Studio Tour: Part 2 – Organization I “Works For Me!”

 
I graduated the Inspiration Phase:  I learned what inspired me and I began to gather up my inspiration ideas and was ready to put it all together and organize it.  So when I sat down to tackle this huge task I decided that my old organization methods weren’t really working and that not everything was going to make it back to my creative space. 

And thus the many moons of sorting and purging began.   {Have you ever seen Clean Sweep?} I now have a big laundry basket in the bottom of my closet that holds a bunch of items that are going to be finding new homes.  Some items will be donated, some sold, and new in package items will be gifted!

The day finally came where I was ready to get organized.  {Keep in mind that the last 1/2 of last year & first part of this year was spent remodeling our house after the sewer back up in the basement.   We repaired the damage in the basement and replaced every square inch of flooring on the main floor, plus added a master bathroom remodel to the mix.  I did not feel much like blogging, scrapping, crafting, or organizing.}

Somewhere along the line, Alisha Trussell pointed me in the direction of a VERY COOL BOOK, “The Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker” by Wendy Smedley {See link in left sidebar.}  There’s a super cool “workbook” that comes with the book choc full of quizzes and questions to help you learn about your style of scrapbooking and organizing.  THIS WORKED FOR ME.  I’m freakishly logical about how I think out these types of things and love to make lists and write out my ideas.  

Here is what I discovered:

1.)  I wanted to figure out a better way to store, organize, and make better use of the products that I already owned so that things did not get lost in space.

2.)  Clean and Tidy – like a “store”.  I like things lined up neatly and want to be able to “shop” for products from my stash.  Everything has a “home” to return to when I’m finished with it.

3.)  I don’t want to have to sort through stacks and folders and piles to find a product that I want to use.  I want things to be easily accessible, yet also able to be put away and tidied up easily when I need my space to resemble some type of an orderly office.

4.)  Current categories that work for me:
       *Color – embellishments and papers.
       *Topic – some papers and stickers
       *Activity – embossing, adhesives, machines, stamping, cutting…
       *Projects – current and past
       *Chronological – Photos

5.) Storage Solutions that work for me are things that are generally closed and visible or open and partially visible.  Some items I like to see out in the open, but they must be contained.

6.)  I need to be able to tidy up quickly before changing projects.  I can’t create in chaos (hence my lack of recent creation posts!).  I get overwhelmed by mess.

7.)  Matching containers is nice… however, realistically it’s not always financially feasible, so eclectic and fun was going to work for me.  You never know what you might find that inspires you or fits your space!

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In the next couple of parts I will show you how I organize.  I do not want my studio tour to be about “look at all my schtuff… I got loads of schtuff”, rather “here’s how I organize and here’s my fun space”.  Do you know what I mean?     My goal for my studio makeover was to pare down, clean up, and create a well organized, happy and bright space for myself.   I think that for ME this works.  Maybe it might just inspire you.

Next Up:  Part 3 - Organization II - The Closet 
(It will be posted today, cuz I’m working on it right now… :) )