JanieH |
03-19-2013 10:18 AM |
I had the same problem as the rest of you - organizing then not knowing where stuff was. Here is how I solved it for me:
I bought 2 of the 10-drawer rolling carts that JoAnn's sells. The drawers are shallow and the carts go together really easily. I then used masking tape and numbered each drawer 1 - 10 and 11 - 20. Then the fun began. For 2 days I went through every box, drawer, plastic shoe box, etc., that I had sewing/quilting stuff in and sorted it all into the different drawers. BUT what I did differently this time was to list each item in a notebook (I used a composition notebook and labeled each page A - Z) and what drawer it is in. Now when I want to find rotary blades (drawer 4) or binding clips (drawer 15), I know exactly where they are. When I can, I am going to purchase a third so I can subdivide some of the drawers that are really packed (button drawer, embroidery thread, etc. I do embroidery, crocheting, knitting, and several other crafts as well so have lots of stuff.). I also want to divide my small rulers into 2drawers because of the weight.
I used ziploc bags to organize things within each drawer (embroidery needles in one, sharps in another, quilting needles in a third, needle threaders, etc.) The snack size worked well. I also found some smaller bags at Hobby Lobby that worked great, especially for sorting buttons by color and needles by purpose.
Since this was working so well, I labeled the drawers in my sewing desk (SD-1, etc.), some other cabinets I had, and all of my storage places and spent the couple of days going through all of them and listing those items on their corresponding alphabet page.
I rediscovered lots of missing items, found some duplicates which I gave to my niece who is starting to quilt, and felt so good about not just cleaning and organizing but also knowing where everything is because of THE NOTEBOOK. I finally figured out that I just can't trust my memory and the "of course I will remember where I put ____________ (fill in the blank).
I even listed all my rulers and since many are specialty rulers that I don't keep with my regular-use ones and so I keep them in other areas, specified where they are. This also helps when I look at a pattern and wonder if I have the ruler that the pattern calls for.
It was a lot of work to do but the payoff has been a much neater room AND I know where my "stuff" is.
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