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So, about 4 years ago I stopped all scrapping, and stamping (I know, I know). I had such a bad experience with my upline that it kind of soured the whole idea. Well, I finally decided its time to get back with it. I have missed every moment of it. Every project, idea, quiet moment to myself, spending time with friends, ect.
Now though its like starting all over again. I have to:
Organize all my paper, ink, stamps.
Find out which ones are discontinued (probably 99% of stamps and 90% of cardstock/ink colors).
Set up a private area to work and organize everything.
Set up a "public" area for friends to come and work on projects.
AND, just clear out and organize the WHOLE room. For years now we have been using the area for the catch all and just shutting the door before people walk into the house.
I just don't know where to start. Half of me is wanting to start in one corner. I bought a new desk and bookshelf combo with drawers in it. I was thinking this would be a great area for me (for making cards and pages). I am thinking of getting this set up and then running from there. This would give me a place to store all the "current" items. And, a place that would allow me to store the retired sets that I really want to keep.
Any ideas? Any one else been in this situation? What should I do?
__________________ Ana Maslowski
Southern California Crafter
Maybe start by putting all like items together. Then sort into keep, donate to school/boys & girls club/etc., trash, sell...all of your paper checking for retired, etc., then sort all of your stamps, etc., then ink, then ribbon, and so on. Once it is sorted then you will know what kind/how much storage you need keeping in mind how you like to stamp and scrap/what needs to be within reach.
Thanks. That is what I was kind of thinking. I have a really large craft room and one wall is a full floor to ceiling bookshelf. I want to make sure I have a sewing area also, and a place to keep my yarn. I guess I just need to dive in and start at it.
__________________ Ana Maslowski
Southern California Crafter
Hi Ana! I grew up in Corona and drove right by the turnoff to your town a bizillion times on my way to Las Vegas, Utah, etc., etc... Welcome back to stamping! I agree with Arlene about the sorting/purging coming first so that you'll know how much storage and what type of storage you will need. MOST of my stamps and papers are retired (some as old as 1995), but I just don't care - I keep what I like and use it whenever... Have FUN!!!
my best advise is.....
1. plan how you want to store each item embellishments, paper, inks, etc
2.good lighting
3. to start sorting I like to start small. a wall/a drawer. do have a box/bag to sort.
I was blessed a few years ago to be able to get an actual crafting room complete with cabinets. Unfortunately, the room was a disaster before I got started organizing. Here is my advice to you: Move it all out. Start with a bare canvas. Paint your walls, do your floors, move in all of your large furniture, etc. Then plan out where you are going to put everything. Have little bins to organize pens and paintbrushes. Find out how you are going to store your stamps and your inks. I unmounted all my stamps and have them in CD cases, and that was a MAJOR improvement space wise. I can fit over 190 stamps where I used to only be able to fit 20 or so before. Organize everything so that the things you use the most are at your fingertips...markers, ink, paper, etc. The stuff that you don't use all the time, can go further away from your main work station.
My final bit of advice is to purge. Get rid of all the stuff that you don't/won't use again. There is no point in taking up valuable space with stuff you will never use. I am still struggling with this however!!!!
__________________ Meet the cutest apricot pug ever...Honey!
When I did my purge of a very untidy and totally unorganized room I always had three boxes set out on the floor. One was for giving away/selling/moving out, one was for rubbish and one was for keepers. I gave away at least three big boxes full of stuff in the end and I was surprized at how much I collected in the rubbish heap. Clearing all the extraneous stuff out of the way was so beneficial to getting a better view of how I would organize what I wanted to keep. I still have stuff that needs sorting/reducing but things around here have very much improved. It was a job I dreaded ever starting but once I got the ball rolling it gathered momentum.
I moved from one room to another last Christmas, and I was determined to have a more organised room this time. As btalem suggested, I was able to start with a blank canvas, which made it so much easier. I'd also decided that the main furniture would be Ikea's Expedit cubes, so I bought a huge one of those,the 5x5, and a 4x2 with the desk attachment for my BSPro/cuttlebug. I had an Ikea desk, with drawers, and then a couple of tables for the edges. That way I had a home for everything before I moved it.
As I moved from one room to the next, I did it by theme- rubber stamps first, then inkpads and so on. I sorted as I went along, having boxes for 'not sure', DIL & Grandkids, charity and bin. I found a lot of stuff I'd forgotten about(!), stuff I hadn't used at least for over a year, and I was ruthless this time. If I hadn't used it in that long, I probably never would. Plus my tastes & style had changed from when I first started.The 'not sure' box was stuff I had to think about. Would I really ever get around to using it? I decided I had to ignore how much I might have paid for something, and just go entirely on whether I'd use it or not. Writing off the investment in stuff helped me to make better decisions, I think. Before, I'd always kept stuff because of how much I'd spent on it, regardless of usage. And very little got binned, anyway- I just passed it along to where it would get used.
Before, I'd always kept stuff because of how much I'd spent on it, regardless of usage.
This is especially hard for me to do this! I am terrible at garage sales - I paid $25 for that you want me to give it to you for WHAT? - But I gave all of those stamps away to a lady and I'm sure they will be used more than I could ever use them.
I'm getting ready to start all over again. Purging should be interesting this time around....
__________________ Meet the cutest apricot pug ever...Honey!
Definitely, this was the hardest part! It was why I had accumulated so much 'stuff' I couldn't actually find anything. In the end, I figured I'd already spent the money on it, so whether I kept it, and never used it, or passed it on, the money was gone anyway!Once I made that connection, it was easier to do it.
Yeah - I'm another one who refuses to consider the cost factor when purging. The money's already been spent, I've either used and enjoyed it, enjoyed it by looking at it periodically(!), or whatever. If I'm still bothered, I just remind myself that my husband (much as I love him) spends as much or more on cigarettes, and that money LITERALLY goes up in smoke! Most of my purged items go to a couple of my daughters who are interested in stamping, a friend who is just starting out, or the Boys/Girls Clubs of America, so they're going where they'll be used, at least. We're moving across the continent next year, so my hard line now is "am I willing to move this?" If I'm not willing to move it and/or I know it won't get used between now and then, out it goes! Find something that works for you as "the line you won't cross" with your purging - so helpful! I've also tried a whole bunch of different storage solutions, so there is always a box/bin/piece of furniture that has outlived its usefulness and can get passed along, as well. Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity love me
I'm getting ready to revamp my craft room, I have a bed settee to give away first to make room for new storage, Then a sideboard and drawers, I was worried about getting rid of all the furniture which doesn't match but was quite expensive, we didn't have ikea here then, my Husband said as you said Sue, the money was spent long ago and I've had ten years worth of use out of it all, it will go to a charity shop so I don't feel quite so wasteful.
I really will have to have a good purge too, I can't bear throw away part used papers, I've given some things away to a friend who's just started crafting but I'm determined to be ruthless as I move things to the new storage.
I'm in the same boat right now and have hit a brick wall. I'm moving from one bedroom to another. I emptied the room and painted. Then, I moved all my furniture in and arranged it, then re-arranged until I got it where I wanted it. Then, the "fun" started - moving all the supplies, etc that weren't stored in my cubes. I put up my shelves and made a trip to the dollar store for color coordinated bins and stuff. I spent countless hours online and got a ton of ideas with Ikea storage (small jars, etc). Then, a one hour trip to Ikea. Now, I have a huge mess!! To top it off, I still have to get my new counter top installed so I can't really put my drawers back into the cabinets until they are fastened and my workspace where I will sit can't be set up either.
BUT!! what I did was, I went around the room with sticky notes and tagged where I wanted things to go. I took a step back and thought - will this work here? I moved a few around and I think I have it right, now. So, now that I know where I want everything, I take a few drawers each day after work and get it set up. At night, I sit with all my ribbon, re-organizing all of that too. Once my counter top is installed this weekend, I can set up my workspace and should be able to finish it up.
I guess my point is - the sticky notes really helped and doing a little bit here and there doesn't seem like an overwhelming task.
My unorganized mess
