Reclaiming Our Spaces: Pam's Catch-All Space Part One

Last week Pamela Moore (an old college theater friend of mine) won the contest for some free organizing from me.  I wish I could physically go there & transform her space in person while she's out having a great time somewhere.  However, she lives 2 time zones away!!  So, we have been making due with pictures & Facebook messaging!! Ha!

She has so bravely let me show you some before pictures...

This is her catch-all room basically.  It has to work hard because this gal and her husband have A LOT of things going on. They are both burlesque entertainers! She also does costuming and he does vaudeville & writes. They are quite the dynamic duo! Always have been.

Bottom line? She needs a space to cut fabric & to be able to find everything she needs while she's working.

Her assignment has been:

1) Throw out/give away things that are no longer being used

2) Figure out what you want to keep in there & get bins to categorize it.

3) Hang a rod above the desk to clip works in progress

Next week I'll post the big reveal!

This week Holly worked on her craft closet. It turned out very cute! AND well organized. That lady's got skillz.

Reclaiming Our Spaces: Reality!

Let me tell you about this afternoon.  I forgot someone was coming by.  I was still in pajamas (at 4pm!) Both children had no bottoms on, the house was a wreck.  I was so embarrassed!!!

- HOWEVER -

It really got me thinking.  This is reality.  This is my life.  Sometimes it's messy, ugly, disorganized--just crazy.  I am sure some of y'all can relate a little?  My sweet friend (& her husband & her 2 kids!) was so full of grace for me in the chaos of the moment.  That was such an encouragement to me in that moment when I felt like a complete mess.

See, my plan for this week was to work on organizing my daughter's room.  It's fairly organized, but I have needed to deal with the crazy amount of dress up gear that it always thrown all over the floor.  I hang it up, but it gets pulled back down & she's not tall enough to get it hung back up.  

I think the best solution is a trunk for her to store it all in.  Something like one of these maybe:

It would be easy for her to clean it all up, but she also wouldn't need my help getting it out when she was ready to play.  So, I'm on the lookout for one, but I haven't found one yet.  I also want to move her room around a little.

So, this project will have to be stalled until I can find what I'm looking for.  That's the reality for me right now.  Sometimes it is a real struggle to get even simple things accomplished, but I am pointed the right direction & making progress all the time.  I hope my transparency is an encouragement to some of you that may feel overwhelmed at the thought of your clutter; by trying to carve out the time to sit and think about where to start.  I am right there with you!!

Baby steps are still steps!

This week Holly felt a little frustration this week as well, but still got some work done.  Check out her post here.