Reclaiming Our Spaces: Office/Craft Area

Hello & Happy Thursday to you!

Today is the first of many Thursday posts for our new series:

In my introduction post I had started working on my desk & organizing my sewing fabric.  This area is a big project!  So, I decided to continue there & really TACKLE it.  

So, this is what it looked like under my sewing machine:

I was just stacking & shoving things in bags; out of either just feeling lazy or lack of time to a better job.  That's no longer good enough for me.  Just seeing the clutter there stresses me and just makes me feel tired because it is one more thing I need to take care of.  

Well, no more.

Ahhhhh.  Peace.  One bag under there was basically just trash, so I made sure I kept a trash bin under there that I can easily pick & take to the trash.  Another was little random things that need to go somewhere else, so I finally put all those things away where they belong.  I kept a little bucket to collect things, but not big enough to stack things in!  

I don't want a repeat of what I was doing.  The other huge bag under there was yet MORE sewing fabric.  So, I put it all away in this cabinet.  It's doors were being blocked by that bag of fabric, so there was no way fabric was going to be put away in there. Now the doors are unblocked.  Yay!

I couldn't stop there because, after putting the fabric into the cabinet, I was faced with this beast:

Even though things were fairly organized in here,  It just felt chaotic.  So, I decided just to grab a few matching bags to put everything in, so it seemed more put together/streamlined.  These are not my permanent solution, but we can still get things organized while we save up for more fancy bins and organizers, can't we?  Here's how it looks now:

Can you tell where I shop?  Ha!  

Anyway, it's not perfect, but it's definitely less crazy on the eyes while I save up for organizers more suited for sewing supplies.  In the process, there was a bunch I just threw away because I realized it was unusable or the project was never going to happen.  Also, I had a lot of, "Ooh, I forgot about these!!!"  So, that was fun.

The last thing I tackled was next to my printer which is above this cabinet & and all the sewing clutter sprinkled around that general area.  

Here's what it looks like now:

I used a large magazine file to hold the paper packets & just relocated everything else.

Here is the top of the sewing machine table:

I also cleared out this drawer nearby to hold some supplies.

Here it is now:

Yes!!! All straight.  It's so inviting to come into a space that is clutter-free & you can find things you need to use.  So peaceful & inspiring!

It's also so much more doable breaking it into small pieces that can be conquered during nap time or after the kids are in bed. 

Holly worked in this area too this week & you can see her work on her blog here.

Here's a quick pic of clean & straight desk:

Come back next Thursday for our next organization project!

Reclaiming Our Spaces: How 2 Organizers Start at Home

I'm excited to announce a new series which will post each Thursday.  

I've worked off & on as a professional organizer, but, since having my second child, I have found it really challenging to make the time to organize my own home.  I have lots of little clutter traps in corners of my home & they are making me crazy!!!  Can you relate?

So, I talked to a friend of mine who also works as a professional organizer about doing a series together tackling those areas of our homes each week.  Not only will it give us some motivation to focus on these areas on a regular basis, but we also plan to share tips, products & how-tos along the way.

Meet Holly:

 Holly & her friend Janet formed Simply Organized of NWA in 2007.  They started Simply Organized of NWA because they both LOVED organizing. She is also a representative for Clever Container organizing products.  You can view their products here.  Holly is the mother of 2 girls; ages 6 and 2.  She gets a little giddy at the completion of an organizing project because she simply loves it.  

I look forward to doing this series together!!

After we talked, I got real excited about it & started working on some things.  I organized my desk:

Drastically improved from before (I can assure you), but you can definitely still see my clutter ALL AROUND my desk/craft/sewing area!  

 After looking up online how you're supposed to organize fabric, I did this:

Yay!  So much more functional & pretty too.  Makes me want to sew something!!!!

Check back on Thursday when we tackle our first cluttered area.

OneCraftyFoxx Giveaway!

It's that time again y'all.  We need another giveaway.

This time it's something lovely for your wall from the Etsy shop of OneCraftyFoxx!

My sweet friend Rachel is the owner of the shop.

She is a super talented woman!  Her shop is filled with wall art, digital invitation templates, party supplies, t-shirts & home decor.  You never know what she might throw in there because she does a little of everything.

For this giveaway, she is giving away this:

All you have to do is follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter widget below to enter.  

MAKE SURE YOU DO EACH STEP!  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway