Reorganizing my n*Studio or …how does your brain work?

I have been reorganizing my Studio and it is all Julie‘s fault – LOL. My problem was that I had this picture in my mind that my studio has to look super pretty and decorative. You see so many amazing rooms and they are decorated and organized in this beautiful way – Well – if yours is super pretty and decorative- AWESOME! – but my problem is that I can’t keep it up that way. So let me show the before and after and talk about it:

BEFORE

I had tried to make it pretty and my shelves would look like this after a couple days – some cubes are filled with piles of stuff, others still ok…

I just didn’t know where to put the stuff when I used it or got new boxes for DTs or assignments or workshops and kept piling them on the floor.

This was my desk when I was able to keep it clean but things were piling up like crazy and every time I reached for an ink pad or paint on top of the shelf – things were dropping off.

My spray paints on this stand – but every time I came back from a workshop with more open bottles or new color editions would arrive- I would have a problem of where to put them…they started piling up outside the stand….

My stamps and stencils in a huge drawer – at least I had them in ziplock bags….well until I needed some of them for workshops and then I would pull them apart and after cleaning for hours after a workshop, I was too tired of putting them back into those themed zip lock bags knowing I would have to pull them out again a week or two later for other workshops. So where did they end up? On the floor! Of course.

So when Julie was here for a week and wanted to have an art day with me… I told her we should go into the dining room since my room is so messy. And she kept telling me every day we have to reorganize it. I was so not going to do this. First of all- who wants to reorganize and clean up when you have a visitor?  And second….just the thought of going through all this stuff made me sigh and not want to do this. But Julie had no mercy- she really made me do it…and in retrospective – it was the best thing ever ;) I’m not done yet- but getting there.

AFTER

First she asked me how my brain works when I create. Well…it doesn’t work…hahaha- just kidding- LOL – she asked me “What are the ten things you would bring to a deserted island to be still able to work?” Ouch…LOL. So my list looked like this:

  1. Paints (acrylic paints, spraypaints, inks etc.)
  2. Media
  3. Stencils
  4. Paper
  5. Tools
  6. Markers
  7. Chipboard and Sticker Letters
  8. Stamps
  9. Adhesive
  10. Electronics

Then she had me go through each one of these and have me say if what I owned in this group was a “use always” or secondary used”. For example tools like a paper cutter that you used almost with every day versus an iron that you use once in a while.

So I put ….ok Julie put…;) my stencils in page deviders and stored them in those containers.  On the right you see the ink media that I do not use that often. So on my working desk I was only allowed to keep the ones that I use all the time. (She can be pretty demanding this Julie girl – LOL)

Everyday paints – in five cubes. Only showing those :)

Media cubes- two :)

All layouts without a home collected in a box and waiting for albums on the shelve. And one cube is now storing all my Prima materials and one is dedicated to Tattered Angels -no picture ;)

The stand now the “Found Object” Stand – love it- right at my desk , I can just peak in and reach all easily.

Stamps I’m using all the time- right at my side in a drawer

Stamps I love but not use in ALL the time.

Markers and pencils and journaling pens transfered from four different locations into one drawer right for my reach.

My favorite Letters – all collected and put in one drawer – easy to see and go through.

And on the shelves around – my artwork – as well as on the wall – that is then the for me pretty and decorative part- this makes this room so ME :) This made me then be in peace with the not so pretty looking but organized shelves…this is when I was like “Yeah- this might work for me” – after I told Julie to stop for a million times and she laughed evil- hahahaha- saying that now I pull my “baby voice ” on her ;)

I love it- I worked in here and I actually as refreshed in my creativity -and it was already so easy to put everything away.

TO COME:

I have to label all the cubes in the shelf which should`nt take too long ….

Then this counter: the top left drawer is organized….still eleven more to come. Some of the stuff belong to the already organized cubes- and some I ‘m thinking of new categories. Like Chipboard Embellishments , Embellishments?, Buttons, Grungepaper/board, Meltingpot and Utee /Embossing Drawer.

Any suggestions? How do you organize your room? Am I the only one that is ….WAS…that bad?

have a great day

Nat

P.S. I will be joining Julie’s Art Journal Every Day for December :)

Art Journal Every Day

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