Here's the rest of the "Analyze" phase of my scrap space reorg. Parts 1 and 2 were posted last week, scroll down to read those.
3. What items are essential to you?
Is this a trick question? I think I need everything. :) There's no one category of items I know I can toss, or there's no one area of stuff I'm really missing. I'll evaluate what I need and don't need on a case by case basis when I sort and purge later.
4. Why do you want to get organized?
-So I have a place to be creative.
-So I have a home for all of my supplies and tools, and it's easy to get things and put things away.
-S0 I eliminate all of the crap I'm never going to use.
-So I have an attractive workspace that I look forward to working in.
-So I have space to work efficiently.
-So I finish projects and am able to share them.
5. What's holding you back?
This is that deep philosophical question, right? Something I need a therapist to help me with? Basically, I am overwhelmed with the clutter, and the task of sorting, purging, organizing and just coping with it. I have issues with large projects: I see the clutter and I just avoid the situation. I haven't scrapped layouts in months (outside of the SBO retreat) because I have no space to lay out the project. I hardly even take pictures, and I want to keep recording the memories that my family is making.
I know that this process is already helping me attack the situation, and I am far less anxious about it than I have been before. Next up? Planning the general layout of my space, and maybe moving furniture around a bit to see how I like the looks of things.
P.S. I have to offer my apologies to Ms. Morgenstern, the author of the book I'm using as a guide for my organization process. (Organizing from the Inside Out) I have misspelled her name several different ways in every single post, and her first name is Julie, not Julia! I've gone back and corrected her name. I'm really picky about name spelling myself, and I feel bad when I get someone's name wrong. Not that she's reading my blog or anything, but I feel better knowing I've got it right.
Showing posts with label analyze. Show all posts
Showing posts with label analyze. Show all posts
Monday, January 05, 2009
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Analyze - Part 2: What's not Working
Oh, where to begin....
My biggest beef is that so many of my things in my craft space do not have a home, or have a home that is not adequate. Here are a few of my specific peeves:
1. Chipboard - Currently, most of my chipboard supply is in an overflowing shoebox. I hate trying to go through it. The shoebox does not include my Fancy Pants Big Board chipboard, which I keep with my 12x12 paper because it's that big, or my grungeboard, which wouldn't fit into the overflowing shoebox anyways. The grungeboard moves around depending on whether I need whatever it's currently sitting on top of.
2. Inks - I have several different kinds of inks, and they are scattered in three or four places. I have a drawer in one of my little drawer sets that is supposed to be for ink, but I keep my acrylic blocks in there too, along with some well-intentioned organizing bins that really don't fit anything. I also have ink pads sitting on my scrap table, in my scrap tote, and all my Ranger distress inks and accessory stuff is in another shoebox on the other side of the room.
3. Larger embellishments - These are also scattered all over the place. Some are in drawers, others in shoe boxes, no real system at all.
4. ATCs - I have a whole bunch of artist trading cards that I've made myself or received in swaps and they're all in a box that doesn't see the light of day. I'd love to find a way to display these somehow.
5. Projects in Process - One of the things I've been doing as I start going through my stuff is making a list of unfinished projects. So far, and I've only hit the tip of the iceberg in terms of organizing, I have twelve unfinished projects. They are everywhere. I think eventually I will go through and divide them into "projects I'm really going to finish" and "projects I'll never finish, so I'll recycle what I can from the project".
6. Photos - I have NO problem with 4x6 photos. I have a big Cropper Hopper photo box with individual boxes inside sorted by year. It's all the rest of the photos I have problems with. We have a TON of 8x10s from our trip to Hawaii, a whole bunch of panoramic photos (remember that funky camera that shot three different widths of photos? We had one pre-digital), school photos, and other stuff. Not sure what the heck I'm going to do there yet. Then there's negatives and those little film canisters and contact sheets from said funky camera.
7. Cutting Tools - This is really a case of a drawer that is just not big enough for all of my tools. So, other tools get left on the table or in my crop tote.
8. Foam Stamps - Currently in shoe boxes, but boy do these take up a lot of space. Alphabets are each stored in a ziplock bag. Need a better solution so I know what I have and they are more accessible.
I think I could go on and on with this. But these are the things that stand out the most.
My biggest beef is that so many of my things in my craft space do not have a home, or have a home that is not adequate. Here are a few of my specific peeves:
1. Chipboard - Currently, most of my chipboard supply is in an overflowing shoebox. I hate trying to go through it. The shoebox does not include my Fancy Pants Big Board chipboard, which I keep with my 12x12 paper because it's that big, or my grungeboard, which wouldn't fit into the overflowing shoebox anyways. The grungeboard moves around depending on whether I need whatever it's currently sitting on top of.
2. Inks - I have several different kinds of inks, and they are scattered in three or four places. I have a drawer in one of my little drawer sets that is supposed to be for ink, but I keep my acrylic blocks in there too, along with some well-intentioned organizing bins that really don't fit anything. I also have ink pads sitting on my scrap table, in my scrap tote, and all my Ranger distress inks and accessory stuff is in another shoebox on the other side of the room.
3. Larger embellishments - These are also scattered all over the place. Some are in drawers, others in shoe boxes, no real system at all.
4. ATCs - I have a whole bunch of artist trading cards that I've made myself or received in swaps and they're all in a box that doesn't see the light of day. I'd love to find a way to display these somehow.
5. Projects in Process - One of the things I've been doing as I start going through my stuff is making a list of unfinished projects. So far, and I've only hit the tip of the iceberg in terms of organizing, I have twelve unfinished projects. They are everywhere. I think eventually I will go through and divide them into "projects I'm really going to finish" and "projects I'll never finish, so I'll recycle what I can from the project".
6. Photos - I have NO problem with 4x6 photos. I have a big Cropper Hopper photo box with individual boxes inside sorted by year. It's all the rest of the photos I have problems with. We have a TON of 8x10s from our trip to Hawaii, a whole bunch of panoramic photos (remember that funky camera that shot three different widths of photos? We had one pre-digital), school photos, and other stuff. Not sure what the heck I'm going to do there yet. Then there's negatives and those little film canisters and contact sheets from said funky camera.
7. Cutting Tools - This is really a case of a drawer that is just not big enough for all of my tools. So, other tools get left on the table or in my crop tote.
8. Foam Stamps - Currently in shoe boxes, but boy do these take up a lot of space. Alphabets are each stored in a ziplock bag. Need a better solution so I know what I have and they are more accessible.
I think I could go on and on with this. But these are the things that stand out the most.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Analyze - Part 1: What Works?
I took a look over my existing scrap and craft space and tried to make a list of the things that DO work for me. I've been focusing so much on what doesn't work, and stressing over not being able to find things, that it was nice to think about what I actually do like about my space.
1. Setting - I love the space where my scrap table is. The skylight gives me some great natural light. I also have an old recycled table from my husband's aunt and uncle that I just love. It's the perfect size for the work I do there.
2. 12x12 paper storage - I use vertical Cropper Hopper paper holders for my 12x12 paper. Cardstock is easy, it's sorted by color in its own holder. Patterned paper is a little different, and I'm not as satisfied with my system. Older paper I have in one holder sorted by color. These are mostly papers I bought before I even knew anything about specific manufacturers, etc. The other holder I have newer papers sorted by manufacturer. I keep large scraps with the whole sheets of paper.
3. Scrap paper storage - I have an accordion file labeled by color where I store all of my paper scraps. I define a scrap as at least 12 square inches, anything smaller I toss, generally. The only problem is that I don't use my scraps as much as I should.
4. Pens and frequent tools - I have an altered metal beverage container on my desk where I store pens, pencils, files, and other tools. It definitely works, but could use some purging.
5. Acrylic stamps - All of my stamps are clung to transparencies, slipped into page protectors, and stored in a 3-ring binder. The one I have is quite full, I either need a second binder or a larger binder. The only problem I have with this system is that I don't have a good storage location for the binder.
6. Ribbon storage - All of my ribbon (other than full spools) is wrapped onto cardstock pieces and filed in a wooden box that I think is part of a drawer organization system. I need to start a second box, because I have too many whole spools of ribbon to fit in the box I have. Ribbon scraps go into a glass vase. I don't have a good location for the vase.
Well, those are the things about my system that work. Tomorrow, my complaints about the things that don't work!
1. Setting - I love the space where my scrap table is. The skylight gives me some great natural light. I also have an old recycled table from my husband's aunt and uncle that I just love. It's the perfect size for the work I do there.
2. 12x12 paper storage - I use vertical Cropper Hopper paper holders for my 12x12 paper. Cardstock is easy, it's sorted by color in its own holder. Patterned paper is a little different, and I'm not as satisfied with my system. Older paper I have in one holder sorted by color. These are mostly papers I bought before I even knew anything about specific manufacturers, etc. The other holder I have newer papers sorted by manufacturer. I keep large scraps with the whole sheets of paper.
3. Scrap paper storage - I have an accordion file labeled by color where I store all of my paper scraps. I define a scrap as at least 12 square inches, anything smaller I toss, generally. The only problem is that I don't use my scraps as much as I should.
4. Pens and frequent tools - I have an altered metal beverage container on my desk where I store pens, pencils, files, and other tools. It definitely works, but could use some purging.
5. Acrylic stamps - All of my stamps are clung to transparencies, slipped into page protectors, and stored in a 3-ring binder. The one I have is quite full, I either need a second binder or a larger binder. The only problem I have with this system is that I don't have a good storage location for the binder.
6. Ribbon storage - All of my ribbon (other than full spools) is wrapped onto cardstock pieces and filed in a wooden box that I think is part of a drawer organization system. I need to start a second box, because I have too many whole spools of ribbon to fit in the box I have. Ribbon scraps go into a glass vase. I don't have a good location for the vase.
Well, those are the things about my system that work. Tomorrow, my complaints about the things that don't work!
