Micro Organizing The "Bits"

Okay, so I'm really, really not fanatical about organizing, but I have discovered a few helpful tools to help with the challenge!

I love when my design supplies are neat and tidy, "like-things together", my mother advised me when I was a kid. She was delightfully organized and I was artistically messy!!

My daughter added another interesting twist to the organizational mix when she insisted that her beads were organized in "rainbow color order" when she was about 6.

Wow, that's a lot to live up to! I find myself sandwiched between two great organizers attempting to use tips from each of them.

This is one of the two ways I organize my beads.

Finding the right organizational tool is another tip! I like to find the perfect container for the item. It takes time and doesn't happen in a day.

Organizing, like knitting is a process. Right now, I'm enjoying the process.

I found boxes I really like at the Container Store. I ALWAYS use clear or see through boxes and I like it when they have lids that snap closed (no beading accidents, please!)

I know that I'm visual,

so if I store my stuff in opaque or decorator boxes, it absolutely disappears and I can't find anything. So see-through is for me.

I find that organizing by color also works for me (since I can never remember the "rainbow" color order like my daughter), I usually just organize from lights to darks.

In the case of my buttons, and I have quite a collection, I find that the large antique ones need to be carefully contained, so I chose this box from the Container Store. I can see them all and they are protected from any rubbing or scuffing.

I used to contain my buttons like everybody's grandmother, in cookie tins, but I found that rectangular containers work better when stacking inside cabinets.

I use a lot of embroidery floss (many of my patterns contain floss in the materials list), so the best way for me to keep it wrangled, is by using a clear box that has sections that seem to fit the skeins and a lid the keeps everything in one place.

Magazines are quite a challenge if they aren't contained in magazine holders. These are VERY inexpensive from Ikea and I've got a bunch of them for the Interweave Knits, Vogue Knitting, Rowan, Threads, Filatura and every other magazine I can't seem to part with. They line up easily on book shelves or in cabinets.

I like to see my Knitting needles, so I arrange them in attractive bottom heavy "vases". These are kitchen cookie jars, again from Ikea. They go with the decor in my office and I organize them by size. I'm still looking for the PERFECT circular needle organization, but I've got a pretty good one which I'll share next time.

Well that's all for now. I've got to get back to my... organizing!!

Organizing The Stash!

I'm sure we're all in agreement that times are challenging right now and utilizing what we have is a good idea.

With that in mind, I've been organizing my design materials to the "inth" degree.

The remodel of my office is almost complete and I've started moving in. This has given me an opportunity, yes, I said opportunity, to go through every single bit of my stash, fabric, buttons, ribbons and YARN. I've purged any unnecessary "bit" and made donations to the High School Fiber Arts Class.


The photo above is one of two cabinet sections where I have organized my fabric (for lining bags mostly). I've arranged it by color, which makes me happy. The two diffused white laminate glass cabinets at the very top also house fabric, but I left them closed so that you can see how nice they look.



The cabinets are 8 feet tall and are from Ikea, my new favorite place to shop!


At right is what my Ikea cabinets look like closed. There are no handles, they are push-latch to open. So it becomes a clean wood-paneled wall.







The pieces at left are my favorite of all!

I think I've finally found a way to organize my yarn. And believe me, I've been trying to find the perfect yarn organization furniture for decades!

The drawers not too tall or too deep, they are handy, keep my yarn lint and dust free, make viewing yarn easy and just as easy to access.

These drawers are also from Ikea (no, I don't work there---but I should!) I have 5 banks of them all together (three are shown above).

I put Ikea kitchen cabinets on top of the drawers and they are anchored to the wall in studs. The top cabinets house "crafty" stuff and things like handbag handles.

Here's an open drawer of yarn! Happily organized!

I hope this provides a bit of inspiration. Cleaning out and clearing out is good for the design soul! I'll share more as I organize the rest.