Studio Organizing, Week 43

Posted on October 24, 2016 by prairiemoonquilts in Studio Organizing Challenge

Has all the wayward fabric been tamed?

I gave us a couple extra weeks to get it done (unknowingly — I lost a week somehow and didn’t post), and guess what? Mine still isn’t much better.

In fact, I think I drug out even more without putting any away. I can’t seem to stay home or get away from the deadlines these days! One or the other is constantly keeping me from doing anything but the absolute most necessary things on my list.

I have a retreat to go to this weekend (where I plan to marathon sew to get some projects further along), and then I’m truly hoping that I don’t have to travel anywhere again until March. There’s so much I need to get done around here!

I still have some deadlines looming, but at this particular moment in time, they seem so far away! I’ll blink and they’ll be upon me, tho, I’m sure of it.

This week promises to be just as busy and hectic, but I’m forging ahead with a new plan just the same.

Twice in the last week, I have read advice that says to reset, redesign, reboot, or overhaul your space, and to do that, you need to empty EVERYthing out of it. I’m taking that as a sign . . .

I bought this book, and I LOVE it:

heidisbook

It’s by Heidi Staples over at Fabric Mutt, and I highly recommend the book — not so much for the cute sewing projects, many of which I plan to make, but the organizing advice. Just reading it made me feel better, and I’m anxious to try a lot of her ideas.

The quote from the book that is currently stuck in my head is this one:

“The most efficient and effective way to really clean a room is to take everything out of it and start over.”

I so want to do this, but I’m gonna have to break it down into baby steps. If I did it completely, it would keep me from working until I got things put back together, and I’m not at a point where I can just stop working for the time this would take. So I’m starting small.

And that leads me to this week’s task:

Choose an area to reset, redesign, reboot, or overhaul

In fact, I’m using this task two weeks in a row because I need it sooo badly. So be warned, we’re doing this next week, too. I’m determined!

Choose just one small area — it doesn’t have to be an entire room, unless you have time for that, and then I’m just jealous — go for it!

Take everything out of that area, and clean it really good. Then put back only the things that need to be there or are supposed to be there, or new things that you love — new things that make you smile, or things that make you more productive.

I’m choosing a really small area this week since I’m still a little too busy for my own good, but it’s in preparation for a bigger area that I want to tackle next week.

Heidi also talks about storage solutions, so I’m really re-examining mine while I’m at it. I’ll leave you with this shot of how I store all my vintage buttons:

jarobuttons

My goal is to fill the jar, and I’m almost there!

Is there an area that you need to reset or redesign in your house? Even if it’s not your sewing room, I’ll bet if you do this where it’s needed, it will make you feel so much better. Let me know what you’re planning to work on!

8 responses to “Studio Organizing, Week 43”

  1. I needed this one. Things are getting really messy in my sewing space. Off to pick an area.

  2. Liz says:

    I’ve been MIA lately. I really need this one. My entire studio is a mess! So glad you are doing this task next week. I am going to need the two weeks.

    Have a wonderful time at retreat. (=

  3. Rose Marie says:

    I must be the world’s most unusual quilter. I have to have a neat or almost neat place to even attempt to quilt. Now what’s in the bins might not be so organized and I hate cutting scraps into certain sizes for future projects – maybe. But I love to pull out a bin of scraps and start cutting something all new. And I love to piece. My challenge is to get stuff quilted after the piecing. But remember that reminder we got from a sale you went to years ago. Leaving 40 unquilted tops is not a good end to our years of quilting.

  4. Darlene says:

    I was wondering if there would be any suggestions on how folks store their quilt blocks in progress? Currently I have very large 18″ blocks each one is a different house/farm so I look to look @ previous block for color as I am using scraps for the blocks. I have square plastic storage bins I use for 12″ blocks or to take to class. Hubby bought a stack of 5 from Costco in different colors!

    • Brenda Bailey says:

      i realize this blog is years old – and yes i started reading from the 2015 studio organizing challenges! – but to store extra big blocks, some folks use several large pizza boxes which they buy from pizza places.

  5. Lin says:

    Good advice. My sewing space desperately needed decorating this year and moving everything worked a treat. Best was taking everything off the bookshelf – I managed to part with a couple of crates of books I no longer want which has made the whole shelf much easier to work with. xx

  6. Meloney says:

    I am always working on something. I now see more than what I picked, so this will be good for next week too.
    http://melsquiltingblog.blogspot.com/2016/10/prairie-moon-organization-challenge.html
    My batting and leftover T-shirt storage is NOT working for me.

  7. kate says:

    Well, I just brought a ‘monster’ into my living room. It is over 12 feet long, takes about six feet deep and it says I AM HERE~ yes, I brought my longarm home…Fortunately I live alone so no one complains YET. I usually do holiday functions for my nephew, his dad and aunt and uncle. This summer his brother (that lived upstairs from me,) died, so I think it is time someone else host the holidays. I have only one chair in my living room. So my BIG IDEA is to make my living room as friendly as possible by taming this ‘monster.’ Maybe I should disquise it…. as what?

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