Houston, We Have a Craft Room Problem!
Okay, friends. It's time to talk about something I've been avoiding. My craft room. Or, more accurately, the disaster currently pretending to be my craft room. 😂If you've ever looked around your creative space and thought, "How in the world did it get THIS bad?" - pull up a chair. You are among friends. And yes, I'm actually going to show you pictures.
The first photo shows when you walk down my basement stairs. (To the left is a bathroom and laundry room.) This is suppose to be our 'family room'. You can barely see the fireplace, TV, and furniture lol. Earlier this year, I wanted more storage, so we built these metal shelves for totes along the 2 walls, in an 'L-shape'. In front of the tote rack (under all of those piles) is a table where we can sit, play games, or I can work on craft projects.
This is a bedroom, right off the family room. I've turned it into my 'craft room'. You can see that I have a 'Murphy' table that pulls down from a cabinet, and I have lots of cube storage. Plus there's a closet (which is packed) to the right of this picture.
There it is, folks. Photographic evidence. 😂
I'm not going to clean off a corner, strategically crop the pictures, move the embarrassing stuff out of the frame, or pretend this is one of those beautiful Pinterest craft rooms where every marker is arranged in rainbow order. This is what it looks like. Right now. And we're going to fix it.
I have shelves. I have totes. I have cabinets. I have containers. I have places where things are supposed to go. So technically, this shouldn't be happening.
And yet ... gestures wildly at photos. 😂
The problem isn't necessarily that I don't have enough storage. It's that over time, things have been set down instead of put away. Projects have been started. Supplies have been pulled out. New things have come in. Boxes have accumulated. And eventually one little pile became another little pile, which met another little pile, and apparently they all got together and started a family.
Then the room reached that dreaded point where cleaning it wasn't a quick afternoon project anymore.
It became A THING. You know the kind. You walk into the room intending to straighten up, look around for approximately seven seconds and think:
"Nope. Not today."
And walk right back out. 😂
I'll start out like an organizing tornado, pull absolutely everything apart, make the room look approximately 37 times worse, get tired halfway through, and then wonder why I ever started. Nope. We're doing this differently.
My plan is to work in small, manageable chunks - about 20 minutes at a time. Twenty minutes feels doable.
I can sort one shelf.
Clear one small area.
Go through one container.
Put away one category of supplies.
Throw away actual garbage.
And then STOP.
The goal isn't to finish the craft room every time I work on it. The goal is simply to leave one little piece of it better than I found it.
Twenty minutes today.
Because here's the truth:
I don't even know what storage I need yet. Until I sort through everything, get rid of things I don't need, group similar supplies together and figure out where I actually use them, buying more organizers could just give me prettier places to hide clutter. So for now, the credit card stays safely tucked away. We'll see how long that lasts. 😂
I want to know what I actually have. Because I cannot possibly be the only crafter who has purchased something only to discover later that I already owned it. Possibly twice.😧
Please don't ask how many packs of the same cardstock are hiding in this room. I don't think either of us is emotionally prepared for that information. 😂
The good.
The bad.
The "Why do I own this?"
The "I've been looking for that!"
And probably a few "What was I thinking?" moments along the way.
I'll share my progress, what's working, what isn't, things I'm getting rid of, organizing ideas I discover, and plenty of pictures as this room slowly starts looking like a craft room again. Because I have a feeling I'm not the only creative person whose crafting supplies occasionally multiply when nobody is looking.
What's the messiest part of your creative space right now?
Is it paper?
Ribbon?
Stamps?
Tools?
Half-finished projects?
Boxes of supplies you swear you're going to organize "someday"?
Or are you one of those mysterious people whose craft room is always perfectly organized? If you are, please identify yourself immediately. We have questions. 😂
Welcome to The Great Craft Room Rescue. This is Part 1.
The mess has officially been documented. The plan has been made. And now ... I suppose I actually have to start cleaning it.
Wish me luck. 😂💜
There it is, folks. Photographic evidence. 😂
I'm not going to clean off a corner, strategically crop the pictures, move the embarrassing stuff out of the frame, or pretend this is one of those beautiful Pinterest craft rooms where every marker is arranged in rainbow order. This is what it looks like. Right now. And we're going to fix it.
How Did This Even Happen?
Here's the funny thing: I actually have storage.I have shelves. I have totes. I have cabinets. I have containers. I have places where things are supposed to go. So technically, this shouldn't be happening.
And yet ... gestures wildly at photos. 😂
The problem isn't necessarily that I don't have enough storage. It's that over time, things have been set down instead of put away. Projects have been started. Supplies have been pulled out. New things have come in. Boxes have accumulated. And eventually one little pile became another little pile, which met another little pile, and apparently they all got together and started a family.
Then the room reached that dreaded point where cleaning it wasn't a quick afternoon project anymore.
It became A THING. You know the kind. You walk into the room intending to straighten up, look around for approximately seven seconds and think:
"Nope. Not today."
And walk right back out. 😂
But I Miss My Craft Room
That's really the biggest reason I'm finally tackling this. I love creating. I love making cards. I love playing with my Stampin' Up! supplies. I love sitting down with absolutely no plan and seeing what happens.
But it's hard to feel creative when you have to excavate a work surface first. And I don't want my craft room to be another place in the house that makes me think, "Ugh, I really need to deal with that."
I want to walk in and think: What should I make today?
That's the goal. Not perfection. Not a magazine-worthy craft room. Not matching containers with perfectly printed labels lined up exactly 2.7 inches apart. (Although let's be honest, I do appreciate a cute label. 😂)
I want a room that's comfortable, functional, organized enough to actually use, and filled with the things that make me happy.
But it's hard to feel creative when you have to excavate a work surface first. And I don't want my craft room to be another place in the house that makes me think, "Ugh, I really need to deal with that."
I want to walk in and think: What should I make today?
That's the goal. Not perfection. Not a magazine-worthy craft room. Not matching containers with perfectly printed labels lined up exactly 2.7 inches apart. (Although let's be honest, I do appreciate a cute label. 😂)
I want a room that's comfortable, functional, organized enough to actually use, and filled with the things that make me happy.
The Great Craft Room Rescue Plan
I've made one very important decision: I am NOT trying to clean this entire room in one day. Because I know exactly how that story ends.I'll start out like an organizing tornado, pull absolutely everything apart, make the room look approximately 37 times worse, get tired halfway through, and then wonder why I ever started. Nope. We're doing this differently.
My plan is to work in small, manageable chunks - about 20 minutes at a time. Twenty minutes feels doable.
I can sort one shelf.
Clear one small area.
Go through one container.
Put away one category of supplies.
Throw away actual garbage.
And then STOP.
The goal isn't to finish the craft room every time I work on it. The goal is simply to leave one little piece of it better than I found it.
Twenty minutes today.
Twenty minutes this afternoon.
Another twenty minutes tomorrow.
And eventually, all of those little improvements should add up to one pretty amazing rescue.
At least that's the plan. Ask me again when I'm six totes deep and questioning every crafting purchase I've made since 2015. 😂
Another twenty minutes tomorrow.
And eventually, all of those little improvements should add up to one pretty amazing rescue.
At least that's the plan. Ask me again when I'm six totes deep and questioning every crafting purchase I've made since 2015. 😂
I'm Not Buying More Storage ... Yet
This is another rule I've given myself. Before I run out and buy another tote, shelf, basket, bin, cart, drawer unit or adorable purple organizing thing that I absolutely need ... I'm going to use what I already have.Because here's the truth:
I don't even know what storage I need yet. Until I sort through everything, get rid of things I don't need, group similar supplies together and figure out where I actually use them, buying more organizers could just give me prettier places to hide clutter. So for now, the credit card stays safely tucked away. We'll see how long that lasts. 😂
What I'm Hoping to Accomplish
By the end of The Great Craft Room Rescue, I want:- Clear, usable work surfaces
- Supplies grouped together in ways that actually make sense
- Frequently used items within easy reach
- Less-used supplies stored neatly
- Empty boxes and unnecessary clutter GONE
- A system that's easy enough to maintain
- Space to sit down and create without having to clean first
- A craft room that feels inspiring again
I want to know what I actually have. Because I cannot possibly be the only crafter who has purchased something only to discover later that I already owned it. Possibly twice.😧
Please don't ask how many packs of the same cardstock are hiding in this room. I don't think either of us is emotionally prepared for that information. 😂
And I'm Taking You With Me
Instead of waiting until everything is beautiful and showing you a magical before-and-after transformation, I thought it would be much more fun (and much more honest) to bring you along for the whole process.The good.
The bad.
The "Why do I own this?"
The "I've been looking for that!"
And probably a few "What was I thinking?" moments along the way.
I'll share my progress, what's working, what isn't, things I'm getting rid of, organizing ideas I discover, and plenty of pictures as this room slowly starts looking like a craft room again. Because I have a feeling I'm not the only creative person whose crafting supplies occasionally multiply when nobody is looking.
Your Turn!
Now that I've publicly exposed my craft-room chaos, it's only fair that you confess too. 😂What's the messiest part of your creative space right now?
Is it paper?
Ribbon?
Stamps?
Tools?
Half-finished projects?
Boxes of supplies you swear you're going to organize "someday"?
Or are you one of those mysterious people whose craft room is always perfectly organized? If you are, please identify yourself immediately. We have questions. 😂
Welcome to The Great Craft Room Rescue. This is Part 1.
The mess has officially been documented. The plan has been made. And now ... I suppose I actually have to start cleaning it.
Wish me luck. 😂💜
Until next time ...
xoxo
Dawn
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