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I debated if I should put this in organization but I think it kind of more a general idea. I hope that got that right.
We often say our stash is a mess.
But.....
It suddenly occurred to me today that while *at the moment* my stash is messy....I actually have FAR more "organizational systems" in my craft space than in my house.
ie: I don't have inventory excel sheets about what I have for anything else in the house. I have...probably about a dozen now in crafts.
Now true, crafts present more storage challenges than other things. (I might guess people with garages and work areas are an exception) You don't worry about color and stuff with that. And since I am visual and color is a big thing here that is one factor. Plus as my memory worsens I do more to help me remember where things are.
I am an organization person, so my sock drawer is mildly sorted by type and color kind of thing, but it isn't the same. I go to much more detail in the craft space.
What about you?
Which one is more organized or are both about the same?
Am I the only one?
I definitely have more organizational systems, tips and tricks, etc., for the craft stuff. My thought is that I don't need it for anything else. If I need a dish, for example, I open a cupboard and there they all are at a glance. Ditto the socks, the shoes, the towels, the whatever. I can't see all of the stamps at once - or the inks or the dies or the papers or the embellishments or...
Not a silly question, and I love when you pose discussion questions like that!
I really like things organized. REALLY. But I have a hubby that mindlessly sets things a down in random places, misplacing his own stuff as well as household which for the most part, has a place. He has a ton of tools and tries to keep his shop organized but... A friend of mine has a quote ‘poor planning on your part does not necessitate an emergency on mine’. I WANT to say that sometimes but in the heat of the hunt, that would be very negatively received.
My craft room is organized to the same level as the house, I would say. I don’t have a massive craft collection so my system works well and I can find what I need when I need it. Disclaimer** I can also look right at something and not ‘see’ it so I am definitely not foolproof.
That's interesting. I love organization, but no - I don't hold the same standard in the rest of the house and I certainly haven't invested as much in any organizational tools for the rest of the house. But our t-shirts are in rainbow order, and everything has a place. Great topic.
I see your point Sue.
I was thinking my tool closet is organized...
Maybe people do it with libraries, DVD collections, filing systems, or whatever.
Maybe it is a silly question....
Not a silly question at all, and I hope I didn't sound like I thought it was! In fact, since you said what you did, I will say that - true to my more-in-less-space fashion - all of my DVDs are in paper sleeves in alphabetical order in long boxes that I picked up at Ikea and the original packaging is long gone. The only exceptions are the Harry Potter collection and the Beatles Anthology (for obvious reasons, I should think, lol). And yes, I have a list of all of them to refer to to see what I'm in the mood to watch or for company to peruse. AND I Kon-Marie'd my t-shirt/legging drawer. Obviously I misspoke on my original post, eh? Apologies all around...
Both my craft room and my house are very organized. I have databases for almost all my craft items and have some databases for household items, i.e. repairs done on house, yard, etc. and any appliances replaced. I have paper files for almost everything since that's how I first started: monthly bills, banking, medical, insurance policies, etc. I can find anything within seconds! I was a secretary to a patent attorney in a large company before my marriage and secretary in many other fields throughout the years and people were always amazed that the files were in much better order and people were able to find items after I reorganized them! Now my husband is another story, he is not organized, never has been and I gave up trying to get him organized and no longer help him find what he's looking for or misplaced - we're married 54 years. Last week we had the cable guy come to help sort out a cable problem & found out it was our TV; he said he'd help us but needed the TV remote. Husband found 2 Sony remotes, neither was the current one and we only had one other Sony TV so I have no idea what the 2nd remote was from. After the cable guy left husband found the current remote shoved in a bookcase; he's the only one who turns on the TV.
Its the office for me. I'm a secretary so its a must. However, I'm personally disorganized. Perhaps I'm rebelling against the daily structure at work, lol. I live alone so I leave things around....why put it away when I'm just going to use it again? I have a knack for spacial awareness and can fit unrelated, differently shaped things together pretty well like stuffing, I mean packing, a whole bunch of stuff into a tiny closet and still have room for more. Hmmm, I wonder if that would that be considered organization? I have made an effort to organize my craft room and I'm finding it very helpful, and cost effective to be honest as I'm not buying duplicates or similar items.
My DVDs are organized...clear sleeves include the original cover and inserts for the discs...and they are all in boxes sorted by type (action, family, etc) and rating (so the grandkids don't get into something their parents wouldn't want them watching).
My pantry is well-organized...all in matching rubbermaid containers. So is my refrigerator. And my recipe book is super-organized.
My sock drawers are arranged by weight and style of sock then by color.
My closet is arranged by type and color.
My bookshelves aren't quite by dewey decimal, but close.
Oh good. Thanks. I can have silly thoughts so I have to be careful about what actually comes out of my mouth or fingers! It's ok. I know that about myself.
Oh yes...the office/work I was hyper organized and praised by bosses for that. I felt if my boss (or I) were on the phone (no computers then) I HAD to be able to put my hands on something immediately and not hold up the call.
Sounds like people are more organized in the house than they realized till they stopped to think about it. Which makes total sense to me. We do things without thinking about it often b/c it isnt really all that important. But in crafts I think we are much more deliberate? I know I am. Maybe if I had a couple hundred pairs of socks I would have a serious organization plan LOL.
I am super, super organized. Closets everything is color coded and in it's proper categories. Bathroom all my beauty products are organized by the their types & brands. I keep them all on separate shelves for what they are- first aid, extra shampoo, bath wash, etc...
Kitchen is probably my most disorganized room. I really glare at it, lol. It is a small kitchen. I was the one who wanted a small kitchen, lol. I am adding a couple of extra cabinets so my little trouble areas will be more organized. I keep all my dishes in order, food in order, medicines, etc...
I don't own any DVD's. I do own a lot of music. Records & CD's are in order by artists and genre's. I do own a lot of video games and those are in alphabetical order except my Assassin's Creed games which are in Creed lore chronological order. Games are also in order of the systems too.
My craft studio is really organized like it's the Library of Congress, lol. A friend teased me that my room is the LOC.
My DH's garge is like I can't even, ROFL. It's like a group of safari animals have gotten in there and had a rave. It's horrendous. My DH tells me all the time how organized he is. He is soooo organized. Then he asks me at least once a week if I know where this or that is in his garage, lol.
Every part of my house and life is organized except my jewelry, which I cannot explain. Also, my basement could use some work but it's pretty good for a basement. My craft room took years to get just right so a day on a closet or pantry seems like nothing. Plus, rearranging stuff is a good excuse to visit the Container Store!
Mary Beth
When I hear of home organization, I picture an Ikea ad and my home most certainly does not look like that. However, since my husband and I are underbuyers, we have so little that it doesn't require that kind of organization. Everything does have its own place, though, so we do know where things are. Keys are hung on hooks by the kitchen door, batteries and printer ink are kept in a box in my closet (that one is so the kids had to ask for them and not just take them!), important papers needing addressed are "filed" behind a pen jar on the kitchen counter, etc.
My craft area is similar in that it isn't a magazine ad picture of all matching storage units, but it is neat and I know where everything is (i.e. I know which ThirtyOne basket it's thrown into!). I do have some Stamp-N-Storage holders that I LOVE.
I sympathize with everyone who is organized and lives with someone who is not......bless their little hearts. My husband is grateful for everything I keep so neat and tidy but left to his own devices he is pretty much a hot mess. You just never know where he'll put something and he gets incredibly frustrated when he can't find it. If I do find it for him it's usually somewhere he's already looked.......that used to make him more frustrated but after 40 years he just says thanks and carries on.
You are explaining my husband to a T ! He thinks his shop is so organized And I guess in some ways it is. But oh man, when he needs to look for something ASAP, he gets so frustrated. Sadly no thank you is said when I help him. He never learned a lot of those general courtesies :(. In some ways he is improving over the years though.
All this talk of organizing has me in a sorting and purging mood! I have gone through the bathroom under the sink cupboards this morning ... always a treat haha. Hubby is also an over buyer and hoarder so you never know how many of something you will find in some stray available piece of cupboard real estate. He has 5 large bottles of shampoo right now, I found this morning. Sheesh. Good thing he has lots of redeeming qualities!
Now when I am done my second cup of coffee I am heading to my craft room
This definitely made me think.
I can't say any one room is more organized than another overall, but my bedroom is definitely the least organized.
My studio is pretty organized but I have too much stuff (working on getting rid of things). I'm pretty OCD when it comes to my kitchen tools. I love to cook but hate wasting time looking for my tools. It annoys me to no end when someone puts something away in the wrong place. My pantry at this point isn't quite as organized as it has been in the past but I decided that it is a battle I'm not going to fight. One day the all grown up heathen will be in their own homes and I can be as OCD about my entire kitchen as I want, so for now I just take a deep breath and dive in or make someone else look for what I need.
We won't discuss the garage. I finally put my foot down and am making hubby purge and while there has been improvement he's got a ways to go. I wouldn't care about it so much if I wasn't a DIYer that uses tools when the hubs is at work and of late I haven't been able to find the tools I've needed so I have to wait for him to get home and I HATE wasting time like that.
So when it comes down to it, I have certain areas of each room that are super organized, but not any one room overall.
I am super, super organized. Closets everything is color coded and in it's proper categories. Bathroom all my beauty products are organized by the their types & brands. I keep them all on separate shelves for what they are- first aid, extra shampoo, bath wash, etc...
Kitchen is probably my most disorganized room. I really glare at it, lol. It is a small kitchen. I was the one who wanted a small kitchen, lol. I am adding a couple of extra cabinets so my little trouble areas will be more organized. I keep all my dishes in order, food in order, medicines, etc...
I don't own any DVD's. I do own a lot of music. Records & CD's are in order by artists and genre's. I do own a lot of video games and those are in alphabetical order except my Assassin's Creed games which are in Creed lore chronological order. Games are also in order of the systems too.
My craft studio is really organized like it's the Library of Congress, lol. A friend teased me that my room is the LOC.
My DH's garge is like I can't even, ROFL. It's like a group of safari animals have gotten in there and had a rave. It's horrendous. My DH tells me all the time how organized he is. He is soooo organized. Then he asks me at least once a week if I know where this or that is in his garage, lol.
I gutted my kitchen down to the studs, exposed pipes, wires, you name it about 2 1/2 years ago. ( don't really ever want to do this again mind you)
but, the new cupboards are mostly drawers on the bottoms because, 99% of what's in my kitchen is small. (and digging for stuff is overrated)
and I can say my things are fairly organized. (everywhere) but, I have way more "good" stuff in the studio so, it needs weeded out again.
You are explaining my husband to a T ! He thinks his shop is so organized And I guess in some ways it is. But oh man, when he needs to look for something ASAP, he gets so frustrated. Sadly no thank you is said when I help him. He never learned a lot of those general courtesies :(. In some ways he is improving over the years though.
All this talk of organizing has me in a sorting and purging mood! I have gone through the bathroom under the sink cupboards this morning ... always a treat haha. Hubby is also an over buyer and hoarder so you never know how many of something you will find in some stray available piece of cupboard real estate. He has 5 large bottles of shampoo right now, I found this morning. Sheesh. Good thing he has lots of redeeming qualities!
Now when I am done my second cup of coffee I am heading to my craft room
I am so happy that your husband has some hair to wash!!!
I sympathize with everyone who is organized and lives with someone who is not......bless their little hearts. My husband is grateful for everything I keep so neat and tidy but left to his own devices he is pretty much a hot mess. You just never know where he'll put something and he gets incredibly frustrated when he can't find it. If I do find it for him it's usually somewhere he's already looked.......that used to make him more frustrated but after 40 years he just says thanks and carries on.
I laughed so hard reading your post. Yes, you can tell us girls with the long marriages and the love/side eye we have for our great spouses, lol.
My DH always tells me how much he loves how nice and clean our home is. He is really proud of it. I have the frustrated DH too. He can't find his phone case that is right in front of him. He's all upset he can't find something in his garage that I saw him put away and told him where it was. No, it's over in this spot then two hours later he finds it in the spot that I saw him put said object at, ROFL!
Today, he stared in one of his drawers for fifteen minutes needing a stylus for his tablet. My DH just bought a tablet and he's never used a stylus, ROFL! I gave him one. He needed a key ring. My room (AKA his favorite place to steal things) he got his key ring, lol. He also got in trouble for playing with my new paper trimmer. He was pulling on the parts. I am like put it down, no breaking!
... It's like a group of safari animals have gotten in there and had a rave.
:lol: I love this line! Yup, I'm in the same boat - I'm the neat freak, and hubby just totally doesn't get it. But I love him, anyway. (However, I frequently ask him to "Tell me again why I married you?" We've been married almost 22 years, been through enough to know we're stuck with each other, LOL.)
One thing I have definitely noticed is that there just aren't enough hours in the day to be organized everywhere. When I still had a 9-5 job, I found that the more organized my work office was, the messier my house was, and vice-versa. Now that I work from home, the neat and tidy areas tend to move around the house. In my perfect world, everything in my house would be neat and tidy, organized, in matching containers, with matching labels, in order, etc.
Right now, I'm mid-project, so my craft room is a disaster. However, EVERYTHING in it does have a specific, organized home, properly labeled, etc. When the rest of the house is just too much to face, I will go to my craft room, clean it up and put everything in its place... and try to forget that there are other rooms in the house, LOL.
__________________ ~ Kitty ~ "If you can dream it, you can do it." - Walt Disney
Lydia...What is that in the very neat drawer? Craft stuff or cooking stuff?
My DIL called me "anal" (which, I think, means very controlling) because I put my spices on a little lazy susan in the cabinet next to my stove in alphabetical order. I like it because I'm lazy...once you set them in order, you just spin it to find what you want.
My craft room is organized 'enough to find what I need'
This is a great thread and reading the stories of organized vs unorganized spouses makes me laugh - in solidarity. I like to think I'm organized in both my craft room and the rest of the house, but I tend to go in waves - I'll let things go until they are unorganized and messy and then it makes me anxious and I have to get everything picked up and put back in order. My kitchen is probably the one place I keep tidy most of the time.
I've seen Lydia's drawer before...I'm pretty certain that's her spices and herbs. Love it!
I forgot. My seasonings are also organized and I drive people nuts with them. :rolleyes: See if you can see this: In my cupboard. Stepped shelves with 4 rows. Top row in back is seed-based, in alphabetical order. Next row down is spices, in alphabetical order. Next is herbs and herb blends, you guessed it, alphabetical order, and the front row is blended seasonings and vegetable-type. That would be onions and garlic, chili powder, chinese 5 spice and such.
I've seen Lydia's drawer before...I'm pretty certain that's her spices and herbs. Love it!
I forgot. My seasonings are also organized and I drive people nuts with them. :rolleyes: See if you can see this: In my cupboard. Stepped shelves with 4 rows. Top row in back is seed-based, in alphabetical order. Next row down is spices, in alphabetical order. Next is herbs and herb blends, you guessed it, alphabetical order, and the front row is blended seasonings and vegetable-type. That would be onions and garlic, chili powder, chinese 5 spice and such.
Impressive drawer (Lydia), and impressive organization, Diane! I can totally picture it... I'm more of a comfort-food cook than a gourmet, so my spices are relatively basic with a few exceptions. The closest I get to "organizing" them is putting them all on one of those turntable things in the cupboard with the ones I use most often turned toward the front. Maybe I should alphabetize them...
How cute are those little spice jars! I hope you always have the good eye sight to read them. I can only barely make out some with my glasses and a big mag glass. Lydia is a big cook and food fan. A bonus on her blog are recipes time to time.
Fionna bless you. If you can remember what is seed based etc. though not surprising. I want to be you when I grow up.
I had a rack built in when the cabinets went in on the back of a door. Great. Holds a ton of jars. Except as it goes to the ceiling-some are out of reach without the step stool so they dont get used much.
Grinning, because I struggle with the tops of my herb and spice jars, and often have to lean right in (they're in a rack in one of those pull-out larder units). In theory the labels are colour-coded, which means the sweet spices and dry herbs are easy enough because there aren't too many. The real pitfall is the whole spices and all the non-sweet ones. I have about 45 jars, plus the herbs/spices/mixes that I get from a mail order company, which come in neat re-sealable bags. They're just loose in s basket. I do try to keep herbs at the back, then sweet spices, then whole spices and then the rest, but if I've got six to put back, they don't necessarily go back in the right spot.
I'm not super-organised anywhere, but organised enough everywhere to make life easy. Count my DH in with all the other ones: every time he asks me for something that is totally not my responsibility and I find it for him, I put 1€ in the piggy bank. It's a nice subsidy for my small craft budget.
Love Lydia's spice drawer ☺️
I'm a foodie too and have more re spices in my kitchen than most sane people should ever have.
I used to cater so some of the containers are the giant ones. Most are your average everyday size jars though.
My spices are stored in a shallow (8"deep ×18" wide, maybe?) built-in cabinet. I have one shelf for baking/sweet spices, 2 shelves for savory herbs, and one shelf for seasoning blends. I finally organized them this way one day when I was looking for a particular herb but couldn't find it. I did however find 3 bottles of ground coriander. Who the heck needs 3 bottles of coriander?! 😂
Great reading over my cup of tea this morning! My husband of 53 years as of Sept. 3rd, is the organized one in this house. He has even helped me organize in the craft room. He has rubbed off on me a little. His clothes are hanging in order, so that last worn is in back, and in front is what he wears next. He also likes the buttons all facing same direction. So he has me doing that now, especially dress clothes for Sundays! Can you believe that?
At first reading, I didn’t think I organized the house as much as I do my craft room, but I guess I do. When we put groceries away, we put new cans in back, old ones in front. Of course it is common sense. When you think about it, we all have the dividers for our silverware. We are probably more organized than we think! A couple of years ago, I even organized my recipes in a 3 ring notebook. I did it in sections with tabs and sheet protectors; I am real proud of it. No more drawer of over flowing loose recipes! My spices are on a tiered rack in alpha order. (Lydia, two homes ago , we had a specific tiered spice drawer!). I miss that!
DH was a big help with my craft room when we moved/downsized last year. Before we moved, he measured the new room in new place. He had all measurements on a graph sheet of paper. He measured my furniture in my craft room to a scale and cut them out. We moved them around and arranged them on the paper. When we moved he had it all figured out to the inch on every wall! I was going from a large area to a small bedroom, like from galley style to 4 walls. He assured me we would get it all in. We lost one bookcase, but I added my computer desk in!
All this to say, he is the organized one! I am the hoarder, even though when we moved I feel like I really got rid of a lot.
I do like organizational tools! I probably spend as much time organizing in the craft room as I do crafting! LOL
I read these posts and I think, Seriously? You are this organized? Lord no, not me. My house and my stamp stuff is in constant reorganization. And I pull everything out to redo and start over. I am a mess. I think I need lessons. You can come to my house and help out anytime. I have a hard time letting go of stamps I love. So I have WAY TOO MANY! My house has more than I need and I am slowly paring down. It's a process because it is hard to just get rid of some memories. I think I need a shrink in more ways than just my mind.........LOL
__________________ ~You never know how strong you are until strong is the only choice you have~ ~Proud Member of the Fan Club Gallery~
LOL I have a friend who keeps telling me that I've ALWAYS been "SO ORGANIZED!" Which shows me, after YEARS of friendship, she doesn't know me AT ALL! (I've known her since our teens & we're 60 now.) I am NOT organized! The very most organizing I do, is with my stamping supplies--especially with my sentiment stamps. Gotta know where to find them, as many sets come with sentiments, & I too forget, & would NEVER find them or use them to their fullest, if I didn't organize them! ;) I mean I DO keep the house organized in that I keep the books on the shelf, the food in the cupboard, etc., but I spend most of my efforts with the stamping supplies I have. There is only so much "organizing" one can do in their house, right? Oh yeah, & the house is SO BORING!!!! LOL
I have always been messy. It used to drive my mom absolutely nuts! Actually, it probably still does. I can't seem to stand seeing an empty horizontal surface. LOL When I was in high school, learning styles became all the rage in education. My mom, who was a teacher, learned about global vs. analytical. Apparently, I'm very global, while she is more analytical. I can work in/with my mess, though. She said, after learning about learning styles, she used to keep telling herself, "She's (meaning me) just global." Ironically, it's when I clean that I lose things. I recently built a shelving/cubby unit for my craft room, to make better use of storage space under a table. I had had a wire drawer unit under said table, that I cleaned out to donate, since it wouldn't fit anymore. Now can I find the 12x12 paper dividers I cleaned out of the drawer unit??? I have no clue where I put them! I have plenty of clues where I didn't put them, but.... :rolleyes: I also can't find any of my black patterned paper, of which I had a whole file folder. I don't remember if I inadvertently included it in a big pile of paper that I donated, or what. I'm only 44 years old, so I don't think this can be old age--at least I hope not, since it will likely only get worse from here! I just have to give up cleaning & organizing, I guess. :cool:
As I was reading this, my opinion of myself changed. At first I was thinking ‘yep, craft room organized, everything else, nope’. You see my home is the one with the squirrels at the rave. I’ve got three kids, all with autism and two also have ADHD. My hubby is a good guy but he isn’t into doing much on the weekends, certainly not organizing the house. And I’m disabled so the things I’d like more organized doesn’t get done due to lack of energy or ability to get on the floor, reach high etc. AND the house we live in, ESP the kitchen is too small for 5 people.
I certainly don’t have rainbow T-shirt’s or socks sorted by weigh! Or spices in alphabetical order!
But I do have a drawer set aside for each type of clothes, my spices are in one cabinet, baking supplies in another etc. My first aid supplies are all together and in easy reach and each bathroom is stocked with necessary cleaners. Overall not a disaster. So maybe I’m keeping it together somewhat. Most things are stored by ‘what gets used most is at the front’.
My craft room is similar. It’s kind of like a bulls eye. The most used is closest to my desk/chair and fanned out from there. Want to know how often I use something? See how far it is from my chair (and it’s ability to scoot around!) I am far more organized overall than in my house. I have a database on my phone and EVERY stamp or die that enters is logged in. Also colour mediums, stencils and more. My stamps and dies are also stored by theme in boxes, tucked away from all my windows.
My wall is covered in Kallax ‘cubbies’ and most are organized by type of item. Books, stamps, embellies, art supplies etc.
My organization for crafts vs "the rest of it all" is about the same...I love baskets and bins and bookcases...Labels are my friends...of course I don't have an Evernote or Exel Spreadsheet for any areas but my crafts right now...but the plan is to have some important papers/files/collectibles organized digitally soon
__________________ That's not gray hair...it's brain cells escaping! Kari E-R
Love reading this thread...my house is pretty organized along with my craft room. I too worked in administration most of my career and things are in place. Bills, receipts, tax papers, health information, insurance papers, car papers, you name it..I have it filed and organized. Kitchen is pretty much the same..always re-doing my pantry for better use. My daughter says I am OCD about it...she is the messy one, everything gets dropped someplace and never put away. In business, I learned to not pick up a piece of paper more than once...read it, file it, act upon it or put in a place that will require action later. I do the same with my household...works for me.
__________________ Have a creative day, every day.
I opened this thread thinking it was asking where IN MY CRAFT room am I more organized so I will add this to the line of questioning. For me, my older stamps are all organized (a la Jennifer Mcguire) on laminated cardstock (with the picture on the front so i can see whats in there) and then put into Avery Elle storage pockets, lined up neatly in a bin, on the bright new shelf I bought from Ikea. However, i've been in such a buying frenzy the last year that 90% of the time i use the newest sets which are either in the Raskog type card behind me (if BRAND new) or *somewhere* on my desk. I do have a JM type clear bin that stores them for easy access but if i've used in the last week it is in the pile of STUFF to the right of my TH glass mat.
That "pile of STUFF" is where my disorganization kicks in. BF doesn't understand the creative process and thinks i suffer horribly from ADHD so its kinda funny to see him walk into my room. He looks around, shakes his head, mumbles something about needing vacuuming, looks & nods appreciatively at the newly made cards and then retreats quickly back to the basement. Unfortunately, the nice, neat bins of stamps is about where my organization ends (beyond the obvious dies in a bin, ink pads in a beautiful shelf of course). Somehow the main stuff gets organized but it is the glues, the paper, the embellishments, etc that make me look like a hoarder in waiting. I remember when Tim H talked about how the glass mat will create a berm to hold back the STUFF that creeps in on your creative space and i want to call him and say MINE'S BROKEN!!!! :-) lol
Where are you more organized?
