Crafty Organization Thursdays: Diving In

Welcome back to another addition of Scrapbook Organization Thursdays. I am glad to have you. Last week we discussed a few different ways to organize our to do projects, or works in progress. You can read all about that post HERE. Today I am doing something a little bit different. Since I am in the middle of a large studio re-organization, I am showing you a glimpse into my scrapbook studio while I am organizing it. I will be discussing what works, what does not work, and showing you some organizational systems in progress. I am putting all scrapbooking on hold for the next three days (GASP.) This is really hard for me, I craft just about everyday, but in the name of organization I am making the ultimate sacrifice. At least I can still edit photos.

Now let's start with some BEFORE photos shall we. Some of what you will see is already organized, in the process, or just a hot mess. I believe in keeping it real however, so here goes:

I will start with my east wall. This is my tall bookcase. The bookcase with the infamous Post-It Note Memory Jogger System. Yeah that is the one.

Here is the side of the bookcase with the infamous system.

 Next, continuing around the room you see my large craft island, a tall cube with kit bins inside, and my printer on top.

This is the large window over the island, on the east side of the house. I have the curtain rod hung, but no curtains up. That is on the to do list.

Right next to my craft island is this cart. I love it. I purchased this at World Market a few months ago and it is very, very helpful. I love that it is a similar height to my craft table. It needs better organizing so that it can be more efficient, but I use the top two shelves almost everyday. You also see four Jetmax storage cubes in this picture. Did you notice that most of the paper is on the floor, but hardly any is in the cubes? Yeah, not working so well. Also the top is cluttered. Too many office supplies on top and paint should not be kept there. (See images below.)

Now onto the south wall. I loved "the idea of" these cube storage units by Craftmaid and purchased at Target. It is actually 2- 9 cube units, but the problem was that the in inside of each cube measures approximately 10" x 10" x10" and I needed something that was at least 15" x 15" x 15" for all of my albums and Scrapbook paper.

Rounding the room now is the west side. My computer desk and an extra table set up to organize things on. Yup, hot mess for sure.

 Another shot of my hot mess. Loving the piles on the floor=NOT!

 There is no north wall really, that is my entry way. Yup you guessed it. My scrapbook room is in my "intended dining room," but that is obviously not what we are using it for. Our kitchen is fairly large and can easily accommodate an 8-person table. With all of our family in another state, it makes more sense to use this room for crafting instead of a walk-by dining room, (the room you never use, but looks nice, and collects dust.)

So now that you have an idea for how my room is laid out lets get into the nitty-gritty shall we.

What works:

• I love my craft Island. Seriously in love with that thing. It was purchased at a local shop in my small town. The owner's father made it out of reclaimed pine that was then burned and stained. I got a great deal, so basically it is just my most favorite furniture purchase ever.
• I love that I have such large windows in this space, tons of natural light, and I even get many visitors to our bird feeder hanging just outside.
• I love my computer, computer desk, and office chair. I have a matching stool for the craft table it is just not pictured. The chairs are very comfortable and I like the pattern a lot.
• White storage shelf on wall. It holds my mists, embossing powder, glitter ribbons, and a little of my wood veneer stash. I love this shelf. (see close-up below.) This is organized well.

What Is Not Working:

• There is a hot mess in that back corner: 
• Papers on the floor and not in the cubes.
• Cart needs to be better utilized to maximize storage. Need to finish organizing Project Life stuff on this cart.
•  Power cord is sticking out like a sore thumb. I need to hide this better. 
• The cube bookcases are not the right size. I need larger storage pieces for paper and scrapbooks.
• Clear off my desk, why am I eating Pringles? Bad Toni.
• The top of my white cubes in covered in office supplies and miscellaneous things that need a home.
• There is no art work on my walls. I have art, posters, and what not, but they are not hung.
• I have yet to make curtains or hang them. I have the fabric, just has not happened yet.
• The extra folding table greeting guests when they enter my house. Yup, it has to go, like yesterday. That will be cleared off, put away, and it is never coming back in here.
• Although I love my hanging ceiling light, it hangs too low, and I hit my head on it. Kind of annoying (even though it doesn't hurt.)

What I have accomplished so far:

Since I wrote this post on Tuesday, I have cleared out a lot of my room, touched up paint, cleaned most everything left in the space, my hubby raised my ceiling light for me, and we brought in a new, larger storage piece to replace my two smaller cube bookcases that were not working.

This large storage piece started as a sketch that I drew up over a month ago:

Which my husband then built and made my scrapbook storage dream come true. He is the best and quite the handy guy to have around. He is a saint I tell you. We were able to make this very large bookcase for just over $100, so not the cheapest bookcase ever, but a great bang for your buck, it is solid wood, and it is customized to my needs. Well worth the saving up for.

This bookcase was then painted (by me) last week and brought into my space (with hubby's help on Wednesday.) This is one very large bookcase. It measures 8 feet long x 16 inches deep x 42 inches high. It is a beast! Notice that the light is now raised, (thanks babe, love you.)

So that is where I am right now. I will be working on my studio all-day Thursday and Friday. I am determined to get it at least 80% done by the time the kids get home from school Friday afternoon. I will continue to work on this space all next week and share some results with you soon. There is still a lot to do, but this is the fun part. I cannot wait to hang pictures and really personalize this space. We bought this house in December and I am just ready to have my pics out of boxes and up on the wall already.

What Can You Take Away From This:

• I think it is really important to critically organize your crafting space and take note of what is and what is not working. 
• Do not buy furniture if it does not work for all of your crafting needs. It is better to save up and get what will work. Or even save up and perhaps find someone handy to build it for you or possibly even hire someone, It might be worth it in the long run if you can pinch your pennies. I lived and learned on that one and ended up wasting money on two smaller bookcases that just did not work for my needs. I did get one with a gift card given to me, but still, no one likes to waste money. Luckily, we are having a garage sale early next month and I plan on selling those babies and recouping my loss. 
• Do not under-utilize your existing storage. If you have empty storage units that work and stuff on your floor, then it is time to organize and get it off the floor!
• Clear off your desk everyday (I am usually good at this, but have not been lately. ) I like a VERY neat computer/ work station with minimal clutter on top.
• Give yourself a pat on the back for what is working: I like the overall organization of my narrow bookcase, love my craft table, my white shelf, and I did a great job picking out my desk and chairs. I took my time with those. Really thought about it and measured a lot.
• Take your time shopping for what is right (that is after you measure, predetermine your budget, and draw out a space plan.) Yeah, I did that too, but sadly did not keep it. 

I will be back soon with some pictures of my studio and some tips for organizing. Hopefully, I will also have time to mess up my studio and create some fun paper goodies to share earlier next week as well.

I hope to see you back here. Thank you so much for stopping by. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask below.

Happy Scrappin' (er Organizing)

xoxox

Toni