I need organization help!

Betsy
by Betsy
As you can see this is my craft/ workbench. I have tried with plastic totes to organize things but it doesn't work. I still cant see what supplies that I have. I buy more supplies but then I cannot find them, have copies of projects i would like to do but can't find them.



unorganized craft / table
  9 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on May 21, 2018

    https://www.hometalk.com/categories/organize/craft-room

  • M. M.. M. M.. on May 21, 2018

    This is so me! I buy organizational stuff but I don't always have the clearest idea how to use them. Immediately it looks to me that you will have to go vertical to reclaim some working surface. Look around for a kind of cubby, like office mail boxes, but not too deep so that you can glance up and see what you have. set that at the back of your table, against the wall. Get some wooden dowels to hang for any supplies that can be hung or threaded onto the dowel. Under your table, have some roll-out drawer stands. Make very clear divisions, by location and by color, if you can, of the different things you do, like paper crafts will ALL be to the left, beading straight ahead, fabrics to the right, scrap booking underneath the table. Buy a mat, like a self-healing cutting mat to work on, 12x14 and other sizes.. it's great for all kinds of work and resolve to never leave your area without the mat being totally cleared off. It takes housekeeping, but you'll find what works for you and your projects. I get a bit discouraged when I have to sit down to a mess when all I want to do is work. It's like a happy sigh that I can sit down and get right to work, without having to clean up what I left from before, haha! A little daily tidy is better than rummaging thru' stuff in a panic!

  • Ken Ken on May 21, 2018

    Looks like you've got ten pounds of stuff in a five pound bag. No matter how you arrange it, it won't fit.


    Saw this item in a "deal of the day" yesterday and I think it, or something like it, would be a good minimal floor space solution to get materials off of your work surface. https://www.homedepot.com/p/IRIS-108-Qt-10-Drawer-Storage-Bin-in-Black-116900/300735894

  • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on May 21, 2018

    Get the collapsible files with slots for each month and keep your project papers in them. They come with tables to label each slot. They work really well and are not outrageously priced, or find a small file cabinet used. You could even get one of the tall ones, repaint it with Rustoleum and keep your projects and even other things in the drawers and label each drawer with the contents. This could hold many smaller containers that can get lost in the shuffle. Clean off your craft table of everything and reorganize it with the things you use most. Put smaller things in the cubbies, and keep the main area clean of everything except what you are working on. If you use totes, use the clear ones so you can see inside and label each one as to what is in it. Make sure to have one main thing in each if possible, like fabric, cans of paint, jars of paint, etc. For the smaller things, you can use the smaller drawer systems and label each drawer. My mom had two of the drawer things guys use to keep nuts, bolts, screws, etc. to hold all of the little craft things she used when decorating the ceramic or glass Easter eggs she made all the time. She made a lot of small Christmas ornaments, too. She could find everything she needed in her little drawers and containers she organized her craft area with.

  • Joanna Smith Joanna Smith on May 22, 2018

    You already got some great ideas, but you did mention that you can't "SEE" what you have. I make miniatures and I have tons of tiny parts and pieces. I keep everything in the clear, shoe-box size , plastic containers, and try to keep all "like" items together. I stack them short-side out, and put labels on the end with a list of everything that's in each box. You can alphabetize the stacks, or you can put a number on each one and make a list of the box numbers and what is in each one.

  • Ginny Ginny on May 22, 2018

    Maybe you need to "downsize" your supplies and then organize. You have lots of stuff.

  • Betsy Betsy on May 22, 2018

    Resolve

  • Happy Days Hometalker Happy Days Hometalker on May 30, 2018

    Do you have just a craft table or a whole room? If the room is dedicated to crafting, buy the plastic shelving you find at Home Depot, clear shoe boxes, a peg board, start there, organize like stuff with like stuff, move on to the next pile of craft material, etc., promise yourself you wont buy any additional crafting material until you are organized. Good luck.

  • To Work With My Hands To Work With My Hands on Jun 04, 2018

    It's hard to be creative when you can't even find your things, isn't it? I know, because I've been there! You'd be amazed at how much more inspired you are in a clutter-free work space. I created a free 5-day email mini course for my blog readers on this very topic. You can sign up to receive it here: https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pages/402848?v=7 It looks like you have some nice shelves there that would be perfect for storing your organized supplies. Once you have things organized, it will be so much easier to keep them that way since everything will have a place.