Buy some of those canvas sided bins to put the stuff in on your shelves. You can't see through them and they can hide a multitude of sins. They will make it seems more uniform and organized and hide the clutter until you have the time to sort the bins. In the dining room one of those rolling organizers would work. A drawer for thread, and use the big drawer on the bottom for the fabric. I got one at Office Max that has a fake looking granite top, that you could put a cutting mat on or a ironing pad.