The situation in the craft room is dire. At first glance, this disaster appears to be the result of a tornado, tsunami, hurricane or other act of God. It actually was caused by:
- Getting married and sacrificing your office to be the ManCave. All shipping supplies or anything remotely arty got dumped into the craft room.
- Rushed holiday crafting and shoving half-finished projects and leftover supplies onto every available surface before hurrying out of town.
- Having your fabric bins stolen lovingly giving away your fabric bins to your husband so he can use them for god knows what.
- Not ever needing to iron anything (hey this ironing board makes a great clutter collector!)
This is a great example of how clutter attracts clutter until it’s out of control. Don’t let this happen to you! Nip it in the bud. Or if it does get out of control, don’t get overwhelmed, just attack it in an orderly manner.
Here’s how I approach it.
Make piles. I set up a few cardboard boxes labeled thusly: Recycling bin. Trash. Give away. Papers to file. Tiny, annoying notions that need sorting or a place of their own. You get the idea.
Pick one 4×4 foot section and attack. Trying to clean a room that looks like this is insane. Just pick a small section and concentrate your efforts there. My first area was the closet (which isn’t even shown in this picture, we won’t go there). I began by pulling things out one by one and sorting them if they fit into the boxes I’d set up. There was a ton of fabric in there. I cleared a space in the ManCave and set up a folding table so I didn’t make yet another pile in the already crowded room. I worked shelf by shelf til it was clean. I only put things back into the closet that I wanted to stay there.
Work in short bursts. Let’s be real, if you spend 8 hours straight cleaning a room like this, you’re going to be one cranky bitch by the time someone in your family needs something from you. I like to work in 15 minute bursts, then take a break to check email, pet the dog or put on some music, then go back and work for another 15 minutes. Set a timer if that helps you. Shut the door so no one bothers you. You’ll be much more efficient.
Placement is key. I moved a lot of things out of the closet and am moving other things in. I think a closed area like a closet should be for things you rarely use, or long term storage. I keep my bath & body supplies or my stenciling/graffiti supplies here because I don’t use them very often. I will be putting things I want at my fingertips (like yarn, fabric, knitting needles, sewing notions) on my open shelving so I can see them and use them. I am also putting things I want to use more often (like a small watercolor palette, charcoal sticks and art papers) on the open shelves so I’ll see them and be inspired.
Everything needs its own place. If your sewing notions or your unfinished knitting projects don’t have a “home” they’re going to end up cluttering up precious workspace. We don’t want this. As I go along I’m making a list of storage furniture I need like big basket for unfinished knitting, basket for hand sewing/mending, 2 large clear bins for fabric storage, etc. I will be hitting up a few stores this weekend to get some bins, boxes and other storage containers. Anyone know of any good sales going on right now?
Make notes. I like to make little notes for ideas or projects like, “make small journals out of watercolor paper scraps” or “dye white wool yarn Amanda gave me” or “make a felted bag for letterboxing stuff” or “under no circumstances are you to buy more polyfill or pillow forms, no matter how cheap it is on sale.”
Purge thoughtfully. Freecycle is a great way to donate things that you might not need anymore, it keeps things out of the landfill and it saves you a trip to the thrift store. I love using Freecycle, I kid you not, within moments of posting, I usually have at least 10 phone calls or emails from people offering to come right over and take things off my hands. It’s an awesome resource.
When you’re done, celebrate! Do something nice for yourself! Get a manicure or pedicure, fix yourself a nice hot tea or chocolate and do something to christen your newly cleaned area! As soon as I get everything sorted, I’ll be finishing up a tweed skirt that is 80% finished, which I found buried in a basket of felted sweater scraps.
Cleaning itself is often annoying, tiring and unpleasant, but the results make you feel like a million bucks. Do you have any great organizing tips? The comments are dying to know.
About the Author
ah,yes freecycle… it is the best! a lot of people have been recipients of my leftover or “what was I thinking” fabrics, magazines, etc.
It really doesn’t look too bad. Watch Clean House and you will feel so much better. My man hates clutter and picks up my stuff! But then he never vacuums, so he got me a Roomba, which I HIGHLY recommend if you have hard floors.
Home Depot is having their post-holidays storage sale right now, actually, until January 31st. Lots of cheap bins and boxes.
Where are the after photos Amber?
I just wanna get in there and help you – nothing gets me excited like a room in need of organisation! (Yeah, I’m a little weird)
Kelly,
Not quite done yet! I’ll post them as soon as I’ve got everything sorted!
Once organized, label EVERYTHING. To an almost obsessive degree. It makes it glaringly obvious when you haven’t put something back in its place.
The Container Store is a fabulous resource for many boxes. If you find you need them, you can save money by purchasing their clear storage boxes by the case.
Can’t wait to see the after shots.
I gutted my craft room right after Christmas. A few years ago I bought shelving and clear totes and what not so I was a step ahead. I did reorganize the closet. I agree with working in a small section. I even scrubbed the floors on my hands and knees. I was so stoked when I was done…it was worth the time spent!
I personally love IKEA’s boxes, bins, and organizing supplies (anyone who’s been to my Studio knows how obsessed I am). They are super-cheap, but then there’s the drive…why don’t they have one in Hampton Roads?! I would single-handedly keep them in business. I also have a label-maker fetish and totally agree with Andrea.
Aww-it’s not too bad! It’s charming and it looks alive with creativity. At least you have room to move around. A fellow clutter bug gave me a book entitled Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui. I’ve only read a couple of chapters but I can’t wait to finish it. It helps you understand clutter, how it affects you, why we keep it, the true cost of it, how to clear it, and the rewards that come from a clutter free life.
I’ll never be totally clutter free (someone beat me to your “misc craft items” post on Freecycle!) and honestly, I don’t want to be – I need a choice when I am creating! But I can see liberating myself from lots of things I’ve held onto for years for no good reason, after reading this book.
And I really think I can stop myself from buying a vase just because it USED to be $100 and is now marked down to $10. I’m still scratching my head on why I bought 50 pen refills for ten cents each . . . two years ago . . . when I don’t even have the pen . . and they are still untouched . . . somewhere . . . in one of my three junk/craft rooms . . .
hi nice topic we have going here!
hi nice thread we have going there.
Good day …
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With best regards…
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