1. Determine functionality.
Is it a closet that you’re only using for craft supply storage? Is it a room that you’ll be creating in each day? Do you need open space to move around from one area to another? Do you want the space to inspire your next gallery-worthy painting?
Getting clear on this is the first step to organizing a space that works for you and your home.
2. Make a plan.
For my craft studio, my husband and I took a lot of time planning things out—measuring, figuring out where to put shelves and what types of shelves to use, and deciding what we still needed to buy.
At one point, we knew we had enough storage containers but family members kept trying to give us more or tell us where we could buy more. If we had kept collecting them, they’d just be clutter at this point.
3. Make the tools you use the most easily accessible.
I use paper cutters, paintbrushes, my sewing kit and all my writing instruments {markers, colored pencils, regular pencils, gel pens, etc} on a regular basis. While planning, I ensured that all of these things are very easy for me to access. I don’t use empty scrapbooks, pillow forms, wood beads, or clay as often, so those things {along with many others} are stored in my trunks.
4. Have at least one container for miscellaneous stuff.
I have three canvas “drawers” for miscellaneous things in my craft studio. That’s where I store stuff like wooden picture frames and a couple clipboards I want to decorate at some point, gloves I’m going to embellish, a clear reusable cup I want to paint, etc. Because this stuff doesn’t look as nice displayed, I put them away in “drawers” so they don’t clutter up the space.
5. Keep related items together.
Put all your paint in a big glass bowl. Stack all your ribbon on a small shelf. Put all your Sharpie markers in mason jars. This not only helps when you you’re looking for that hot pink Sharpie—but it’s also aesthetically pleasing.
6. Pick up at the end of each project.
I have to admit that this is a hard one for me. I hate cleaning up after a craft project, but my space looks much nicer when it’s tidy. If you spend five minutes picking up at the end of each project {or when you pause for the day}, things won’t pile up and keeping your space organized will be a cinch.
7. Keep craft project containers in other rooms.
Just because I have a lovely craft studio doesn’t mean that I don’t knit in the living room while watching television. That’s why my husband and I are on the lookout for a cute container to sit on the shelf on the end table in the living room. At the end of the evening, all I have to do is put the project back into the container, and everything looks organized.
Any rooms that you craft in should have one of these, so you can tidy up quickly without having to put everything back in it’s “right” place while working on a project.
Great tips! I keep my Sharpies in mason jars too. They’re so pretty to look at and it keeps them handy. I dread cleaning up after a craft project too, but I’m more likely to start another craft project if I have a clean workspace waiting for me.
I was with you until No. 6 – tidy up after each project 🙂 I always joke that I will never be featured in Where Women Create. And my husbands impersonation of me looking for something is embarrassing and a little too accurate… Love what you have done with your art room. Can I come over to play?
You had me at “Organizing…” LOL!
Such an awesome post. I reorganized my sewing space last weekend so I can see all my fabrics. I did not know I had so many since they were in totes. I found fabrics that I had forgotten. 🙂 I just need to work on #6 and would love to have # 7 as well. Thanks for the tips.
I needed this. We just moved into a house a little over a month ago, and my craft room became a catch-all for things that didn’t have a home yet. I’ve gotten it functional now, but it definitely needs organizing and prettying up!