Sunday, May 26, 2013

Craft Room Unpacking - Organization

I'm super lazy. And I just now (three weeks after moving) started emptying boxes. Well, that's a slight lie... when I was in a frenzy looking for something that I hadn't seen since before we moved, then I would open a box (or three) and throw junk to the side. So if that counts as "emptying" then I guess I'm not that damn lazy.

Anyhow...

My first big project is my craft room... craft space. A little back story; I used to have a whole craft room to myself, but in this new house we decided to use one of three bedrooms as a guest room (just in case). So the other spare room will be split in half... my craft space on the left and my husband's office space on the right. Let this prove that I am nice and I can share!

So... only having space and not a whole room adds some challenges to my project. You don't know how much stuff I have, but you will soon see!!

This is post No. 1... I will probably post one more final look, but this one will focus mainly on organizing solutions I've come up with. 

So, without further ado... the BEFORE shot!

BEFORE! A damn mess in my craft space!
First and formost, I put two shelves above the sewing table. I mainly do sewing, so I want those bits & baubles to be very close!

I put the top shelf VERY high up (where I'll put things I won't access as much) and the one below will hold zippers, trims and machine cleaning tools. The bottom shelf will also hold a wooden dowel that I thread ribbon spools on to it.

Two basic shelves... I noticed later that one of my brackets was a little off.
Shopping time! I bought the shelves at Lowe's a long time ago. The plastic jars are wonderful! They hold my various zipper sizes (6", 9" and 12") and fit at least 20 at a time. I purchased them super-cheap at Oriental Trading (set of 3).

The next item was a little DIY project. You need the following:
Steel Sheet 8"x24" (bought at Lowe's)
E-6000 Glue - Small Tube
Short Jars - 12 (Plastic 4.5")
Four Screws to Hang It!
Total should be less than $35 (I already had the glue and magnets, so at the time I just needed to buy the jars and the steel).

I had friends in high places, so I took my sheet of steel to a sign shop and had them round the corners and poke holes in each corner. This shouldn't cost you anything at most shops, but at the least prepare to pay a few dollars for their work (which took my shop 5 minutes).

Steel sheet with rounded corners & holes!

Next... you need to take the E-600 and carefully glue four magnets on the bottom of the plastic jars. I have a few tips to make this successful for you!
1. The magnets are very, very, very strong!! So carefully separate one from the stack at a time. See this website for more info. I'm not kidding on the strength... if you're not careful you can hurt yourself! But trust me, you need these magnets and not the usual black ones you see in the world. These need to me strong to hold the weight of what is going in the jars.
2. Make sure you put four per jar! Again, this helps hold the weight of the jar's contents.
3. Just a small pea-sized dab of glue will do per magnet.
4. Let the glue dry for 24-hours.
5. Do all of this in a well-ventilated area... the glue has a very strong smell.

Four magnets per jar... no more, no less. Love my decals?
After you glued the magnets and let dry for a day, attach the sheet to the wall (vertical or horizontal, I've done both) and attach the magnetic jars. I've put some very heavy magnetic snaps in the jars and it holds perfectly!
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All done! And looking fine!!

I prefer putting this near where I seat, so I can grab button and snaps easily! 

Okay... what's next? Oh! Yes, more holes in the wall!

Poor wall.
Next, under the steel sheet, I put up a very tiny shelf with hooks. 

The shelf is only 5"x16" and really can't hold much EXCEPT these little plastic jars (about 3" tall) I got from Oriental Trading. They are perfect for small things like key rings & hooks. 

I will use the hooks underneath for something later (check back).

So small, yet so useful!
Doesn't it look great so far! Except for my crappy labels... I'm gonna redo those!

A big thumbs up for getting these level!

Okay! Two last things.

The item on the left is a plain ol' peg board that I spray painted purple. I use this to hang tall/long things (like yard sticks) and sort tools I don't use too often.

The item on the right is a thread rack. It's meant to sit on a table, but because I'm a rebel, I drilled two holes through the wood and screwed it to the wall. BAM!


Don't worry... I've got plenty of stuff to fill these up!
Alright... I'm done for now. This is the organizing part of my craft space. 

Note how it's ALL on the wall! That's important because floor space is sacred here. 

Yes, there are a ton of holes in the wall now, but those are patchable. I've even considered putting more shelves up above the peg board if the closet sorting doesn't go well (and I need space).

After... for now!! It already looks better.
Next up on the menu, is finding all my damn stuff. I'm not sure where my thread is... or my scissors. So once I find all my stuff I'll show you what this looks like filled up. 

Also, I'm gonna organize the closet in the room for the other craft stuff (I don't just sew, you know). I'll post more details then!