Finally ... An Organized Craft Room

Several months ago, we moved all of our crafting and hobby supplies to the sun room. Then we added some shelves and moved the computer desk down to make it into my office and workspace for our Etsy shop. It's been a huge blessing to be in the middle of the house with lots of natural light.

Although the view can be a little distracting at times. Terrible problem to have.

The hardest part has been figuring out a schedule and an organizing system that works for me. If you go online and search for "craft room" or "home organization," you'll find all sorts of ideas - many of which are incredibly expensive or a little unrealistic. The key is finding something that works for you.

So this weekend I started from scratch. Everything came out, all the shelves and floor were cleaned and all of my supplies and inventory for the shop got organized.

The best afternoon ever!

Even Molly got in on the act, even though she had more fun playing with paper on the floor than doing an actually cleaning. Maybe that will be her next training session.

To start, I used some old mailing boxes to make a paper sorter. o I cut off the flaps from one end, taped them together and covered them with wrapping paper.

Please note: Do NOT use new post office boxes. Do NOT go to the post office and get boxes just for a project. This is a prosecutable offense (seriously) and just plain not cool. The ones I had were not usable anymore. They were going to end up at the recycling center, and that didn't seem very cost-effective. And you can use any type of boxes for this, all the same size. 

Here is my finished product, already full of projects. Yes, I have a lot of work ahead of me. But when you love what you do, it never seems like work.

So the back wall is lined with shelves and drawers. All of my paper products (cards, envelopes, journals and the like) are in boxes, baskets and brown paper sacks to keep the light from fading them. If there is no lid or box, they are covered with tissue paper.

The computer and printer are right next to my work table, so I can quickly print verses, get into our Etsy shop and check email. Since I have a rolling office chair, I can easily go back and forth between the two tables.

 My work table itself is usually cluttered, but now that I'm reorganized, everything has a home. My Thirty One round organizer has been a life-saver, saving me time and space. I put all my tools back into the pockets at the end of the day so they're handy the next morning. That actually encourages me to get started the next day, simply because the space is clean and clutter-free. (Cluttered life, cluttered mind.)

I even have room now for a photography station, right by the window for lots of sunlight.

I'm so excited to start the new week with a clutter-free workspace. Hopefully it's been an inspiration for you, too. Now, I'm off to work!