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c/cabinetmakersleelewisleelewis26d agoProlific Poster

Showerthought: I hit 500 custom drawer boxes built and it changed how I see my whole shop.

For years, I just built them as they came, no real system. Then my count hit 500 last Tuesday. Seeing that number made me stop and add up all the time I was wasting. I was cutting parts for each box one by one, maybe 25 minutes per box. Now I batch cut everything for a whole kitchen at once. My old way felt careful, but the new way is just smarter. I save about 15 minutes per box now, which adds up fast. That's over 125 hours I got back. Has anyone else found a simple count that pushed you to change a basic habit?
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sarahburns
sarahburns26d ago
That line about "seeing that number made me stop" is so true. I read a blog post once about a baker who only changed how she ordered flour after she counted how many bags she went through in a year. What was your 500th box for?
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gray_carter96
Man, we're all just one big number away from a reality check.
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milestaylor
Counting my own screw-ups did it for me. I kept messing up the same simple cut on face frames until I tallied the wasted boards over a month. Seeing that pile of scrap wood forced me to finally build a proper jig. Now I get it right the first time, every time.
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