Sewing Supplies Organized

I have been working on my bedroom closet this week. 

Yesterday I tackled the big job of removing everything from there that should not be.
Then I painted, stenciled and but everything back so nicely in the closet.  My shoes all in little home made shoe racks up top, clothes hanging on the bar, and storage containers below to hold purses, and some beauty stuff that my bathroom can't store.

Here is the closet all finished, yesterday.

I was still left with all the things to find a new home for.  

Once, quite a while ago, I decided it would be a great idea to add my sewing supplies in here because we have very limited storage space and I was trying to be practical.  All it did was leave my closet packed to the door!  I have not enjoyed my closet for a while, until now. :-) 

Here is the huge pile of stuff I had to clean up that was in the closet.  My husband can't believe I managed to squeeze everything into that little closet.

Aaaahhhh!  

Please don't be scared away because I have shown this to you!  

It's an organizing project after all.  Remember, sometimes we have to make a bit of a mess in order to clean things up and make new systems and routines.

I had a couple of boxes of baby photos and baby stuff in this stack, my wedding gown and an old green snow suit, and the rest was ALL SEWING FABRIC AND SUPPLIES!

I know, it's too much.  I have found some really great sales over the years and I have gathered quite a collection.  It's value is worth quite a bit all together, so I decided I really want to keep this and use it up making new clothes.   

Off to the store for some storage containers.

I bought 4 bins.  1 to hold the wedding dress and snow suit, and the rest to sort fabric.

Here is the first box with patterns, thread and cutting mats and various sewing notions.

Here is the next box, full with large chunks of fabric for bigger projects.  These fabrics can make jackets, dresses and suits.  

The last box is a LOT of fabric, all well suited for dress shirts, fun tops, skirts etc.  

I'm proud to say, here is my scary stack reduced to 4 plastic storage containers and the 2 cardboard boxes of baby memoirs.

Here is the bag of donation items that came out of that stack.

And finally, there was some fabric scraps that were just garbage, and some cardboard boxes, so this project did produce a bag of trash and a bag of recycle.

There it is!  When you clean out a closet or other space like it in your home, you sometimes end up with a stack of stuff that isn't garbage, but it needs a new home.  I didn't do this all in one day.  I got my closet in order first, and then I tackled the stack.  It took some good, honest time to finish this, but the pay off is there in full.  The boxes will be stored in the garage, and now my closet is just for closet things.  Hooray!

Thanks for reading.

Cassie

Closet Re-do

It was time for a closet re-do.

I had taken a before photo, and now I just can't find it. Sorry about that.

Why do we need to re-do our closets?  Because they are a real trap for all the things we don't know what to do with.  If we don't have correct storage systems in place, we won't be able to put things away, and further to that, we won't want to put things away either.

I really wish I still had that before picture for you because my closet was packed beyond what you might think possible.  I LOVE to sew, and I have the fabric collection to prove it.  Presently those bags and boxes of fabric and patterns and cutting mats etc are sitting in our bedroom awaiting a new home.  My husband said he can't even figure out how I fit that much stuff in the closet.

Here is my closet being re-done.

I painted it using up that cheap paint that didn't work for the bathroom.  It might not look great in the bathroom but it was perfect for the inside of a closet and it freshened up the space!

After I painted it that Lunenberg blue, I decided a bit of stenciling peeking out over my hangers would be a nice touch.  I got the stencil which was worth almost $20 for only $2.99.  Yay!

Here is the stenciling finished.

Then after it was all painted I put everything back.  I was going to make this feature entry about how I made these do it yourself shoe racks on a dime, but I decided they still look kinda lumpy.  I will do a feature when I upgrade these to wooden racks.  In the interim, you can see that I did not let the fact my budget must be set aside for other needs stop me from getting organized.  An ounce of determination, and some cardboard, masking tape and paint will put a system into place, until you can make the storage system that you want.

I used to store my shoes in those hanging sleeves that just hang vertically in your closet and hold 10 pairs of shoes.  Now I store them like this.  I keep a stool at the bottom of the closet so I can reach any pair I want easily.  As I said, the cardboard is a bit lame, but I must say it is soooo easy to grab a pair of shoes or put them away.  WAY BETTER than the plastic hanging sleeves. 

Here is what I did with the bottom of my closet.  The drawers hold my blow dryer and various things that our bathroom can't hold because our bathroom has virtually no storage space.  The stacking plastic storage unit on the right holds my purses and some lint rollers.

Finally I added all the clothes back in there.  This might look like a busy closet, but it is tiny by today's standards.  This is no walk in!  I have 1 bar, and this is both my summer and winter wardrobes.  Rotating clothes doesn't work well for me, so I pare things down and keep a year round rotation of clothes in my closet.  So while this might look rather full and busy, this is all of my hanging wardrobe.

Steps to closet re-do:

1. Think about what you use in your closet and plan how the space needs to be used.

2. Remove any item that does not belong in the closet and vow to find a new home for it.  i.e. sewing projects must be moved to the basement or a utility closet.  NOT your bedroom closet.

3. Keep removing the stuff.  Get rid of the wrapping paper you stood up in the corner, the boxes of sentimental stuff from your kids, etc.  Devote this space to be your "dressing room".

4. If you plan to paint or re-decorate your walls, remove everything from the closet and do this now.

5. Consider buying or making your own shoe storage system.

6. De-clutter any clothes or shoes you don't use.

7. Put things back into the closet  and make it nice for yourself.

There you have it.  You can make your closet organized.  If you shop around for paint and get creative with the storage solutions you need, you can make a very organized closet without spending a lot of money.  The gift of this system is that when you are ready to upgrade to some sort of closet organizer, you already know the dimensions you need for your space, you will only be worried about choosing the style and product that is right for you.

Happy Organizing!

Cassie

Helping my Sister

I am off on a vacation again this week.  The family just home, as we are still working on some projects around the house.

Part of my holiday, I chose to take a day and help my sister.  She has had some painting jobs waiting in her house since may.  Very shortly after they bought the paint, her husband was in an accident that landed him the hospital for a couple of months.  Her hubby is ok, and will make a full rcovery!
However, house projects like painting have had to sit and wait.

The Bible says we are created to do good works.  We did that. My mother, my daughter and myself all went together and painted the bathroom, diningroom and hallway.  This is almost half of the main level of their tiny home that dates back to probably 1930's.

I worked soooo hard.  The home is not air conditioned and I got a terrible heat rash on my neck.  I took a bath as soon as I got home to soothe my tired body.

When my sister came home (a bit early!) with her hubby, they were so delighted!
This effort yesterday created a meaningful time with my mother, daughter and myself, and blessed my sister and brother in law.

I wish I had thought to take a picture, but I was there to work, and I was quite focused.

Here is a picture of my sister and her husband on their wedding day. Vicki and Phil. Its the only photo I had handy with both of the smiling together!  all the other pics are kinda impromtu.

You can organized meaningful times with your family too by planning intentional time together.

I look forward to sharing my organizing projects with you this week.

Thanks for reading.

Cassie

Menu Planning & Some Thoughts

This is a longer entry.  Only read what you want to. 


When do you do your weekly shopping?

Most weeks I do my shopping on a Saturday, since I work a full time job and operate a business on the side with my husband.  This makes for most days being quite full, and I need to make use of my Saturday for the weekly shopping.

Do you plan your meals for the week in advance?  If you don't I would suggest that you try it.  It really works great.

Steps to Meal Planning.

1. Update your calendar with all upcoming events that you know of for the coming week.
2. Consider the dates. Are you eating out on any specific day? No meal planning needed for that day.  Or is it a very busy time after work because you have to get the kids to a sporting event?  You know to plan a quick and simple to prepare meal.
3. Pull out 1 or 2 of your favorite cook books and look for a few fresh ideas to go with the menus you tend to rotate each week.
4. List on your calendar what is for dinner each day.
5. Prepare your shopping list.

Here is a sample of my weekly menu.  I write my menu's Fridays, and shop Saturdays, so my menu planning starts on Saturdays.

Saturday - Homemade Hamburgers & Garden Salad
Sunday - BBQ Chicken Thighs & Rice & Veggies
Monday - Pork Chops & Roasted Potatoes and Veggies
Tuesday - Cod Fish & Rice & Salad
Wednesday - Penne & Sausages with pan seared veggies
Thursday - BBQ Chicken Breasts with potatoes & Veggies
Friday - Homemade tacos

Once I have written my weekly menu, I then list out on my shopping list what is needed to make those menu meals, and the items I need for breakfasts & lunches and staple items in the house that need replenishing.

We use the iCal (calendar on mac computer)  in our house, so when I put the menu onto the calendar and the I refresh the calendars, the menu is on every computer.  It also goes onto my hubby's phone when he syncs his phone.  This way anyone in the family can check what is for dinner, defrost meat etc.

If you organize your time to allow for this important step of planning your menu, you will stay on track at the grocery store and not buy items you don't need.  It also takes the guess work out of "what's for dinner" when you are staring at the cupboard, already hungry and wanting dinner.  If you don't already do your menu planning each week, I would challenge you to give it a try.  Let me know how it works out.

Some other thoughts on organizing in general:

I am still actively cleaning out cupboards in my house and freshening things up.  I was thinking about the process and thought I'd share a few thoughts.

Do you get overwhelmed because the closet is a mess, or the desk is stacked with papers and books you don't know where to put away?  Do you find yourself stalling because when you start with even one drawer, it seems to make a domino effect that you're afraid you're can't stop?

I am here to tell you it's worth the effort. 

As the ant moves the hill of sand faithfully, one grain at a time, so it is with getting organized.

Have you ever been to someone's house and you notice it is de-cluttered, and when you open the cupboards and drawers everything is in order, as it should be?  

Have you ever come away from a home like that a bit awestruck, and wonder how they keep it that way, and wonder if you can ever get your house like that too?  

If you can relate to these sentiments, then I am talking to you.  Those of us who struggle to be organized are smart, talented and creative people.  What we usually lack is the right systems in place, and there is often a good dose of distraction in there too.

When you see a home that is really in order, you know it has been that way for some time.  I say this because the systems and routines that create this kind of order don't happen overnight.  And when you see a home quickly tidied up, and the cupboards reveal a mountain of stuff crammed in there, you know they have struggled with this for a while too.

Be patient with yourself as you get your house and your schedule in order.  It didn't messy or disorganized overnight, and it really won't be reversed to orderly overnight either.  Hold the vision in your mind of YOUR home orderly, clean, peaceful and welcoming.  

Steps to Organizing the Home:

1. Start somewhere - anywhere! and clean up and organize 1 drawer or shelf.  Put away what belongs there.  Sort to put away elsewhere what you need to move to a new home.  Put in a bag or box what will leave the house and walk it to your trunk of your car.

2. Resume your daily routine.  I can't stress this enough.  Keep up with the morning, afternoon and evening routines, it will keep the orderliness you have already achieved in place - and then monitor the orderliness of that 1 space you have made nice.  If you arranged the linen closet, for example, and noticed that someone just shoved a towel in there, take a moment and put it back nice.

3. In  another day or two tackle another space. 

4. Repeat the steps above.

When you embark on this journey, some parts of the house are going to become very clean and orderly, while some stacks and boxes linger in hallways or corners while they await their new home.  (unless you have ample space to put these in a garage or basement while they await their new home)

Each time you need a boost, GO AND LOOK at the space you have made nice.  Remind yourself how easy it is to find and use what you want and put it away again.  Then resolve to stay committed to the process of getting organized.

Be sure to add to your calendar a few days a week where you will take a 2 hour chunk of time and work on another area.  

Then, a wonderful thing is going to happen... one day you will notice that more of the house is clean and orderly than not.  The stacks in the hall got smaller because more stuff is in it's proper, new home, and things you didn't need were sold or given away. 

You will start to feel better too.   Aside from season clothing or season items, if you haven't used it in 6 months, you don't need it.  Get rid of it. 

Stay the course and the reward will be yours.

Happy Organizing!

Cassie