More organizing tips and techniques

 

Once again, this is a scheduled post.  In case you don't hear from me today or tomorrow, it is because I have no electricity.  We have electrical outage warnings due to high winds.  They are supposed to be sustained at 50 mph, with gusts that could reach up to 80 mph.  These are straight line winds, but could be as severe as rotating winds.  My electricity company is on standby and will be repairing downed lines as soon as it is safe for the employees to be in those buckets that are needed to repair the lines.  I just want you to know that I am not ignoring anyone, just unable to visit.

In case you missed the first entry, you can find it here.  I've already told you about zones.  There are several ways to make them work for you.   

Be sure you use your vertical space.  If you have a limited footprint, which means you can't go out, instead go up.  Find storage solutions that can be placed above other storage space.  If you don't have the pieces you need, thrift shops offer items for very little money.  

 

I was lucky in that all I had to buy were the eight metal wall mounts that hold my three boards (shelving on the left side of the photo).  The boards are extra leaves that are actually for my kitchen table.  

Now that you have all your storage spaces in place, you will need a staging area.  Sorry for the bad photo.  If you buy or are given new items, you will need a space to stage them before you put them away.  This is very important.  If you try to put things away without doing it properly, you will ultimately lose control of your well designed and thought out space.  Be sure all like items are together before putting them in their final place.  Take a photo after you have moved and changed everything, even if the only person who sees it is you.

Organize your space in a way that makes sense to you.  For example, I keep all my soldering equipment in one space.  Any and everything that could possibly associated with solder can be found in this zone.

The same applies to all my beeswax and encaustic equipment.  It just makes sense to me, but it might not to you.

 

I'm not one who is a good stamper, but I use my reinkers for many reasons, including dyeing fabric and paper.  I keep all these by TYPE, not brand.  I have solvent reinkers, dye reinkers, distress reinkers, and pigment reinkers.  I could care less what brand they are, as long as I reach for the container that holds exactly what type reinker I'm looking for.

Simplify your products and projects.  When I'm creating a tutorial, I mentally go through the project before hand.  I write down all the supplies I will need in order to create the project.  I seldom have to buy anything because I have so much "stuff" I can work with.  Having too much stuff or too many products out at one time, makes it much harder to put things away when you are finished.  That's why, when I finish with a product, I immediately put it away.  There is far less clutter to clean up in the end.

 

Insert some personal items in your art space.  These are items that have meaning to you, or that inspire you.  They could be things you have made, been given, or have purchased to liven your space.  They definitely don't need to take much room.  I mostly used walls and window sills to liven my space.  Painting the walls will make them feel updated, too.

I hope these organization tips have been helpful and will give you ideas as to how to better appreciate your own individual space.  This and my previous post on organizing take the place of my Second Thursday Tutorial.  Look for more organization tips in the future, but not this year!