# Cleaning my craft/office/homeschool room - WHEW!



## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

Well this sure turned out to be a bigger job than I anticipated! I have a separate room that serves as my craft/sewing room, school room, multi-purpose room, and my office (through unexpected occurrences, it's turned out that, over the past year, I now have a new career -- I'm a writer!).

Anyway, this room was a mess. Well, not really a mess, just very disorganized trying to do a half dozen other things out of it. Besides the above, it is also my food/emergency storage room and the freezer is also in here. To top it off, this room is only 10x12 with a closet (_not_ a walk-in). 

I decided to get organized and make "stations" in the room. My husband is gutting the closet and putting in shelves that go from top to bottom for all of the food/emergency storage items. The freezer is going elsewhere (even if I have to put it in my bedroom...LOL). 

On one wall will be the sewing/scrapbooking/craft station. He's making me all kinds of dodads for organize my threads/quilting templates, etc. and I have a bunch of those plastic drawers on wheels that will hold all of the sewing, craft, and quilting things. I'm putting a long table (like a banquet table) against that wall for my sewing machine/serger/cutting etc. On another wall is an old wardrobe to put bigger things that won't fit in the drawers and my husband put in shelves for all of my fabric.

The rest of the room will be my office. I have my desk and computer on another wall and a smaller banquet table (about a 2-3 person one) going on an "L" from my desk. That way we can do homeschool, but when my son is doing his quiet work, I can just turn and work on my writing. Since I don't have hardly any wall space because I have this weird desk/configuration, we can't put up wall charts, etc., so I got a 3 ring binder and are making page-size charts and helps, laminating them, and hole punching them. I made dividers according to subject so it will be easy to find our charts/examples in math, science, language arts, etc.

Well, the REALLY big job has been sorting all this sewing, quilting, craft stuff and fabric!! Whew!! Where in the world did I even get all this stuff??? I've been finding things I never knew I had and can't even remember where I got them from...LOL! I've spent 3 days along just sorting fabric. I donated all the fabric that I know darn well I will never make anything from (where and why did I ever buy such ugly fabric???), measuring it, making tags for it, and folding it all equally so I can put it on the shelves in color and hue order. I have one of those electronic label makers (my new best friend -- love that thing!!) and am making labels for everything. I even have labels on the edge of the shelves of the material (such as 1-3 yds; 1/4 yd or less; more than 3 yards; etc.). I got a small plastic tote that is exactly the size for fat quarters so I can stack them end to end according to color and hue and they will go on the shelf. Also a box for scraps for the day I end up making that true patchwork quilt I've been saying I'm going to make for about 15 years now, to use up all my odds and ends and small pieces. 

There will be no more searching through totes and totes of fabric when a swap comes up or I want to make something. I will actually know what I have just by opening a door! It's almost going to be like a miracle (you'd have had to see my system before to understand how overjoyed I am about such a feat -- err, I mean _total lack_ of system before).

Getting my crafts/sewing/quilting stuff organized like this is something I have wanted to do all my married life and just never got around to it! I tell you, when I'm done, Martha Stewart would even be proud! That is if I survive this sorting, construction, and the pain and agony of parting with some of this stuff. Gosh, giving up a scrap of fabric or a broken piece of tailor chalk, no matter how ugly or unusable it is has been awful. :Bawling: I honestly didn't realize I was such a craft pack rat!!


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## Billie in MO (Jun 9, 2002)

When you are done I'd be most grateful if you'd mosey on out west and help me!!! I've got a lot more than that!!!


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Nope Billie - I'm her co-mod and I request first dib's on her... besides Alabama is on the way to Colorado.

I'm looking at my sewing room, fabric room and what migrated to the living room and then loose energy!  

Good for you Karen.

Angie


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## thequeensblessing (Mar 30, 2003)

Wow Karen, I'm envious! I want that room!! (But I don't wanna give up a single scrap, I'll go down fighting!)
Seriously though, I can't wait to see it.


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

I was looking today at my sewing room and sewing/storage room! Oy vey! The sewing room itself is 17' x 17' and the storage room is 11'x11' but it's so dusty and disorganized. Roger uses part of the storage room for his beer making equipment and I have stacks and stacks of boxes with fabric in them. 

I know...I know...I SHOULD clean and organize but sewing is so much more fun!


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## Billie in MO (Jun 9, 2002)

Angie, that is SO NOT FAIR!!!!! I called it first! Besides she can always swing down south on her way home!!!


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

Hey, "she" won't be doing this again in her lifetime! LOL!  

But you know what? After sorting all this mess and seeing so many notions and what-nots I've never even used (let alone have a clue where I even got them from or why) I've sworn to never buy another sewing, quilting, or craft notion as long as I live. Well, guess what? I had to go and click on a sewing website from another thread here and I now have a new magnetic pin holder on it's way to add to the mess! It's kind of neat how the pins stay sorted going in one direction. God forbid should my pins just be stuffed in a strawberry pincushion like they've been for almost 50 years now. It's a disease I tell you!  
https://www.fabricdepot.com/index.php?page=ProductPage&pageid=20348


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