New Year 2023 Craft Space Organization Challenge ~ Challenge #1

Challenge #1 Clean Your Work Space.

The first challenge of our ORGANIZATION 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 of tables, 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 our Facebook group.

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:

* Sort * Purge * Assign * Containerize * Equalize * 

We're going to use this method for each and every challenge.

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). Set up these boxes or baskets or whatever near the door of your craft room or, even better, outside of your craft room

Look very seriously at all your stuff and decide if you really need each item. If your answer is yes, you need to ask yourself if it belongs in your craft room. If you answer no to either question you need to PURGE it.

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.

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. By the time you are done this challenge you will have “a space for everything” so put “everything in its place.”