B and I have been in our new house for almost two years now (it will be two years mid-March) and this room swap has really helped us get some serious unpacking done. I know, we're a bit slow, but we've had a baby to worry about. We did most of the unpacking when we moved in (right around the time Sophie was born), but there were various boxes of odds and ends scattered about that we pretty much forgot with all the family visiting and furniture assembly and room swapping and diaper changes, etc.
Lucky for me, many of those boxes were filled with fun craft supplies. I knew about all the yarn (had that all unboxed within the first month or so) but had forgotten so many of the other supplies. I found plenty of fabric and felt, wooden pieces, candle making supplies, paper items, lots of patterns and instructions, basically a general hodge podge of "junk" (as B likes to call it). He seems to think I have enough to open my own craft store, but I truly don't.
I proved that to him once I organized the closet where all my craft supplies are stored. Our guest room has a fairly large closet (double doors) that was literally packed from top to bottom with boxes of stuff. This room used to be the office, so most of the stuff was office type stuff, but when we did our room swap, *some* of the office stuff came out (not all), but all of the stuff in the garage and the old guest room was moved into the big closet. I wish I had taken a picture of just how packed this closet was because I have a feeling no one will believe me after seeing the pictures of how it looks now.I started my organizational project at JoAnn Fabric. They were having a sale on all
of their IRIS storage items (40% off) so I picked up five somewhat large tubs (30 qt, I believe). I almost bought drawers but am SO glad I didn't. While I was at JoAnn, B was at the Home Depot looking at storage containers as well. I wasn't impressed by the drawer system he found there, but was interested in looking at the other containers they had. We went together to the Home Depot the following day and I picked up a couple sets of smallish tubs (6 qt and 15 qt) while he found the rails, brackets, and shelving needed to turn our mess of a closet into something manageable. I was beyond excited to get rid of all the huge Dell boxes we had snagged at work for our move before Sophie was born (and all the various other boxes we still had floating around).
I have to admit, my husband really is my hero. The shelving in the closet makes it so much more user friendly now. We have shelving in the parts of the closet that are tucked away as well as on part of the back wall. I didn't want to cover the entire back wall since it IS a guest room and people actually do stay there from time to time. I would like for them to have a place to hang their clothes still, so we left a little room for that. After B put up the shelving, he decided he wanted something a bit sturdier so he ran to the Home Depot for braces (and more tubs).The end result really is wonderful. All of my craft supplies are organized. Every
clear tub and drawer is labeled with a list of contents (except for the tubs holding the wooden pieces for now - I have to get out the labeler again). The closet also contains candles and computer bits and pieces, but those tubs are labeled as well, so nothing in my closet is a mystery. I have a drawer for all of my scissors (I have a lot of scissors - from fancy paper edging scissors to super sharp fabric scissors). I also have a drawer for all things glue (rubber cement, various glues, glue gun, magnets, velcro, etc.) and one for all things paint (paint, brushes, sponges, etc.). Because this project has pretty much put the Christmas undecorating on hold, I think I'll make a tub for old Christmas cards as well since I plan to start recycling them into various crafts at some point.I
think the best part of the entire closet is the two 5.5" Moon Lites (by AmerTac) we installed under the top shelf. It makes it so much easier to see my labels, especially on the bins that are tucked back out of the way. Needless to say, we both feel rather accomplished. It's not quite done yet, but it's pretty darn close. I still have a few empty tubs and will be moving the candles around most likely, but I want to get Christmas down sometime before January is over (and possibly still get cards mailed out, who knows).The next order of business for my craft supply closet will be a total Martha Stewart step. B will be making fun of me for years to come, but I don't care. I want to take the closet door on the right and add some sort of organizational system to the back of it. I'll have to draw it all out so I can plan it just right, but there will be pegs and rods and all sorts of great fun stuff so I can hang more "junk" on the back of the door.
Now... if I could just figure out a way to get all the other stuff out of that closet...
Reader Participation: Have you organized your craft supplies? If so, what is your system? If not, why not (too few supplies, not enough room, not enough time, etc.)? Feel free to share photos! Also, feel free to ask questions if there was something I didn't cover or if you're curious about something you see in my closet.
