Day 3: Where is everything?
Next step - where is everything currently stored, I need to have a good look at my space and I have to be honest here - what's working for me and what isn't. This will be long and for those of you following you might not want/need to do this - feel free to skip. I found that this helped me really look at where everything is and if it would be better somewhere else (this comes into play in a few day's time). I'm also using this for myself and I need it written down so I can look at it and plan what NEEDS to go where - I bet if you write it all down it will be a bit like this - stuff everywhere and even if you think it's organised it might not be organised very well! If you like jump to the end - or you can click on the photos for a bigger version and have a look through my mess lol. PS - this is a judging free zone people - I didn't even clean up the floor for these, so you are viewing my room in it's natural state.
All mounted stamps, Copics, Glues and tapes, Cutting mats, Journals, Stencils, Ink pads (Adirondack, Stazon, Memento, Archival, Versafine), Watercolour pencils, Colour pencils, Computer, Magical Micas, Mica Powder and Filagrees, Pearls and adhesive gems, Some metal embellishments
Distress Ink Pads, Chalk ink pads, Dylusions, Inks, Golden paints, Adirondack dabbers and alcohol inks, Tubs of Golden mediums, Tools, adhesive dots, blades. trimmers etc, Acrylic and metallic paints
All cling mounted stamps, All velcro mounted stamps, All paper and card, Rubon/sticker alphabets, words & accents, Chipboard embellishments, Art moulds, Half of my ribbon, Embossing folders, Watercolours, Tags, Book binding supplies, Specialty papers
Watercolour books, Technique books, Drawing books, Copic manuals, Magazines, Flowers, Journal ideas, Leaves, Stencils, Black and White card
Folders with card samples, Twinkling H20s , PearlEx/Mica/Powder Gouache , Lumiere paints, Prima vines, Brads, beads, Eyelets, buttons, charms, Alphabet bits, hardware - embellishments, Stationary, Stickles, Wire, Craft sponges, Paper clay and clay, More ribbons, MANY folders of ideas which I haven't opened in 2 years or so
Specialty Pens , Waterbrushes, Starburst Sprays, Glimmer Mist, Ranger Perfect Pearls Sprays, Maya Mists, Moonshadow Mists, Glitz Spritz, Crackle/Glossy/Matt & Sepia Accents, Spray adhesive, Clay roller, Water bottles
Bookshelf 3 holds: Watercolour paper pads, Canvas pads, Extra Journals, Reinkers, Aprons, Catalogues, Extra storage panels and EZ Mount, Printer, Sprays
Napkins , Glue Gun , Paper doilys , Embossing Powder , Raffia, twine and jute, Vagabond cutting plates, magnetic plates ets, Distress Stains, Copic refills, Tim Holtz Dies, Envelopes, Pre folded cards, A5 sized card
How useful are my current storage solutions?
I need to have a critical look and think about my current storage solutions, so I can use this info to best plan where I should put things. What I know after listing where all my stuff curently is - is that I have things everywhere and very few things are grouped together or really where I need them most. So on to looking at grading my storage areas - I'll list the pro's and cons of each and will be following through with this in the next few days:
Desk Top
Pros: large work area, easy access, heat resistant, deep desk so I have room at the back to stack things (eg: draws)
Cons: currently covered in stuff, home to computer as well as craft gear, home to copic tower, scraps, folders, stamps etc, often no space to work on, I really hate the dark brown laminex - makes the whole room look and feel depressing :O( Due to the computer and copic tower, I can no longer open most of the draws without moving something first, I've also knocked over the copic tower once or twice (the cats have also knocked bits over, as has my hubby trying to pat the cats - they sleep on top of my draw stacks). The desk is most often covered in paper stacks or stamp stacks, so I have to move those also to reach folders, journals etc.
Desk Draws
Pros: easy access, deep enough to hold Adirondack dabbers, sturdy, wide, hold quite a bit of product
Cons: very heavy, difficult to open, stick easily, need to wrestle heavier draws open, out of room
Bookshelf 1
Pros: can move all but 1 shelf, directly behind work desk, easy access, multiple storage options, wide enough to hold draws, folders etc.
Cons: shelves bowing, made from cheap materials, open to view - nothing can be hidden, often has stuff stacked on top of items (where there is room between eg: storage boxes and shelf above)
Skinny Bookshelf
Pros: very sturdy, well made, looks nice, great for heavy books etc.
Cons: very narrow, fixed shelves, some wasted space as shelves higher than most items to be stored
Bookshelf 2
Pros: can move all but 1 shelf, easy access, multiple storage options, wide enough to hold draws, folders etc., can remove some shelves and brackets to store larger items if needed
Cons: poor lighting, shelves bowing, made from cheap materials, open to view - nothing can be hidden, often messy as I store odds and ends here, everything is tossed into draws together on this one, no real organisation to unit or what's in each draw (I dread tackling this one)
Plastic Rolling Draws
Pros: convenient access, 2 lower draws deep enough to hold Starburst Sprays (any spray bottle), upper draw useful for storing pens/pencils etc
Cons: handles pop off unit, being plastic the draws flex as you open and sometimes things fall over, lower 2 draws are so heavy they require 2 hands to open, upper draw overflowing and pens etc hard to find
Bookshelf 3
Pros: sturdy, upper 2 shelves have no bowing and are perfect height for folders, watercolour paper pads etc.
Cons: lower cupboard section poky, narrow and not much use for storing, now also difficult to access since I put a trolley in front of it, lower shelf also now difficult to access - would be better suited for things not used often.
Skinny Draw units
Pros: each draw nice and tall with heaps of length to each draw, clear so can see contents, able to stack on top of eachother
Cons: Currently behind computer, desk and power board - so to open most draws I need to move something else, not convenient access
It looks like I have a few items which I need to move, or use less, or store different items in (I'd love to replace some, but it's not a priority right now). So tomorrow I'm going to identify what's annoying me the most so I can make a priority list - this will break my task into smaller chunks so I don't begin to feel overwhelmed and like I am tackling mission impossible!