Craft room organization

Ever since we moved into our house (a little over a year and a half ago) this one spare bedroom has become a disaster area. It has become the catch-all room. Whenever we work on another project, the stuff is stored in there to be out of the way. Whenever I buy new craft things, the stuff goes in there. Whenever we are frantically cleaning before an unexpected guest comes over, everything goes in there. (This last part happens entirely too many times.)

Well, I'm done with that. Kind of. I want this to actually be a craft area where I can craft. So far it's been the craft area to store all crafty things. But when I actually want to do something, I have to drag all my stuff out to the dining area to spread it all out.

So I'm starting my organization journey in this room. I want things to have their place. If it's still a catch-all room for a while, so be it. But goodness sakes, things will have their place!!

Here is a somewhat before picture. I say "somewhat" because, once again, I forgot to take a true "before" picture. So imagine this picture with big moving boxes and bins all over the floor. You couldn't even really move when you were in this room. It was the beginnings of a Hoarders episode. There was a path to the desk and that was it.

The first part of this journey was clearing out the boxes and putting them where they belong. Some boxes have not quite finished their journey yet. The next part was fixing that shelf thing on the right. Like I said, I had already started organizing when I remembered to take a picture.

My biggest fight with craft organization is paper. I usually end up putting it all in little craft bins and hoping I remember what I have and how much of it I have. Well, obviously it never worked since I'm doing this! So I got these file folder organizers from OfficeMax. I liked them because I could stand up all my paper and actually see what I have. And then I got a smaller version to organize all my scraps. I have waaaay too many pieces of scrap paper. But it's because it was all put in a place where I never saw it, and therefore never used it.

Here is the after of that shelf of crafts. My biggest problem with those 12x12 craft bins was that they stack. I hate stacking things because then I can't get anything out when I want it quick. It's a whole process to unstack things and then restack them. So I just left them.

Now I put everything vertically so it's easy to get to without pulling the entire shelving unit apart. I'm pleased with it thus far. And I'm pleased with the price tag. For those file folder organizers, 4 small bins, and a small craft 3-drawer unit, I think we spent about $30. I know I could've gotten it cheaper, but I was on a mission one day. Gotta go with the flow. I think my goal for this room is to organize and decorate for as cheap as possible. Being resourceful is all part of being creative, right? Right.

Here is the finished product for now. TA-DA!! It has been much easier to use things since I can access them much easier. My favorite part is the paper organization. I love the suuuper easy access to the paper. Then I can use it quick. And if Steve ever needs any, he doesn't have to ask me where it all is. He just can go in a find something that works. Good times.

This shelving unit only comprises like 1/20 of what needs to be organized in the craft room. But it's a start. I am much more likely to continue a project once it's started...unless I don't like it. heehee. But I definitely like this one, because my life's wish is to be organized and never have a question of where anything is. I'm on my waaaaay!!!