Craft Room Clean-Up

After living in this house a year it was well past time to organize my craft room.

I'd moved in with no organizational supplies, no system in place, and so over the course of a year with craft shows & filling orders... it. was. BAD.

I would clean the craft room, but it fell apart again the minute I tried to craft anything BECAUSE I had no organizational tools! There was no system.Everything just went everywhere. I needed {desperately} to get this place under control because it was impossible to make anything in this mess.

Go ahead, keep looking if you dare...

Can you hear the screeching violins? EEE! EEE! EEE! EEE! EEE!Yeah. It was time. Plus, I was 8 months pregnant and decided to take advantage of the nesting instinct. If there was one time I could tackle a mess as bad as this, it was now.

So I got to work and started chipping away at the mess, with intent to organize all the thousands of little items in my craft room {we're talking stamps, tools, papers, endless yards of ribbon, books, findings, stationery, beads, wire, ... basically the entire inventory of a Michael's store had been vomited into this small room.}Above you can see my progress after about two days of work.

While I would have loved to go out a buy all these beautiful pieces of furniture and organizational supplies to fix up my room, a tiny budget was of issue here. Plus, with a baby on the way I absolutely had to scrimp. In the end, I decided to go the practical route. I purchased a new "desk" that is actually a very sturdy little table. {$50} It works fantastically! Plus, I can fold it up and give the room more space at any moment.

I also created a system for all the little THINGS in my craft room. I purchased Sterilite boxes in bulk, {$24} as well as a shelving unit {$30}. With some labels they made perfect places for all the THINGS. You know what they say...

"A place for everything and everything in it's place."

So true, you cannot keep organized and clean without it.

I also managed to make the craft room a little bit of a guest room at the same time by finding a daybed on Craigslist for $75, with the mattress!

Okay, so are you ready to see how it turned out???

~TA DA!~

I also picked up this little shelving unit with a 50% off coupon at Michael's {the rare 50% off coupon only pops out of their printers once in a blue moon} making it about $40.

As you can see, it makes the perfect vertical space for many of my craft supplies, and they're right within my reach above my desk. {Although it only holds a fraction of my ribbon...}Unlike before, my crafting surface is clean and un-cluttered.Again, I can break this table down at any time to create more space. I think a folding work table is the way to go.Here is my tattered old hutch that I bought for $12, painted, and used at countless markets. It is well-weathered, but still good for storage.I keep my books shelved nearby. I tear apart these old antique ones for various projects. In the meantime, they look pretty.I LOVE my craft book "library". I could triple the size of it ten times over, however. There are many more crafting books on my wish list...Old cigar boxes and vintage thrift-store industrial office drawers make for some great storage as well.I bought this old metal-covered door off of Craigslist for $10 a couple years ago. Ever since it has served me as a magnetic inspirational board, it changes constantly.I find pretty magnets and then throw whatever might inspire some creativity onto this giant magnet board. Love it.My little tower of drawers holds stamps & jewelry making supplies.Under the hutch are unfinished projects and stacks of scrapbooking paper.Another little organization tool I picked up with a coupon at Michael's, a spinning tool caddy. This one item has helped so much in the way of keeping my workspace tidy!And of course, I never seem to have enough boxes. I scored the white drawer set, brand new, at Goodwill.Here are where the Sterilite tubs come in handy, on the shelving unit they hold all my most precious supplies:It takes all the work out of cleaning up just to have a space for everything. Here is my box labeled "Adhesives":"Ephemera" and "Notions":Some baskets store my current sewing/knitting projects and my Husqvarna hangs out on the bottom shelf:Ahh! Everything in it's place - I'm so happy now!It's a tight fit, but we still managed to get the daybed worked in there. It's really nice to have an extra bed.Now THAT'S a room I can walk into and be creative & productive in. No one should put up with a messy space like I had. I hope this provides some motivation for you, if you have a space you can't get under control. It IS possible to make even the smallest most horrifyingly messy room shine again!Almost forgot, the finishing touch! My husband got a "bonus" from one of the brands he sold at work over the holidays, and thus was able to win credit towards their products. He used a little bit of his bonus to get me a little system so that I could listen to music while I work. So thoughtful of him, and I'm loving having music to work to now. Being married to an audio/video geek has some real perks... thanks, honey!!It's been a couple months now since "The Great Craft Room Clean-Up of 2011", and I'm proud to tell you that this is as messy as it gets these days:It was a project that had me so intimidated and fearful at first, but I'm so very glad I tackled the mess.