard way.
First bit is: don't let clutter build up. Be tough about broken things for restoration, and find a comfortable point where if something has been unloved for too long, that it must go.
I strongly advise against permitting anybody to store anything there that is not for sharing with everybody. Make the space carry-in/carry-out. This is a great way to reduce clutter, and decrease drama and egos when people fight over territory, or tears when somebody's beloved project gets knocked on the floor and smashed.
As for as organisation: abuse a label maker and try for clear containers. With a high-volume of unfamiliar people passing through, training everybody where everything belongs becomes a hell of a chore. You're better off just making it very easy for a well-meaning stranger to put things away, and to make it easy to see what is in storage containers to minimise rooting about. Keep a ready supply of fuses for your power supply etc about, people are going to be dumb and burn them up, and you don't want anybody to be tempted to "hotwire it just for a second while they try something." Reach an early understanding that the space is not liable if things left there are broken or improperly used. Also leave cleaning supplies very easy to see. People are more likely to clean up after themselves that way.
Keep the drills and power tools away from the electrical station. I know "hardware" and "software" divisions make sense in the abstract to some people, but electrical people get very grouchy when metal chips wind up shorting out their boards.
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I'm a director of a Hackerspace in California, so I've got a few scraps of things learned the hard way. First bit is: don't let clutter build up. Be tough about broken things for restoration, and find a comfortable point where if something has been unloved for too long, that it must go. I strongly advise against permitting anybody to store anything there that is not for sharing with everybody. Make the space carry-in/carry-out. This is a great way to reduce clutter, and decrease drama and egos when people fight over territory, or tears when somebody's beloved project gets knocked on the floor and smashed. As for as organisation: abuse a label maker and try for clear containers. With a high-volume of unfamiliar people passing through, training everybody where everything belongs becomes a hell of a chore. You're better off just making it very easy for a well-meaning stranger to put things away, and to make it easy to see what is in storage containers to minimise rooting about. Keep a ready supply of fuses for your power supply etc about, people are going to be dumb and burn them up, and you don't want anybody to be tempted to "hotwire it just for a second while they try something." Reach an early understanding that the space is not liable if things left there are broken or improperly used. Also leave cleaning supplies very easy to see. People are more likely to clean up after themselves that way. Keep the drills and power tools away from the electrical station. I know "hardware" and "software" divisions make sense in the abstract to some people, but electrical people get very grouchy when metal chips wind up shorting out their boards.