Organizing the Studio

Christmas is just around the corner and I decided to get a jump on my New Year's resolution by organizing my studio. I started by ruthlessly getting rid of fabric that I will never use. I even gave away some that I still liked but realized that I don't want to make anything with it and don't have time so it's time to move it out. It absolutely astounds me at how many places you can stash fabric. Every time I opened a cupboard or a rubbermaid bin there was more fabric. I've decided that 2011 will be a year of using up some of my stash. I realize that in my lifetime I will never use everything I have but my plan is to put a good dent in my stash.

Once I eliminated the stuff I didn't want I tidied up my fabric shelves and my fat quarter cubbies. I love the space saver "shoe bins" that you can buy at Canadian Tire. Fat quarters fit perfectly and the bins are stackable. I also put individual projects waiting to be made in those clear plastic zippered bags that linens come in, along with the pattern or book I want to use to make the project. I put all my jelly rolls in one basket and 5" charm packs and layer cakes in another. I took my books and categorized them by subject. I put all my patterns in baskets and also sorted them by subject matter for easy reference. I bought clear divided containers at Michaels to put all my beads, buttons, embellishments etc so now I can easily see where everything is.

Over the past year I have gone through all my magazines, cut out articles and patterns that I thought were interesting and but them plastic sleeves in a binder and then recycled the magazines. I got rid of tons of magazines and condensed them into three binders.

Now I just have to figure out what to do with my threads. Once that is done my studio is relatively tidy and ready for the new year! I can't wait to start a new project! Just think of the mess I can make........