Studio Space…It’s coming together

My shelf unit is done!  

Well, actually it’s been done but needed painted. 

  Larry built this unit based off of another I have in the kitchen for the crock pot and other larger appliances.  Aside from the trim on the face of the bins, all of the wool and materials used were salvaged from one project or another.  Years ago, when I worked at a local fabric store, they did a major remodel & tossed out a bunch of displays.  We hauled off as much as we could as it was super sturdy & good wood.  The top of this is from some of the last of the display wood. It weighs a ton and is sturdy enough to climb on (not that I’ll be doing any climbing) but it will probably out last me!

Our neighbor has a body shop and offered to give it a good paint job & we wanted to wait till he had the the paint booth free to do it. White car paint and 2 clear coats over the entire thing.

I don’t think I’ll be leaving any coffee cup stains on this one!

The shelves above he took down from a unused bedroom in the basement. 

My next issue was what to do with the wire shelf rack I’d bought and the wall of bins…I was so overwhelmed with how to create use-able space I was ready to walk away for the evening.  Trying to gain more functional space Larry suggested a counter….so we decided to use the rolling bins as a base & create a counter top above them.  In my mind I’m figuring how long it will take me to save for counters and….Larry heads out to the garage. 

  Simple frames stabilizing the counters over the bins

For a while this summer, the dealership rented a building for all the hail damage repairs to be done.  In the building there was quite a bit of odds and ends.  The owner was cleaning it up a bit and was tossing out these boards….which went against Mr. Fix-It’s grain (yes pun intended).  After looking at them he realized they were side rails to a bed frame 2 inches thick and 10 inches wide …he tossed them in the truck….to use someday.

Placing the 4 support frames and leaving a space for the electrical outlet

We shifted the wire bins up on the counter giving me

SPACE!!!!

I’m pretty sure I know where most things are now, I’ve shifted stuff around trying to see what works best & I’m sure I’ll be moving things around a bit more before I’m satisfied.  Not all of the sewing tools and quilting tools are together, But right now I know where things are, I have floor space, I can reach the radio,(one of the kids old stereo’s) I can walk to the window as the floor is cleared of boxes! The room, or this side at least feels 10 times bigger.

I’ve already used the sewing table a few times to make skirts for dresses & started a Jelly Roll Quilt.  It was so nice having elbow room.

 

I’m planning on using the cubby spaces for customers wool and my planned projects.  Boy do I have a lot of plans!   I may need to scale back somewhere as there are only 24 hours in a day but, those bare walls are starting to drive me crazy..er

It’s not done but all in all I’m pretty happy with it & very happy we’ve been able to stick with repurposing what you have and free materials!

Now to work on the wool side of the room

Hope your having a productive day

Katie

Technorati Tags: Katidids,crafting,sewing,repurposing,recycling,storage,organizationally challanged

OVERWHELMED

Overwhelmed it putting it lightly.
We built this wonderful addition which included a work room/studio space for me.  However, when the holidays hit everything was crammed in here BEFORE the storage units were ready.  It wasn’t to bad but I added to the mess with more wool, fabrics…and then it became the catch all room with odd items and outgrown kids clothes.

Everyday I try to spend 10-15 minutes sorting and organizing but, with out the storage units it’s basically shifting piles.  The only thing safe right now is customer’s wool in their individual bags.

OK, No Judging now!

_{The wall to the left you can’t see is lined with bins and 3 drawer units}

Digging through wool bins for the Ravellenics projects I trashed it even more. Well, in reality just shifted the piles around…and created a few avalanches.

It’s embarrassing & overwhelming but unless I empty it and start over with shelving, there really is not a solution.  I can only knit and sew so fast…if I can get to the sewing machine!

Last week I found some temporary help.  I’ve seen these in Target for about $20. but didn’t want to spend the money.

I’d popped in the local Aldi’s and found one for $9. Score!

I had lost numerous bags of fabric in this room and as I find and unpack them the shelf is filling up. 

This is all wool I just unpacked from various shipments I’ve received but couldn’t put away properly…because I couldn’t get to it!

Larry has found a shelving unit that will fit perfectly on this wall and hold all 12 of the these 38 qt containers & I can store the un-dyed on top.  Right now I have to move 3 exploding bins to get one on the bottom..which is why all the small bits are on top.

Obviously organization is not my forte but, I should never have moved anything in till the storage was in place…for now I’m working on it. Walking in there it’s overwhelming so I’ve started with 15- minute time blocks to help with that. I’ve set my own deadline to have it useable by 12 August…shelving or no shelving!  I’ve been at it an hour now and am giving 15 more minutes before I stop for the afternoon.  So, this post is for accountability!

The break is over….off to sort some more

What is your challenging space to organize?

*Embarrassed*

Katie who is posting beforeichickenout

Technorati Tags: Katidids,Studio,organizationally challanged

Organizing...UGH!

Not much to post today,

I braved Wallyworld first thing this morning

for a few large, clear storage containers......

and survived the crowds...

It was close tho!

The diaper fabric stash is getting out of control

so I picked up a few containers to sort flannel...

boy & girl, recycled t~shirts,

elastic & Velcro

"Stuff"

I was going to post a photo of what it all looks like now...you know,

a before & after...

but

when I saw the photo

NO WAY I'm showing what the before looks like!

Kind of a Jigunda laundry pile right now

"To Do" Wednesday

Do you have a “To Do” List?

I’m a list maker, if I don’t list out things I want to do, complete, start, find, write (get the idea?) I forget.

Often I’ll list household chores as, some days it feels like you’ve been working your fanny off and have nothing to show for it.

I like that since of accomplishment of seeing things checked off the list.

It also helps me better budget my time for other things like sewing & knitting.

One of my goals for the year was to organize this house.
I know which layer things are under but, for some reason few others in my family have this God Given built in sonar. I was off to a pretty good start until we combined households & are now near bursting at the seams.

Our entire basement has become a storage area, a maze of boxes furniture and bags. I gave up on organizing for a while. But, bit-by-bit I’m finding my way through.

Starting in the laundry room. It’s become a dumping area of all things no one wants to deal with; out-grown children’s clothes, ill-fitting/wrong season adult clothing, blankets and extra pillows.….I mean, who has extra pillows!
My canning supplies are on shelves behind all of this stuff…
Better get started on that list…….
Goodwill’s going to love me

Empty Nesting & Cleaning Out

There have been a lot of changes in our house this past month! We are, (Drum Roll Please) officially Empty-Nesters! Right now with beautiful weather, we have been pretty building the rock wall, gardening and other summer activities so its not so hard. Come winter months I know it will be tough.
What amazed me is what they did not take with them. Looking around & finding all the “important stuff” they couldn't’t toss out thru the years. On the back of one closet shelf I found a” trick or treat” pumpkin basket… stuffed full of high school notes. After reading one I tossed the rest. Some things a Mom just does not need to know! How about dance recital costumes and butterfly wings from another, 7 curling irons? My kids were pack rats! Gee, I wonder where they got it…Really made me look around and see what I have collected. There will be one Big yard sale soon. Why did I keep a broken VCR? Passed the book shelf, cleared out 4 bags of paperbacks, and you can’t tell! I went down to the basement, or “The Pit” . People have been known to go down there and never be seen again. More costumes, athletic gear, boxes we moved here 15 yrs ago! Cases of canning jars I forgot about…I’m on a mission to clean it out and organize, room by room, closet by closet, cabinet by cabinet. I’m only about a quarter of the way thru the house but it has been freeing. This is a big house but it’s stuffed like a Christmas Turkey, for just a little bit longer. What did your kids leave behind? One positive thing..I can park where I want to!!