Declutter (Part 3)

Hello.

I wanted to share my latest improvement to my studio area. See part 1 and part 2.

It's not really a declutter post. But now that I cleaned up most of my studio, I get to move on to the fun stuff. Making it pretty.

Back in early December, I bought a bunch of prints at the Mill Festival of the Arts. Mark and I had picked them out together, and we had intended to hang them up in our bedroom. But instead, I stole them for my studio. Yeah, I do stuff like that. (Art by Urban Octopus.)

I couldn't decide if I wanted to frame them or hang them as is. Finally, I decided to just hang them up with some tape, and live with them for a few days/weeks. Then, if I wasn't happy, I could head over to Ikea and buy some frames. Turns out, the moment I hung them up and tweaked them a bit (the arrangement), I fell in love with the simple frame less display.

Plus, since I didn't spend a lot of money, I won't have to feel guilty if I buy something new to hang there. Sometimes I just like to change things up a bit.

I also redid the book page mirror. It was looking a little squished from the move, so I removed all the creased and flattened pages, then rolled them again and started gluing. I also tried to finish off the mirror edge of the pages by picking out a strip of fabric, twisting it, and hot-gluing it down. It's not perfect yet, but much better. And who knows, perhaps one day I will pull it off the wall and change it up a bit again. Until I get it just right.

I started using my calendar that I bought at back to school time. I use it for blog posting schedules. I write ideas on the board, then once I get the post all ready, I add a yellow sticky note.  It's something I've been wanting to try for a while, but with all that hot mess surrounding the area before, it just never happened.

Finally, I redid my letterpress tray. You can see more info about that project here.

I still have space to add more artwork. I've been seeing lots of free printables out there. And I've been toying with the idea of adding some clipboards, keeping with the idea of quick changing art.

Hope you enjoyed. Next up, working on that pile of old photos on the corner of my desk......

Do you have a project you've been working on? Does clutter pile up in your home too? You could share with me by leaving a comment. If you want to.

Declutter (Part 2)

Welcome back.

Remember this mess?

Yikes! Here is 1 more, just so you understand the scope of this mess.

I started with clearing most of the mess off the table by moving the "in progress" projects into that new drawer system.

Look, now you see wide expanses of surface. Yeah me!

I got excited and kept putting away supplies.

This is how it looks now. Not perfect. But a bazillion times better.

The next day I started on the row of white drawers. I cleaned all the junk off, moved a printer closer to the desk, and organized supplies on trays. Everything just looks better on trays!

I'm super, super thrilled with the clean look along the wall.

Now, if you're starting to feel jealous, I wanted to share a bit of reality with you.

I have a mess on the floor under the desk. A box full of crap memories that I have dragged around for several moves. Photos from years ago that never got scrapbooked. A tote full of products from the last scrapbook convention. That would be April 2012. Yes. I have issues.

And I have 1 pile left on the corner of my desk. I simply can not shove one more thing into a drawer.

I also have to go through the drawers and clean and organize more. Some drawers are still a white hot mess. Not all, but definitely some.

Finally, I have some art I want to hang on the wall above the drawer cabinets. That's my favorite part. The making things pretty part.

And just to keep me accountable, I will have a Part 3 post next week to share my progress.

Have a great night. And maybe with the long holiday weekend, you might even want to plan your own declutter project.  Share if you do!

Declutter (Part 1)

I have a problem.  One that I can't seem to fix. Or improve on.

My work space is a white hot mess. All the time.

I try to clean it up and stay organized from time to time. But I never really succeed.

Part of the problem is that I don't have enough storage for all the stuff. Especially all the "in progress" stuff.  They just pile up on different corners of my desk.

So a few days ago I bought another drawer unit from Ikea, with hopes that this 3rd one would just house "in progress" projects.



I had to wait a few days for someone to build it for me. Then it was time to tackle the mess.

Check back later today for update photos.

Do you have a problem with keeping your craft/art area clean? Do you have a system/routine to help keep everything organized? I could use all the advice I can get!