2019 Craft Space Organization Challenge ~ Challenge #1

Challenge #1

The first challenge is to clear off your crafting work space. Maybe you have a desk committed as your craft space, maybe you have an entire room, or maybe you have taken over the dining room table. Wherever you craft, completely clear off the entire surface of your work space, dumping everything into a big box. Give your surface a good scrub and polish, removing every speck of paint, adhesive, and uh.... is that chocolate???? 

Take a photo of your newly scrubbed craft space and upload it to your blog or other online sharing site and send the link to our Facebook group.  Or if you like to keep things simple just post your photos directly to our group album.   

Okay, now let's get to work on that big box of stuff. 

Now is the time to learn that you need S.P.A.C.E. to craft:

* S ort 

* P urge 

* A ssign 

* C ontainerize 

* E qualize 

We're going to use this method for each and every challenge of the Organization Challenge. 

So, let's go over this method:

SORT: Going object by object, divide everything in the big box into categories that make sense to you. 

You may want to have some baskets laid out and labelled:

SELL, 

DONATE, 

TRASH, 

STORAGE

(for stuff you want to keep but doesn't belong on or in your desk/work surface), 

NOT IN HERE,

(for items that sneak their way into your craft space but belong elsewhere in the house), and

ACTION

(for items that you want to keep in or on your desk).

PURGE:  

1) Throw out everything in the TRASH pile - all the ripped, broken, dried up, crumpled STUFF. 

2) Bag up and assign a price and your initials to everything in the SELL pile, and put in your sale box. 

3) Call the person who could use the DONATE pile, and immediately set up a time to drop off, bag it up, and hang on the door knob so it doesn't sneak back into your studio area. 4) Put the NOT IN HERE stuff where it belongs (I'd make the kids do it.  It's probably their junk anyway)

ASSIGN: 

You have a couple of options here for your STORAGE pile: put the stuff aside to be organized when we work on other areas, or (and I strongly suggest this alternative) put the items away where they belong using your current organization system.

CONTAINERIZE: 

Sort all of your ACTION items into the appropriate drawer, container, and boxes. Containerizing gives you a chance to make everything pretty and inspirational to you. You may need to make a shopping trip to purchases containers that you love to look at, are sturdy enough to withstand repeated openings and closings, and are the right size. Make a list and take measurements. Label everything.

EQUALIZE: 

Each time you finish a crafting session, return from a crop, or bring home new supplies, spend a few minutes putting everything away where it belongs.

The next challenge will be posted on September 8, 2019.