Where do you start when cleaning your craft room?

[mycatstamps2]

Ok, so more often than I care to admit, my stamp room is a *mess*, which causes a huge amount of anxiety and a lot less creativity than I like.

So! Fellow crafting peeps- I ask you what helps motivate you to get the clean up in gear, where do you start, and how do you tackle the ... umm... piles of *stuff* to put away and get reorganized.

Also, anyone care to share there photos of their creative space? I'd love the inspiration, and here is the place that it is a-o-k to brag a little. Come on, inspire me (and others) to get it clean/organized!


;-).

[Cathy H]

No photos. That's for sure.

Where I start - I start small. I clear off my desk, put everything away that needs a home, and then I pick another surface that can be cleared off. Sometimes I end up piling stuff from one table to the other - but it makes me feel better to see SOMETHING that looks organized even if I can't get it to all look good at the same time!!!!!!!!!!!!

What motivates me? I usually have a new project I want to get started on and I tell myself that as soon as I've done a bit of cleaning up that then I can start making another mess!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually, I try not to be messy. . . but.. . ..

[fionna51]

My stamp room pics are in my gallery, and since I don't think I've gotten anything posted in my gallery since then (teaching and not much time for card making), they should be easy to find.

When I do a good job of cleaning up my stamping area, I start on my desk too. I put everything away where it belongs. That means all those loose stamps need to go to their right homes, blocks cleaned and back in their basket, scraps put away, tools put away...you know the routine.

What makes things hard for me is stuff I don't have a set place for. I know, I need to find that set place. It just hasn't happened yet.

Of course I'm not dealing with the sewing space here...or my painting. But you get the idea.

ETA...I'm coming back to say that I think the secret to being able to clean up effectively or to keep things clean is to have a place for everything to be put away. And if you can't put it away, don't buy it! "Put away" means an established place for that thing. The paper cutter may have a set place on your desk, but it's a set place.

[mycatstamps2]

I'm impressed that you folks start with a single surface and put that all away. I tend to get distracted (and overwhelmed) trying this technique.

Thanks Diane- I agree that the secret is having a place for everything. I've been in a constant state of change in my craft room and therefore am always changing the "homes" of things. Perhaps it's time to call it good and put everything in its home so that I can play!

[Cathy H]

Diane is right. My problem is all that stuff that doesn't have a place.

[jeannemlehrman]

AAARGH--mine is currently a fine mess -- When I have just a few minutes, I start with 10 items on my work table....pretty soon my work table is clear enough to make.....another fine mess. When I have more time available, can put more items away; and work on organizing. I'm in trouble because I like stamping and coloring more than I like putting away.....Jeanne

[Joan7356]

Everything on my desktop gets sorted on the floor (if room). Then all that is on the floor gets sorted into piles in the direction the items are stored.

If you want to see some great org ideas.. check out... Where Bloggers Create

[xayide2]

I have to vacuum the floor first, or all those little bits of paper migrate to other rooms in the house.

[texasyaya]

Joan thanks for the link for Where Bloggers Create. I may spend hours drooling over these wonderful artistic rooms. Plus it will help my DH to understand that creative places are supposed to have lots of stuff in them.

[ktfabian2]

I try to clean as I go. After I finish a card or set of cards, I put all of my tools back where they belong, put the paper away: I store scraps from my 6x6" pads in envelopes and keep them with the pads that are stored in two boxes right by my work area, scraps of solid or patterned 12 x 12" paper go in a page protector that's stored with that type of paper in 13 x 13" hanging folders in a cart my husband made for me or in Cropper Hopper vertical storage for special designer paper. Small scraps go in one of two shoe box-sized plastic containers by color in the top drawer of a dresser that's near the rest of my paper.

I make sure all tools and markers are put back where they belong after each project, and ribbon and other embellies are returned to their proper place.
By doing this after each project (most of the time) it makes keeping my work area clean and ready for the next project.

My problem comes from the rest of the room which has a tendency to collect things that my husband or I aren't really sure where to put. I try to clean that up on a daily basis, but it's been SO hot lately, even with an air conditioner in my craft room, that I need to get in and dust and purge.

I have a special tote for items I come across that I haven't used for a long time, like more than a year. I go to a weekend-long Crop for A Cure in October of each year and there' s always a "yard sale" where you can try to sell your unused items. If I don't sell them there, I donate them to a local nursing home that just started making scrapbooks.

Hope this gives you and idea or two,

[Cathy H]

Cleaning as you go as you do, Tracy (and I strive to do) is the key IMO. One of my problems is that before I finish one project, I get an idea for another - so I push project A over to the side and pretty soon I've got a couple of piles on my desk so I move them to the table... but I am going to try to finish what I start before starting something new.

[gregzgurl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cathy H

Cleaning as you go as you do, Tracy (and I strive to do) is the key IMO. One of my problems is that before I finish one project, I get an idea for another - so I push project A over to the side and pretty soon I've got a couple of piles on my desk so I move them to the table... but I am going to try to finish what I start before starting something new.

Thank you for providing that brief synopsis of my entire life, Cathy! I used to feel bad about my "ooh, shiny!" distraction and pile o' unfinished "stuff", but then I read a book called "Renaissance Soul", realized that I am not alone, and have come to terms with the fact that I will ALWAYS jump from thing to thing (in every area of my life, not just cardmaking).


Having said that, I will also throw out there that I DO NOT deal well with clutter - it makes my head fuzzy - so I have to have "a place for everything", and put things there regularly. That includes a "landing spot" for the unfinished stuff, as well. I have a shelf that is empty until I need to land the latest project that I hit burnout on before I hit completion. If I let it rest for a bit, then I can come back to it with fresh eyes and finish it...

[missiowa81]

I had a marathon ATC (artist trading card) session last Saturday night and my craft table was a HUGE mess. I couldn't even see the top of it. lol Not to mention my small scissors and craft tweezers were gummed up with glue, my nonstick craft stick had dried paint on it, yadda yadda yadda.

So I had to do a major clean up.

I started by grabbing and putting away the "big" things that have definite homes and thus are easy to deal with (scissors, paint dabbers, charcoal pencils, stamps, inks, embossing folders, etc).

Any odd things got thrown into a small plastic basket: mainly that means scraps of leftover paper, clipart or photos I didn't use, 2 empty gel medium containers that need to be washed, and some odd stuff from other projects that had been sitting on my table for several weeks.

I just had to redo my craft stuff this spring because our basement got water in it in March, and I had decided that I didn't like how I had stuff arranged on my table. So once I got all the little stuff off, I removed the lamp, my tool holders, etc., and wiped down the top with cleanser. Then, I put my stuff back in a new arrangement that I like better. I used 2-sided tape to secure the edges of my nonstick craft sheet and voila!



Of course, I still have that small plastic basket of stuff to deal with, but that's manageable and in the meantime, I have a clean surface to work on.

[Crae]

My motivation is that my creative space is right smack dab in between our living room and kitchen. I don't mind getting messy while creating, but feel obligated to clean as soon as I am finished for the day. I start out by turning on some music, tackling the trash and scraps then putting away supplies.

[Phantom]

I don't have a ton of space so I can't let it get TOO out of hand. In the midst of multiple projects though, it can get a little crazy and my work surface shrinks before my eyes until what I'm working on has barely an inch of free space around it. I don't usually let it get that far but my process is the same whether I'm straightening up after a single project or after "chain creating."

I start with the work surface and put everything away - everything has a place.
Then if I've been doing a lot, I sort through my scraps box.
Then if I'm reorganizing, I'll approach stamps, inks, paper, embellishments, etc., with purging in mind. Especially if I had trouble finding things or kept coming across things I don't think I'm going to use.
Then if there's something I had a hard time accessing, I'll work on reorganizing.... just look at the array of boxes and shelves and see if I can do some shifting.

Then it's time to start all over again !

ETA: This was a fun thread to read -- I can relate to a lot of the stories here!

[Tinkerbell1958]

I have a basket next to my work table on the floor. When I finish using something that needs put away I put it in the basket. When I am done with the project I take the basket and put my supplies where they belong.