lots2do

Hi Fellow Organizers,
Some of you may remember that we downsized and moved a year ago. Some of our boxes went to Florida and some to Maine. We are here in Maine for about two more months.
We have a lull in cimpany currently so I've taken over a guest room to spread out and sort through my sewing and craft stuff. What a job! I found some plastic baskets so might try labelling those to help with the process.
Any suggestions on how to do this and keep my sanity?
Thanks!
lots2do

rusty quilter

I am sorry for your troubles! We are moving across state...I marked boxes carefully...still can't find a darn thing!!!

ibex94

I am organizing my sewing room right now, too. My fabrics I'm sorting by color or collection except for my flannels.... My flannels stay together. If I have UFOs, I am making sure that all the things pertinent to that project are in the same container. Lumping my scraps together without separating them or cutting them into a particular size. Thread in another container. Notions together, too. Pattern together... Books on bookshelf. I have plastic see-through tubs, regular nonsee-through tubs, and office file boxes. My sharpee gets a workout on the boxes and tubs I can't see into. It is nice having everything in one spot... sort of. I have a dresser in another room filled with ongoing projects, too. I am not labeling my dresser drawers, btw. I keep hoping that those UFOs will be moving on faster than a label would imply. :-)

Good luck with your project!! Travelinggramma lives out of an RV and has organized her fabrics into seethrough tubs.... fat quarter sized materials for scrappy projects. Check out the pics on post 54 on this page: http://www.quiltingboard.com/member-...t280962-6.html

coopah

I organized my sewing room last year. Couldn't find anything. It is now a mess again and the door is shut if anyone visits, but I know where everything is!!!
Good luck with the organizing. Moving is a huge pain.

Fizzle

I kept all holiday together, all flannels, all cottons, baby, But it's not working well for me? They are in totes, separated and it is a PAIN. When I figure out how to get them all "out" will be so nice.

gbo44

My organization trip, aka saga, has been amazing! I'm amazed that after buying clear project cases and spending days sorting and putting specific project fabric, stabilizer and some small tools in the appropriate case....it has taken days to search through every other drawer, box or organizer - only to find the 'missing' item in the last l searched. Sigh...

I hereby resolve to take a photo and post the labeled photo on my Pinterest board. Another consideration is to print a photo of the contents of opaque containers. We'll see....now I'm off with my label maker.

Good luck with your spaces!

Wanabee Quiltin

We are moving in two weeks. I will be sorting through my quilting room this week and have a few ideas on what I will be doing. I am donating all my ribbons, zippers and lace to charity. I am going through my fabric, bin by bin, and discarding fabric I know I will not use. I will clean up every drawer I have and keep like things together. I will keep all jelly rows separate from the charm squares and layer cakes. I will repackage all my genuine vintage fabric into special boxes. I will be packing all my magazines and quilt books together (very heavy!). I will keep my solids together in 1 yard or more packages and discard the rest into my scrap bin. I will separate flannel to give away (just not a flannel person) and go through all my decorator fabrics. All my vintage sheets for backs will be packed together. My huge scrap bin will be put in a separate box. I will find my USA related fabric and finally give it to Bette. There are wonderful charities who really appreciate fabric and I will try and list them later for anyone who wants to clean out their stash. I do not believe that the person with the biggest stash wins. It's a pain in the butt.

zozee

I have a few questions.

1. Will you be keeping both houses (Florida and Maine) indefinitely, or will you transition permanently to one of them?
If keeping both long-term, and you have equal space at each place, I would suggest having doubles of all your go-to supplies (mats, cutters, rulers, a few threads, scissors, marking pens, etc). Keep one set of these go-to supplies in one big box for now.

Then, to start, I would make the bed and tidy the area so I can think and spread out to organize.

I would get one big box (long enough for your longest ruler), and mark it "other house". All your duplicates go in that. I might only "organize" the small contents with ziplock bags. labeled.

2. Keep only the fabric you really like. Chances are, you did that a year ago when you moved, but a year's worth of fabric has probably already found its way into your new place? If so, make sure you love it. If not, sell or donate it. Don't organize it. Don't waffle about it. If you really aren't inspired by it, let it go. Don't overthink it. Go with your gut.

3. Keep your categories fairly broad for those plastic baskets--and label, label, label. I would keep all adhesives in one (tape, glue stick, 505). All measuring devices in another (meas. tapes, seam guide). All marking stuff (pens, pencils, chalks in another, etc). If you'll be using the stuff every day, it's okay to keep them in open baskets, but I prefer most everything to be lidded, doored, or otherwise closeable. I don't like visual clutter (although you'd think it was my best friend) and HATE to spill a basket of little notions on the floor. UGH!

Hope that helps.

Main thing is: only keep what you love. Keep duplicates separated, sealed, and ready to tote to your other house. That would save my sanity!

klswift

years ago an organizational professional made a suggestion that I have used with my workroom, my store and when I had to empty my parent's home (they were hoarders!). Do not look at the whole project - look at it in segments. Then it doesn't seem so daunting and you feel happy with each little accomplishment. Sounds like you have the idea with wanting to label your containers - do that and then stop and feel good at step one and plan step two. You will be surprised that you keep going and not feel quite so overwhelmed. As someone who has organized (for now) her workroom, you will not believe how great you feel when it is done. And such a HUGE timesaver to have things is places that make sense instead of digging through the same stacks over and over again! good luck.

ManiacQuilter2

I used post-a-notes and made sure they stayed on with a little scotch tape.