Day 2: What do you have and why is it a mess?
Step 2: OK so I'm going to start by taking stock of what I have RIGHT NOW! Truthfully all those beautiful craft rooms from yesterdays post are currently a dream, so I need to be more practical - what do I really NEED to make my space work for me and how I work?
This is me - well at least for the next 14 years (hubby has relented and said I might get the spare room when all the visiting family members are grown up - the youngest is 5, so I'm thinking in about 14 years - give or take). So for my foreseeable future here I am.... it's not pretty, it's not spacious, it's not light and airy - but it's mine and I can make it better and more usable, it can be somewhere pretty AND practical where I enjoy creating.
What do I have?
What do I have in my craft room that I can use, first I'm lucky I actually have a room and I don't have to work on the dining table and put everything away every night, so I really can't complain (well not much he he he). What is in my space I can use:
- 2 large bookcases with movable shelves
- 1 huge brown craft desk with enough space to stack things at the back and 4 big draws on right side
- 1 narrow bookcase with fixed shelves
- 1 storage unit with 3 fixed shelves and a horrid little cupboard
- Squillions of clear plastic draws
- 1 rolling clear plastic craft draw stack (3 draws)
- Clear plastic boxes for storage
- 2 narrow tall sets of clear plastic draws
- Trolley for my Vagabond, with 2 metal shelves and 4 large plastic draws
- Blank wall space
- Rotating tower with my copics, glue, tape, brushes, scissors etc
Why is it such a mess?
Gee that's a million dollar question, but sadly I know the answer:
- I collect loads of stuff, including some things I will NEVER use - things that sound like a great idea at the time and then I never end up using them and likely never will.
- I squirrel things away in draws and forget they are there,
- I plop things down in the closest available spot just to clear space on my desk, so I can work and
- I make piles to 'put away later' - later can mean next year in some cases!
Sigh - if I'm being honest I need to admit I'm a LAZY crafter! If it's easy to put something away I'm more like to put it away, if I have to move half my room to put something back, sigh - being really honest here - or remove a folder from a shelf, find the right section and put something back in then I'm less likely to put it away right then (gosh I'm so lazy). I'm more likely to make a pile and when the pile threatens to rival the Leaning Tower of Pizza - then I feel inclined to put it away. I'd rather be playing and creating than tidying and putting away or cleaning and while I'm creating something there is NO CHANCE I am going to stop what I am doing to put things away
So I'm a LAZY crafter - there I said it!!!!
Now to find a way to work with my natural lazy inclinations..... this will require some thought - remember don't rush out to buy anything, we need to think about this some more :)