Decluttered Space

Exhale. It's done. That disorganized space you've been meaning to tackle for weeks has just been decluttered and reorganized. What a great feeling! Everything is in its place. Strangely, life feels refreshed and under control. That breath you let out is full of optimism and hope. What new possibility lays ahead for me?

I love to organize. All those fun blogs about organization tips, I'm entertained by them. That label maker that prints the little labels for containers? Yeah, they're a guilty pleasure.

But, I'm also a clutterer. I hate to say it, but I shall self profess that I sometimes my stuff gets junky around the house and the next thing I know I have a large cleaning project waiting for me. Maybe I'm the only one in the world with this problem but maybe (just maybe) you can relate, too.

Today, I finally had an entire day without plans and decided to tackle at least one or two little projects around the house. Here's what I did to accomplish a bit of decluttering around the house.

1. Plan. I have a lot of house projects to do but I'm easily overwhelmed so I thought of two spaces that I really wanted to tackle for this weekend; my coat closet and the space beneath my kitchen sink.
2. Reuse or Shop. It's helpful to have containers, shelving, or other tools to help get things into a specific location. I already have some things at home that could be reused but at the risk of a little retail therapy I invested in some small shelving, containers, and boxes that would fit into my desired spaces.
3. Removal. I removed everything or at least most things from the problem space.
4. Sort, Trash, and Donate. Nearby I placed a bag marked with one of the mentioned intentions. As I sorted through all of my items I determined which ones I'd keep and which to get rid of. It felt so good to just let it go! And some items had to be placed in other parts of the house because they simply just didn't belong. Letting go made me feel like I'm opening my life up to a new possibility. A little bit more air...to be a little bit more me.
5. Re-place. I put the shelving, containers, or what nots into my space and placed the "keeping" items in its new place. I considered how to place the items so as to make it easy to take them in and out of its place. This extra consideration, I think, will make it easier in the upkeep.
6. Simply Be. I took a moment and observed this new organized space. It felt so good to see fewer items there and know that only those things that are of greatest importance remained. I even found things I forgot I had. Smile.

Space #1. Coat Closet.
I considered which spaces in my house have been neglected and I picked one to start with. I needed that feeling of success so I started with the coat closet. It wasn't horribly out of hand but I had several bags that were on the floor and I found it frustrating when I tried to get the vacuum out. The vacuum kept tripping over the bags. Time for an intervention. I invested in a plastic container with drawers and placed my bags inside. Everything is now contained and in its place. My vacuum easily moves in and out of this small space. Success!

BEFORE

AFTER

A small change like a container can make all the difference in decluttering. Now when I go into this closet I am sure nothing is going to fall out of it making life just a little bit easier and fluid.

Space #2. The cabinet under my kitchen sink.

Yikes! This space was getting out of hand. A few times, things were falling out and I had to push them in. And each time I went in there too look for something it was annoying to take that extra time to search for it.

So, I invested in some small shelving and baskets that would fit in this space. What a difference it makes!

BEFORE

AFTER

SPACE #3. My Kitchen.

After the cabinet was reorganized, I was so refreshed by all this decluttering that I went on to declutter my countertops, some of the items in my cabinets, and two shelves in my pantry that have just been an accident waiting to happen. I simply had too many things shoved into that pantry and I knew there were items I wanted to donate but never took the time to take them out.

And in the midst of decluttering, reorganizing guess what I found? All the sushi makers my mom had given me! YAY! Guess I'll have to plan a party and have friends over sometime so we can make sushi in all different shapes, sizes, and even smoosh some spam masubi together. YUM!

(I forgot to take a before and after photo of the other spaces but maybe I'll include the "after" photos tomorrow).

Tomorrow, I shall tackle a few more spaces before the weekend ends. What a great feeling!

What do you do to keep yourself organized and decluttered?

Organizing Acrylic Stamps

One of my favorite things to do is to find a new use for something I already own.  It excites me!  (Hmmm... is it a sign that I need a life?  Nah.  Just means I find joy in the simple things of life.)

I heard about this idea on someone's blog or website eons ago and have been wanting to do this for ages.  Finally, I have.  This is a safe way to store and organize your acrylic stamps. 

Tools:

- Old CD jewel cases
-Tombo (or any rolling dry adhesive used for paper crafts)
-Dry White Out (the kind that rolls)
-Pen

Putting it together:

You'll need an empty old CD jewel case.  Recycle.  Be green!

Your packaged acrylic stamps.

Peel off the stamps, one by one.

Arrange them on the inside of the jewel case.

On the printed side of your acrylic stamps packaging, cut to fit the jewel case.  You will use it as a cover label.




Use your dry adhesive roller to place clear adhesive to the front of your label.  I personally love Tombow adhesive.



Place the label on the inside of the cover.  When you close the case, you will see the labels right side up.
(apologies for the side view in this photo)

To give you a base to label the case, I used a Papermate dry white out and ran it across the edge.  It makes it easier to see your label when you store it.

Write on the label.

Ready to store.  My craft desk (transformed from an IKEA office desk) has a CD holder area.  You can use a CD box or any other method you prefer to store your new acrylic stamp cases. 

Tip:

Rolling the white out on the edge of the case was a little tricky because there isn't much width to work on.  Roll slowly so as not to cut into the white out tape.  "Eat Your Yummy Cupcake" was the first one I did.  Not so pretty, I think.  I got better with practice. 

How do you store your acrylic stamps (or even regular wood based rubber stamps, I'd love to hear your ideas)?

Leave me a note.

Organize This

I'm one of those people who loves the process of organizing. Labeling drawers and containers, having little bowls, boxes, bins, and tubs, I can spend hours in stores like the Container Store or IKEA where you can imagine and plan how best to organize your space. My studio is one space that I've been working on to contain and organize. Art spaces are a challenge because materials can range from itty bitty to super large like canvas', paper, or whatnots. It's so easy for it to look like a tornado hit it and before you know it, there is stuff everywhere.

So far, I've already shared my transition in organizing paper; 12x12 papers in particular.

As I keep organizing, I'll share tips I learn and what I end up doing.  An organized space is a beautiful one.

Organize This: Paper

Whether you say paper, papier, 紙, papel, ペーパー, бумага, carta, or έγγραφο it's all pretty magnificent!

I love paper; colored, patterned, textured, large, small, smooth, silky, shiny, die-cut, hard, soft, for wrapping or writing, cardstock or tissue, it doesn't matter.  I love it all! 

The appreciation for paper goes way back into my childhood.  Stationary, stickers, or pretty bags (plastic or paper) fascinated me.  Even paper flowers or paper folding were interesting.  I suppose its the versatility in paper that I find delightful.  So, as I work with paper to create cards or scrapbooks or other crafts, it only makes sense that I also care for them and keep them organized.

Originally, I organized my 12x12 papers in a plastic stackable drawer.  As my supply grew it became difficult to close the drawer without tearing some of the papers.  So, I had to come up with another idea.  (I've since repurposed the drawer for other uses.)

Next, I moved my papers into a bin that could slide onto a shelf but the only bin I had was a large fabric one that is held up with a wire frame.  It's a fabulous bin but for paper, it didn't work.  The fabric sagged at the bottom and when I tried to slide it on the shelf the bottom would catch and I would get frustrated because all that paper gets heavy, making it difficult to move around.  Leaving it off the shelf only added to the "organized mess" in my room.

Solution!  I went to IKEA and I got the Alex Drawer Unit With Caster Wheels.  I decided not to put the wheels on it but it sits super cute in my room.  I think this is the best solution for my papers right now.  Flat drawers that fit the 12x12 paper size.  The only thing is the width is less than 24" inside the drawers so you can't quite get two sets of papers in there side by side.  But, that's ok, if you stack them slightly you can get everything in there.  Isn't it cute?  If you've never bought furniture from IKEA before, they're fabulous.  Easy instructions and the kits come with everything you need.  Tools are pretty basic. 

I always feel like Wonder Woman after I've put an IKEA piece together. I am woman hear me roar!Booyah!