List,<br> <br> <div id="AOLMsgPart_2_75b7c655-a431-48e1-a7f1-9f86ba5332b7"> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">There are many things that we do (or ought to do) out of consideration for our health. As we become better informed--and older--the list of what we can in our work to, shall we say, "Reduce the rate of decay" of our bodies grows longer. In addition to dust masks and goggles, hearing protection and key beaters and the like, there is one very low-tech thing you can do to make your work environment a healthier place to be: Give the shop a thorough cleaning every year or two!</font></div> <div id="AOLMsgPart_2_75b7c655-a431-48e1-a7f1-9f86ba5332b7"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <br> Eric Wolfley, Director of Piano Services at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, visited my digs at CalArts last week. I warned him that we were in the midst of a multiple day piano shop clean-up. First, we remove everything that makes a footprint in the shop and is not bolted down, storing these items in a secure room that we have reserved for at least two days. Next, we clean off each exposed shelf (i. e., not inside cabinets), taking the items from the shelf outside of the shop to blow them off with compressed air. At the same time, tops of light fixtures and cabinets--basically, any horizontal surface that can catch dust--also gets cleaned. The floor gets cleaned and waxed (in this case, linoleum) by the custodial crew overnight. Then we reload the shop, blowing off everything before it returns to our hallowed space, down to the scrap wood.</font></div> <div id="AOLMsgPart_2_75b7c655-a431-48e1-a7f1-9f86ba5332b7"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <br> Having done this most years for some time now, I have refined the process by organizing the shop FIRST and then taking both marco and micro digital images of how things are to be put back. Print out 8 1/2 x 11 on cheap paper and hand the appropriate prints to whomever is working a particular area. This is much quicker and more accurate than answering, "Where do you want this?" umpteen times over.<br> <br> Oh yea, you might want to make a pact with yourself to be sure to not let everything back in the shop that came out. </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">If you are anywhere close to being pack-rat that I am, this may prove to be a bit traumatic. But in its own way, it is just as healthy as getting rid of all that dust.</font></div> <div id="AOLMsgPart_2_75b7c655-a431-48e1-a7f1-9f86ba5332b7"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <br> Poor Eric, he had to use his imagination (aided by our photo gallery) to be able to picture our shop in all of its functional glory.</font></div> <div id="AOLMsgPart_2_75b7c655-a431-48e1-a7f1-9f86ba5332b7"><br> </div> <div id="AOLMsgPart_2_75b7c655-a431-48e1-a7f1-9f86ba5332b7"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">FWIW,<br> <br> Alan Eder</font></div> <div id="AOLMsgPart_2_75b7c655-a431-48e1-a7f1-9f86ba5332b7"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">California Institute of the Arts<br> </font> <div id="u8CAA85FC13E3B90-9C0-5805" class="aol_ad_footer"><font style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><br> </font></div> </div>  <div id='u8CAA9E2872A4B57-1130-23CE' class='aol_ad_footer'><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px"><A title="http://toolbar.aol.com/moviefone/download.html?ncid=aolcmp00050000000011" href="http://toolbar.aol.com/moviefone/download.html?ncid=aolcmp00050000000011" target="_blank">Get the Moviefone Toolbar</A>. Showtimes, theaters, movie news, & more!</FONT> </div>