11/20/2004

I was seized this week by the need to fix up our workroom/craftroom/office. I realized that I spent many hours in this room, yet it was somehow undone. It's the catchall room of the house -- it contains our desk, computer, files, etc.; two large bookcases; the "craft table" where anything messy happens and where the kids do their stuff. It has one 3 x 5 closet which is meant to hold all the crafty stuff. Which means a lot of stuff. I sorted through the stuff and tossed what was obsolete, crated up the stuff that wasn't being used right now for the garage, so we're pared down, but there are a lot of varied things that need to keep neat.

I got an inexpensive rag rug, some bright yellow curtains, and hung some pictures. I exiled Mr. Pink (the sewing machine) and his cabinet to the garage (I haven't sewn enough to merit two machines). And tidied up the yarns. It's much more pleasant now, particularly when it's dark out.

But storage -- I cleaned out the closet and tried to analyze what sort of storage I need. I have several shoe box sized clear plastic bins that house all the girls' art project stuff -- one for markers, one for clay, one for popsicle sticks, one for collage bits, etc. They stay stacked up in one corner of the closet floor and it's easy enough to pull out the one you need. We've used this system for a couple of years and it works.

One thing that I haven't figured out: how to store paper so you can get the kind you want quickly, put unused sheets back easily, and doesn't take up a lot of space. We've got plain computer paper, fancy computer paper, scratch paper, cardstock, construction paper, drawing papers... Stacked in boxes in a drawer means that you've got to take everything out to get what you need. I think about some sort of vertical stacker, but I don't know how tidy it would stay. Maybe something more like a magazine rack?

I'm down to one bin of yarn in the house, but here's the thing: I paw through it every day. It's all little balls of various yarns I use when I'm designing. Different fibers, different colors. And if I'm not careful I end up with a mess. How should I store it so I can see what I've got and get to it without digging? A drawer seems hardly better than a bin without scores of dividers -- do I use wine box dividers cut to fit? What about hanging shoe organizers? I've got a closet rod they could hang on.

How do you store your stuff?

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