Woo hoo! I have finished another space and I am thrilled. This one did not take as long as the office space but again I was not doing any major changes-just cleaning out and reorganizing. It did take awhile though because I had so much stuff!
THE BEGINNING
This space was an absolute mess when I first started. As I’ve said in the past, I am a messy crafter who had too much stuff. I also have a few crafting hobbies. I make cards, scrapbook and also like to make home decor. Many of the products in these hobbies cross over but some don’t.
This was the starting point:
I did the decluttering in sections and there were a lot of sections!!
I never could get a good picture of the other side of the desk mostly because it was really cramped and tight. Take my word for it though, it was just as cluttered and overfilled as the other areas!
THE MIDDLE
After everything is decluttered and cleared out, the “fun” begins. But, before that I took the opportunity to move around the furniture and give everything a good scrub.
Though it’s difficult to tell from the photo, I moved everything back to give myself more space to walk around and work. I moved the white storage containers back just a little and my work table moved a bit away from the window and more to the left. Believe me, having space to walk around and bend over is lovely!!!
And now, let’s see how it all shakes out!
THE BEAUTY
While I still have plenty of supplies, everything finally has it’s own spot and things that should be together are together!
One of my goals in this update was to keep the visual clutter to a minimum specifically by keeping the tops of the shelving units and my work desk as clear as possible. I still need to have the items I use regularly close by. And, I think that I’ve accomplished this goal!
This is the front of my work table where I sit. I could never get a decent photo before because I couldn’t bend over far enough without hitting the wall. Pushing the work table a bit further away from the wall has been great. I don’t feel crowded like I did before and I can more easily access my supplies.
SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISONS
MINOR DETAILS
Even though I’m calling this space done, there are a couple of small details that I still need to finish.
I will be removing my art work and wall hanging. Right now, I’m thinking that I’ll replace them with a cork board and dry erase board (for ideas & inspiration). I might keep the magnetic strip though I don’t know if it will stay in that location.
And, a couple drawers still need labels.
Doing this project, re-energized my creative spirit in a couple of unexpected ways. I re-found my love for traditional scrapbooking and plan to dedicate one of my craft carts for scrapbooking supplies specifically. Having all of the scrapbooking supplies in one place may motivate me to make more pages more regularly. I actually had to stop myself from starting to make a scrapbook page while I was cleaning up!
My creative style has changed over the years. Just like a taste in clothing or home decor, creative style can go through changes as well. I had a great deal that I got rid of (through donation) and I’m glad that someone else will get a chance to be creative!
In spite of the couple of details left, I am done with this space!! I’m really excited to start creating in this newly organized and cleaned out space.
WHAT’S NEXT
There is never a time when one’s head is swimming with ideas as after a project is completed! But, I’m trying to pace myself to increase the chance for success. The living room is next up but taking lessons learned from the office refresh and will go slower than usual. The first task on the list is to declutter!! I’ll start looking a design and considering layout changes but paring down is its own project. Also, there are a couple of other small home things are that happening right now in the kitchen, hallway and bathrooms that I want to attend to first! I’ll update as things happen!
Once again, thanks for following along with me on this project. Please share any thought and/or ideas in the comments!
What a transformation! I think this is definitely your biggest decluttering project so far and probably the one that will have the biggest impact. While it’s true that it will have a huge impact on supporting your creativity, it is also in your visible space. One of the things we sometimes overlook is how powerful it is to have peaceful surroundings in our daily view. I’m sure you’re feeling some of that now too!