A day spent organizing will hopefully make future days of creativity more creative and relaxing. Over Thanksgiving I finished putting my craft room floor down and moving the furniture into the places where I wanted it to go. My husband helped me hang some shelves and storage pieces and I’ve been working to get this room functional ever since.
Of course I left my creative space until last. I have the rest of the house as done as it will be for a few months. I do have plans to paint those pink (Champagne Maple) kitchen cabinets and add some crown molding in the small bathroom, plus I have a few places to touch up with the paint.I also want to regrout the kitchen floor and then it’s just good enough. At some point I will paint the pantry and the hall closet, but not until next summer. In fact, all of those projects will wait until next summer. (Along with the new roof, driveway repair and landscaping in the front. We need a sidewalk that I won’t rip on!)
Right now, I need to finish my space. Plus…if I don’t get that last stack of boxes unpacked by the end of January, it will be a year that my stuff has been in boxes unused and unloved! I have certainly felt the rise in my anxiety and stress level since I have not been able to craft and create on a daily basis.
Now I just want it all done so it isn’t hanging over my head any more. You know how those unfinished tasks just nag at you until you just buckle down and get them done.
My task for today was to organize my desk corner. That involved getting my desk set up the way I want it, organizing the drawers in that corner, and organizing the paper. I actually have a new paper organization system that I am trying and I will let you know how it works. It was inspired by my friend Anita who saw a video that I believe was made by Jennifer McGuire on how she organizes her papers. I modified it to make it work for me and my space. I’m going to try it out for a couple of weeks and then let you know how it’s going.
Anyway…here is where I started:
This picture is a little dark, but you get the idea. I can’t be creative in that space!!!
Here is what it looks like now:
Ahhh! It’s beautiful! I know, I know…my craft room is still in the basement. (We downsized to a house with only 4 rooms: an eat-in kitchen, a living room, a master bedroom, and what is now a spare room. We have a full bath and a half-bath with first floor laundry. The entire house started out with only 2 closets and only 1 bedroom. I turned the office/dining room into a second bedroom and added California Closets. It’s amazing! It has a built-in desk with floating shelves and a nice amount of closet space now. It is a very pretty bedroom that my son is using.) The basement is mostly unfinished, but it had 2 “rooms”. One had a pool table and dark paneling…and a fire place. My husband is using that as his office. Attached to that was another room that was partially finished off that was being used as a storage space. This I claimed as my craft room. It’s also functioning as storage for unloved furniture and as an exercise space as well. I put down those self-stick tiles in a shiney black marble pattern and it actually made it feel more like a finished room.
Now I’m going to work my way around the room and organize it corner by corner so I can finish unpacking the rest of my stuff over the next couple of weeks. Ideally, I would have two super productive days of unpacking this week and just get it done. We’ll see how it goes!
I got myself a new cutting mat and a few new goodies. Can you see the paper storage unit on the upper right corner of the mat? I got that at Michael’s. It’s a magazine desk organizer that I have tipped on it’s side. I couldn’t fit all my paper storage units on my desk like I had it in my last house, so I just wanted a small unit that holds the neutrals and the papers I use all the time.
Next to that on the right, I treated myself to a pretty little die cutter from Altenew. It’s very handy to have on my desk. I shared a picture of that a couple of days ago. I have my paper cutter right where I use it as well. You can also see my coconut that I store my stamp shammy in on the left of my tool box. I love that tool box. It has functioned so well for me. I’ve been using it for a couple of years now and I love it. It came from either a garage sale or an antique store for a couple of bucks. It was a nut tray I think in a former life. Now it holds all the tools and adhesives that I reach for constantly.
I like to keep everything out where I can see it so I remember to use it. The moment I put something in a cabinet or drawer, it’s forgotten.
You can also see my punch and ink storage from Stamp-n-Storage. I’ve had those for a couple of years now as well and I love them. They function perfectly for me and again, I can see everything. I also love that the reinkers and markers are right next to the ink pads. It just works so well for me to reach up and grab what I want to use. I rotate the punches as Stampin’ Up! retires them. I keep a few favorites, but those are the current punchers right in front of me.
Also take note of that craft light that I have. I love it. It actually has a huge magnifying glass and I love this. It gives me task lighting right where I need it because it moves around easily and bends in a couple of places. I got it at Joanne’s several years ago with a 50% off coupon. Great purchase.
Yes, this is the same picture as before, but I wanted you to see the left side of my desk. My latest order from Stamp-n-Storage just arrived today…how perfect is that timing? I ordered a smaller ink pad storage piece and 3 more of the marker storage pieces. I needed something to hold some of the non-Stampin’ Up! inks that I’ve been trying out along with my tools and the new Stampin’ Blend markers. You can see that I keep my heat tool out right on my desk as well. I use it more because it is convenient to use now. I positioned my desk here because there is an outlet right next to this spot. I have the desk facing the room and conveniently, the TV.
You can see that the marker storage pieces actually hold my clear blocks and the stamp cases which have my constantly used embellishments stored in them. I reach for them constantly and I keep them handy. I have 5 more of those marker caddy pieces stacked behind my desk. I store all kinds of things in them besides markers. They fit perfectly in the space I had and my chair turns easily so I can get to tools I use, but not so often that they need to sit on my desk.
Right next to my desk I have more Stamp-n-Storage pieces holding my stamps, ribbons, and embellishments. I love these because the are narrow and don’t take up a lot of space. Right now they are just stacked in a cantilever fashion right next to me. I will be adding some molding to the sides and attaching them to the wall so they don’t get knocked over and land on top of me. You can see I have a smaller punch unit on the bottom for retired punches that I still love and use. That one hasn’t been painted yet. They pieces all come unfinished and you can paint them if you want. I have been painting them white.
I love that chair. Tempurpedic and super comfy. I treated myself to a new chair and it is fabulous!
I didn’t get a chance to paint the walls. They actually don’t look terrible. I had hoped to give them a fresh coat before moving in just to clean it up…best laid plans and all. Other stuff happened and that never got done. Nor will it! It’s just good enough and I would rather be crafting than moving furniture and painting another thing!
Right behind my desk is my paper storage and other storage. I have all of the current stamps here along with all of the non-Stampin’ Up! stamps. I have all my papers, bags, boxes, tools…basically all my paper crafting stuff is in this corner.
That giant antique piece came from my husband’s grandmother’s house. My sister-in-law wanted it so I salvaged it for her thinking that I was doing a good deed. It did not go unpunished. She lives in Washington (the state) on the west coast and I live on the east coast. That thing weighs at least a ton and is 6 feet long. I did not want it. I knew she wanted it and I kept it from the dumpster. It’s too big to ship and she doesn’t want it anymore. Now it is taking up 6 feet of space in my craft room. Sigh.
Luckily it holds a lot of scrapbooking supplies! It is great storage. There is a silver lining. Although, I can’t bring myself to paint it. It really is beautiful and surely worth something to an antique collector…if only they could move it. Did I tell you that it weighs a ton? It took 4 sturdy men to get it into that room and that is where it will remain. But it does store a ridiculous amount of paper crafting stuff. Silver lining!
On top of that very sturdy piece I have my paper storage. These I got on clearance a few years ago from Martha Stewart’s line. I like the yellow and I will leave them that color. They are fabulous and I got them for a song. They are also very heavy. I will not be moving them from that spot. I organized these today. It’s my new system which I will share in more detail in a future video. That is all my paper along with the special papers and the 12 x 12 papers.
The little drawers on top are another Stamp-n-Storage piece. I have not made good use of these and have never found a good use for them. Right now they are holding embossing powder, glitter and tiny tools. Some of the drawers are empty. I will find a good use for these at some point. To the right of these you can see my stamp storage and tucked in between these you can just see the 5 marker caddy pieces that I have. Only one of them holds markers…my Spectrum Noir set. These things hold everything! They should be named multipurpose storage caddies.
The drawers hold bags, boxes, specialty craft supplies, and office supplies.
All in all, I’m very pleased with how this is coming along.
I did buy myself a little Duraflame space heater that looks like a little wood stove. It is keeping my feet and legs warm. The only heat in the basement is in my husband’s room and is controlled in the living room upstairs. It stays pretty comfortable and that little heater does a nice job of warming up that corner. I never leave it unattended and I unplug it when I leave the room. I also have it plugged directly into the electrical outlet. These devices should never be used with any kind of extension cords or outlet surge strips.
We actually had a power surge the other day and it burned out 3 or 4 of those power strips. I could actually smell them burning! I had an electrician come over (he was amazing and came right away) to check everything out. He was so thorough because I heard a huge POP, saw a flash and a bunch of stuff went out. He spent an hour checking outlets and circuits and finally discovered that the power strips had done there job when we had a power surge (there was a car accident in town at that time). We were lucky that we did not lose any devices because those power strips shut off like they are designed to do when too much current goes through them.
The electrician said that when you order new ones to make sure you get power strips with 14 gauge wire. Apparently a lot of them have 18 gauge wire which is actually a smaller diameter wire that creates more resistance and is potentially not as safe to use. Needless to say, we replaced all of our power strips with the ones he recommended. They actually have expiration dates on them as do all extension cords. Please be careful with yours and replace any that you have had for a long time. Peace of mind is worth a little extra money and time researching to find the right equipment!
By the way…did you notice the Tardis Coffee mug that I’m using for some of my tools? That was a very fun Christmas gift from my son this year! We are Dr. Who fans and he saw someone drinking from one of these mugs and knew that I would love it! I’m keeping it on my desk holding my tools so I can see it every day. It makes me happy!!!
It holds a lot of tools. It is a Tardis after all…bigger on the inside.
Thank you so much for stopping by! Tomorrow I will have a project to share and I will be organizing the sewing corner and cutting station!
