Projects!

We've been in our house for 2 1/2 years and I've desperately wanted to organize my craft room but there has never been enough time.  I knew it was going to be a multi-day project and I haven't had "multi-days" in my house alone since we moved here!  I'm not totally finished with the organizing - I want to sort pictures.  We finally found all my commentaries (they were in a box in storage!) and I'm going to add those to a shelf that I was able to clean off.  I also want to clean out and organize the closet that is in this room.  There are some craft supplies inside the closet and I want to organize better.  It is a fairly large walk in closet and we store the vacuum cleaner in there and I store all of the seasonal door decorations on hangers.

Just FYI - I filled two garbage bags with trash.  It doesn't "look" that messy but I had no idea where I had stored anything. I had opened boxes and crammed supplies in every nook and cranny.  (the arrangement of sticks on the desk on the right will go back on the mantle after Christmas - it is just hanging out for now in the room).

See the little bookshelf below - I've sorted the items in the baskets and put away in drawers.  This is where my commentaries will live.

All of the red bins in the big piece of furniture on the right contain photos - they still need to be sorted and I need to figure out what is hiding behind door number one and door number 2 in the bottom of the cabinet.  There is also a small bookcase behind the door with some DVD's and books - it will remain hidden behind the door.

I realize that the room has too much furniture.  For now, it is going to remain that way.  I don't want to use the big wooden desk but it won't fit in the attic and it is very old . . .

As with any project, you have to make even more mess in order to organize.  Say it ain't so!  It is!  Mark helped me and we moved the antique desk over to the right of the room.  While I was home alone, I removed all the paper from the cabinets and moved some toward the window (I have ordered three more and I have one in the garage).  I will have two stacks of four cubes on each side of the desk.  I moved the stacks on the right about 12 inches to the right.  I have to leave enough space to slide big tubs in and out of the attic.  Walk in attic is accessed through that walk in closet.  I would prefer for everything to be perfectly centered on that back wall but it would mess us access to that closet and we use our attic space.

I sorted paper into several categories - 8 1/2 by 11 - patterned and solid and 12 X 12 - patterned and solid.  The pile of paper below is a separate category . . .it is glitter.  I had no idea that I had so many sheets of glitter paper.  That is the problem when something is terribly unorganized.  You go to get something to work on and you can't find the correct supplies so you go to Michael's or Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's and buy more suppliesl

I finished late last night.  By moving the red desk to the back wall and the antique desk to the right wall, it somehow made the room feel bigger because there is a tiny sliver of wall without furniture now!  Please disregard items on top of bins on right side.  The red baskets and buckets are empty ready to be used somewhere else in the house for organization and the big tall thing will go back on the mantle.

Just that little bit of clean floor space and wall space over on the left makes the room feel less cluttered and bigger.  My paper is organized by color.  Until this moment, I thought I had used ROY G. Biv . . .but I used ROY B. Giv (sort of!)  The patterned 12 X 12 papers are sorted by checks and plaids; stripes; florals; black and white; holidays and specific events.  I couldn't decide the best way to organize those printed papers - whether by color, etc. so I thought I would try this method.

I organized and labeled all of my drawers so that I can FIND things!!!  If anyone borrows my stuff, they can hopefully put it back in the correct location!!!  Yes, if you read the labels closely, I have googly eyes!

As a new year approaches, I always feel a need to organize something - evidently along with the masses because in Home Depot this morning, they had storage bins and accessories stacked up at the front door!

Besides the other stuff in the craft room, I also want to clean and organize this closet - I assume it is supposed to be a coat closet because it is near the back door.  I have extra linens and some wrapping paper and tissue paper flowers stored in there along with some coats and jackets! 

I did buy one of these at home depot to store those rolls of wrapping paper.

Do you feel the need to clean out and organize at the end of one year before beginning a new year?  I would love to see some other projects by other folks!!

One thing I did realize when I was doing all this work . . .I haven't crafted a scrapbook page in at least 5 years. . . I've blogged.  I've made banners and invitations and other craft projects requiring paper and glue . . and I've blogged!  Does anyone still make paper scrapbooks?  I really enjoyed making them . . .I may have to do some of Emma's life!!