Clear Plastic boxes to the rescue!

How was your weekend? Mine was so busy I am still hurting. If you are into all kinds of crafts like I have been you will know what I am talking about; Crafts take up space! Unorganized craft supplies take up even more space! Add to that your husband's craft supplies and you have a real mess.

My mom is coming out this Saturday and I need to make room for her. My back bedroom has been home to many things. Books, scrapbook supplies, photos in boxes and being sorted, ceramics in boxes as well as baby stuff like my granddaughters pack n play, as well as the swing and johnny jump up that she no longer uses all fill that room. Now I need to get my mom in there too!

Saturday I spent cleaning off the shelves in the computer room, throwing stuff away and organizing. You see, all that craft stuff belongs on these shelves, but... The BIG BUT... they were filled with all kinds of other things. Husband's old computers that he wants parts off of, papers that had to be kept, stuff I had to move quickly and did not know where to put etc were all piled on the shelves.

After I cleaned them all off, I went and got some clear plastic storage boxes. I already had my sewing stuff in some, so just got more and organized. Now, I have clear boxes on the shelves, can see what is in them. I may label them later for hubby, but I know where to find things now anyway.

My mom has a bed to sleep in too! I have to move out the baby things, but I found a bed under all the scrapbook stuff! I knew I had one somewhere in that room!

I would like to give all of you some advice. If you live in small quarters like we do, with no storage area, take care of things immediatly. Organize in the boxes right away, it is a lot easier and does not hurt the back as much as what I did on Saturday. When I get craft stuff, I am going to get a new clear container and put it together right away. These containers can fit on a shelf, under a bed or where ever you can put them. Put your bed on blocks of wood or bed risers and there is lots of storage there too.

Just a hint from experience.

I would have pictures, but I still do not have a computer and am on a borrowed one. Hopefully tomorrow night I will be writing from my own.. yipee!

This works for me! For more works for me ideas, go to Rocks in my dryer!

Taming the Craft Supplies

I am a craft lover. I try about anything that does not cost a lot to try out. I also sew clothing and other things. As a result I have all kinds of items for all kinds of crafts.

There is all the skeins of embroidery thread for my counted cross stitching, threads of all colors for the sewing, bobbins galore, ribbon, flowers, glue sticks and fake hair. Doilies, binding, appliqués and paint. Stenciling brushes, paint brushes, embroidery hoops and buttons. zippers, seam rippers, fabric scissors, thread scissors and paper scissors. I have wonder under, interfacing, fiberfill and batting. Then there is fabric, baby fabric, heavy fabric, cotton calico and stretch T-shirt type. Scraps of fur, felt, brocade and denim.

It is all there, in "The Room". I began to get some clear, stackable, plastic boxes with lids, like Rubbermaid or one of the other brands (usually whatever I could find for a good price) If they are clear you can see from the outside what is in them and grab the right one. In one I put the things I use for sewing. Machine needles, pins, a tape measure, my sewing machine parts, seam ripper etc. In another I put all the flowers. I have ones for putting on clothing as well as the small ones for decorating.

Another one got the hair and another the zippers.

I put all the ribbon together in one, standing the rolls up on end and lining them up. This allows you to see the color and size without digging through them all.

I did this with as much of the craft supplies as I could. I have a large, under the bed type one for all my cross stitching supplies. The rolls of cloth did not fit in any of the smaller, so this way they can all stay together and be readily available.

I used to keep all the thread in a box, when I needed a color I had to dig till I found it, by then it was all unwinding and I was tied in the thread and the spools were all stuck together. I found two of the three drawer storage that can set on a desk. The drawers are thread height and I could put the thread in the drawers and not have to dig. My cones lay down in the drawers. I put my elastic in another drawer and the bindings in yet another.

These plastic boxes then sit on a shelf neatly and is easily grabbed for your project.

My fabric is another story! I have drawers full, boxes of scraps etc. Patterns are in another cardboard box. I still need to get this back room cleaned out and organized so it will be usable, but for a number of years now I have had the clear boxes and it sure makes a difference for me, even with the room a cluttered mess!

For more ideas see Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in my Dryer.

Quit Procrastinating

As you know from last weeks post I am trying to get more organized. It is really hard with a baby around as she seems to think it is more fun to disorganize right behind me.

I want you to know my desk is still quite clear after several weeks now. I even made a big headway on my computer desk and found there is a desk under all that mess.

My living room is staying neat, even with the baby and so is the dining room (except for my husband's non working computer setting there.) I have been keeping up with the dishes, but tonight there is a sink full, I will get them in the dishwasher before bed.

I did make two great accomplishments that work for me. My bed and hangers.

My motto has been "why make the bed, you are only going to get back in it, just shut the door and no one knows". Well, since the desk is in my room and it is cleaned off, my dresser is cleaned off and the room is looking pretty good (except for my husbands piles which he "will take care of really soon") I decided to start making my bed. Everyday. What I find works for me, and the only thing that does, is to make the bed when I get up. My husband is usually in the shower and I get it made right away. Neither of us will crawl back in that way and it is done and stays made. I am amazed at how much nicer the room looks with the bed made and it only takes a few minutes of my time as I am getting up.

The next thing I did to organize is actually something my husband has been doing and I am just getting into it. When the dryer is going and I know it is about done I go to the closet to find empty hangers so I will not have to iron. His side of the closet has the empty hangers all at the front of his pole as you open the door. he takes his shirts off and hangs the empty hangers right there. Me, I leave them in the line of clothes where I pulled the shirt, pants, whatever off the hanger. When it came time for the laundry I would be able to grab his quick, but then mine was a hunt. His hangers are big, he is an extra large shouldered man and we have hangers that are good for his shirts. They are too big for mine, so I needed to dig. I finally realized how smart he was and started putting my hangers with his so now all I need to do is open the closet and grab a big stack of hangers and put them by the dryer right after I start the load! Do you know how much time that saves and how easy it is to do?

I am finding more and more that what works for me is to do it right away, then it gets done. After being a procrastinator for so long this is like teaching an old dog new tricks, but I am finding it can be done.