Let's get organized

 

Last month, my friend Erika asked me to share organization tips.  I'll begin with the basics.   If there is any way you can move everything out of your craft room, that would be ideal.  However, if not, you still need a plan.

If you have been around my blog for any length of time, you know I preach "zones."  You don't stick your spices in your refrigerator and you don't store your silverware in your sock drawer.  You don't store your makeup with your milk, or your toilet paper in your oven.  That may sound silly when I put it that way, but you have zones in other parts of your home, why not your craft space, too.

The first thing you need to do is put on paper what you want to go and where.

These are scribbles I made when I was planning my basement studio after the big flood I had there several years ago. They were really not to scale, only for my clarification. As you can see, my room is 14' ( 4.26 m) wide X 13'6" (4.15 m) long, then 12'6" (3.84 m) on the "closet" side. I have moved my work bench to the west wall, and will place my three new bookcases (plastic five shelf) on the south wall. That way I can get more items on the bookcases, since the ceiling is a foot and a half higher in that area.  You can see the map is oriented for north to be at the top.

I drew bookcases and numbered the shelves, then determined what I wanted to place on them. As you can see, I changed my mind several times before finally deciding on where to place each item. Better to move stuff on paper than in reality.  Again, things are set in zones.

And finally, this is my work bench, but it too changed, since I was able to use cinder blocks instead of bricks to hold the boards.  One thing I was sure of was, I wanted all my charms on a sturdy board where I could reach them.

If you truly want to get organized, measure your room, then measure your current furniture and shelving units.  From there, decide where each unit should be placed.  Drawing to scale would be best, but if that isn't possible, at least document where everything should live.

For those of you who say you have only a tiny space, or your art is shoved under your bed (or other area), if you draw a "zones map," you will know exactly where everything is when you look for it.

I hope that helps.  More organizing tips another day, dear friends.