Studio Organizing, Week 1

Posted on January 4, 2016 by prairiemoonquilts in Studio Organizing Challenge

Here we go again, another year of organizing our sewing spaces!

I wasn’t going to continue this again this year, but so many of you asked for it, and I still need it so badly my ownself, I decided to keep it going.

I’m basically planning to run through most of the same tasks we did last year, adding in a few new ones as we go, and rearranging them a lot. However, I also intend to go into a bit more detail on some of the tasks, drilling a little deeper, if you will, into how I do things around here, and occasionally providing some links to other helpful information regarding the topic each week as we go.

I welcome you to share any of your ideas as we go along. I love reading the comments and getting even more good ideas!

So you can look at it this way — in 2015, we got started good — in 2016, we’re getting even more serious! I hope you’re joining me!

If you were with me last year, I hope you got as much out of it as I did. My space is so much better than it was, even tho I consider it far from done, and I also came up with lots of ideas on how to make it even better this year.

I’ve updated the Studio Organizing Challenge page to reflect our new start, and if you’d still like to look back at any of last year’s tasks, they’re all still there at the very bottom.

This year, the organizing tasks will be posted on Mondays instead of Thursdays, and I might even throw in a give-away now and then!

With all that said, it’s time for our first task of 2016 — are you ready? We’re going to:

Deal with paper clutter

We’re starting out kind of rough, but this is something I desperately need to get a handle on. It’s so easy for me to let paper get out of control. I foolishly told myself that hiring an accountant would save me from having to do paperwork, but seriously? — No. I still have to gather up all the paperwork and make some sense of it so that I can pass it on to her. What was I thinking?

The good thing is — she’ll make me do it on time, instead of letting me procrastinate like I always do. This year’s taxes might actually get done before April!

And because I’m gonna have to give her the paperwork here pretty quick, I’m working on it now — imagine, me being proactive! Shocking, right?

I even gave half my office a deep cleaning and reorganizing in the process (I’m not showing you the other half just yet — it’s still a disaster), and now I have a nice clean fresh space to work. (One of my to-dos this year is to make curtains for this room!)

Office

So how about you?

Do you have paper clutter? Even if you got it under control last year at some point, did it stay that way?

Did you print more patterns, get more magazines, not do the filing when you should have, let the mail pile up, throw your receipts around willy nilly, string post-it notes and lists everywhere?

I did, and now I have to deal with it.

If you did, too, now is your time to deal with it.

One way I intend to help myself deal with all the paper is by participating in The Paper Clutter Challenge over at I Heart Planners. While I’m not sure I’ll do every single step, I’m sure I’ll get a lot of good suggestions for staying on top of things and not letting them get so out of control in the future. I’ve already been at the first task for 2 days now, and I’m still gathering up papers from all over the house!

Maybe before it’s time for the next task, I’ll at least have it all gathered up.

What about you? Do you have any paper to tame this week?

19 responses to “Studio Organizing, Week 1”

  1. Cindy says:

    Ugh, I cringe just thinking about it. First of all papers breed like rabbits, and rabbits add cuter to deal with!!!!! I do have a problem with magazines and patterns. As I told you yesterday, I really need to make clones of myself, and I forgot one to handle paperwork! This is a viscous cycle. If I’m handling paperwork, I’m not working on UFOs or processing scraps etc……

  2. Genny Wright says:

    I would just put a balance on that window and keep the view! Happy New Year!

  3. Elaine Walker says:

    Do I have paper clutter????? You bet I do! I have a hard time throwing away any paper—–after all I might decide to use that quilt pattern that I saved [only 10 years ago]. Yeah, right. I have, however, selected a stack of magazines to give away this week, so maybe I can accomplish something towards this task.

  4. Bec says:

    DH says I can produce more paper than anyone, simply by thinking about it! He’s right. I’ve put a stop on magazine subscriptions except two. That will help. I no longer take the newspaper except twice a week, which helps.

    I’m a piled and stacker. I love paper. Full sheets, scrap, those notepads offered for free at some businesses.

    Our recycling bin is already full for Thursday’s pickup. I’ve been cleaning and gleaning! I’ll participate this year.

  5. Kathy says:

    Oh my. I am a paper person. I have papers and forms from 1962,when we got married. You think you have paper overload? Come to my house. I have bins of them. But when I finally get some progress made on other things I think I will give my shredder a workout. Then I will have a lot of material for composting. 2 birds with 1 stone.

  6. Anne P says:

    Well I’m in on this. I actually started on my paper 2 days ago and now have all the printed off patterns that were floating around my studio after the Christmas present dash, plus those that I used earlier in the year in plastic wallets in a file – yeah!

    But there are lots of other papers around and I have determined to sort through all the papers still remaining from when my mother passed way back in 1999. I did the probate and had to go through everything and keep certain things, but there are things I’ve kept that just don’t need to be – like the electricity and gas bills she kept for 20 years or so etc!!

    Once I’ve gone through all the papers I should have made more room for fabric!

  7. Meloney says:

    Yes, I have paper. I put photos of my “mess” on my blog http://melsquiltingblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/2016-prairie-moon-studio-organization.html
    Don’t judge me, please. I have started on this last week and I swear I am a bigger mess now than when it was all contained. LOL
    So, yes, I am in on this challenge.
    Thank you for doing it again this year.

  8. Liz says:

    Do I have paper clutter? I feel like the paper HOARDER!!!

    The paper clutter is in my itty bitty sewing room.

    Thank you for doing this again.

  9. Carol says:

    I worked on paper and worked on paper. I gave away a lot of magazines that I collected over the past 10 years, have I really been quilting that long??? I hate to throw away so I do try to recycle. I need to invest in a shredder mine broke. I write notes on my phone so I do not have that clutter and I use Pinterest for quilts that I like.
    I have more to do but I’m in it to win it [the battle of paper!].

  10. Eileen says:

    I spent the week between Christmas and New Years weekend goin thru papers and shredding the throw always. I took 10 bags to the dump of which only 4 were household garbage. Everything is in order for taxes except the donations folder. That’s the last one!!
    Then I started on the sewing room closet yesterday…. Just got the floor empty so the two shelves on two walls are next. Took today off to get regular housework done! Back at it tomorrow…. Oh the joy!!

  11. Barb Bevell says:

    Yes, I have paper clutter, too. It’s a constant battle. Thanks for the reminders and the challenges.

  12. I have a box with file folder even. It holds things I’ve clipped out of magazines, mail, etc. Have I looked at it in the last two years? Have I filed anything lately? That’s going to be my task – keep or toss. Probably will toss 90% of it and free up a box. Off to start! Thanks again for getting doing these tasks that need to be done.

  13. Melanie says:

    Love the picture! I am working on taxes this week, so it will be a new start for me too. I have to find a sewing office space so I can leave the dining room table alone!

  14. Eileen says:

    Today was empty shelves in closet, wash walls , vacuum rug, clean ceiling fan, spakel nail holes, then make a list for Home Depot shopping for ceiling and wall paint shopping tomorrow. Can’t decide on color!!

  15. Bridget says:

    Yes, I have paper clutter but started the battle last year and am winning!! I have two subscriptions for quilt magazines and my husband has a couple scripts. After they are read they go on a stack and then the stack goes to recycling. If a quilt magazine doesn’t have at least three great ideas or projects it goes out too! You can always find it on the internet!! The single biggest help was setting my shredder out in the open. I shred bills every month (did you know that the phone/electric and credit cards companies have a copy of your statements? Let them store them!!) Receipts I need to keep go into the receipt drawer for tax time. I can’t believe how much neater my flat spaces are staying. Oh I also eliminated a lot of my flat spaces so there is no place to set it in the first place LOL

  16. Celine says:

    Thank you for such a great idea. I didn’t participate last year but really need to this year and since reading your post, I have already thrown away so much…

  17. Eileen says:

    Well, Home Depot shopping got me a pretty blue green (sea grass) color paint for the walls. So yesterday I painted the ceiling white and primed the new wood on the doors in the storage areas that are accessed thru the closet. The storage areas need organization/ purge before I can move on. Yikes!! Need to tape areas of trim ( doors) before I start walls. Hurting today after my up/ down ladder workout!! We will see how today goes!

  18. I hadn’t checked in here for a bit… and didn’t know the first task was released yet.. that’s what I get for not reading the right things. I did ‘sign on’ for the OMG Challenge at http://redletterquilts.blogspot.com/2016/01/one-monthly-goal-omg-inaugural-launch.html and my first task chosen was to organize all my books and patterns – which is pretty much all my paper stuff in the studio… Hooray for killing two birds with one stone! Tomorrow – I take on the books!!!

  19. Eileen says:

    Yesterday was suppose to be a short day. Ended up getting the closet taped for the trim out and then I managed to get the trim out painted. Love the paint color! So I’m ready for the walls to be painted. Need to go out shopping first, pick up lottery tickets for tonight. Then maybe I can pay someone to do the renovation!! LOL

Leave a Reply to Melanie Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *