Friday 4 February 2022

Sorry

Thank you to those of you that have emailed and messaged me because I have not been posting lately, I thought I had better let you all know what I am doing - I am having a major revamp in my craft room and it is taking ages.  I also had my 4th Covid Jab on Tuesday - I have a compromised immune system and needed an additional shot and I have been feeling really, really tired since, I can hardly keep my eyes open.

So far I have removed 14 black bags of rubbish from the room and I have only looked at two walls - it could take a while longer.   I can't believe how much stash I have accumulated over the past 10 years and also how outdated some of it is, I would never use it now - I'm not normally a hoarder but it appears that I am when it comes to craft supplies, aren't we all!

It is probably going to take me at least another week, if not longer because I am going to completely re-organise everything to make it easier to find, I'm wondering how everyone else organses their stamps and dies - do you organise by brand or by type, I really can't make my mind up at the moment and would like to hear what you all do.

Well, I'd better get back at it or I'll never get it finished.

Pauline
x


26 comments:

Sandma's Handmade Cards said...

Ooh, sounds like you’re really busy. It’s never easy tidying up a craft room as you then always finding things that you want to play with. I keep most of my stamps in drawers, having a separate drawer for different makes. I then make index cards within the drawers for different subjects. I also have a couple of folders with plastic wallets in to store some of my smaller stamps. I’m always looking for better ways of storing stamps as my collection grows. I hope that you’re feeling back to your old self again soon after your forth shot. I just wish the whole COVID thing would go away forever! Take care of yourself Pauline x

meg said...

Take care and don't push yourself too hard Pauline,I know when you start something you want to get finished,when we downsized last year I gave the local primary school boxes and boxes of goodies,so it's easier to find what I'm looking for now.

Liz said...

Good luck reorganising your craft room. I decided to blitz mine a week ago, but it’s so easy to get distracted by what I find, so the job is still ongoing. Hope you’ll recover soon from your fourth jab. xx

Rainey's Craft Room said...

What a task you have ahead of you Pauline, I hope you start to feel much better after your jab too.
When I organised my craft room several years ago is was an easier task as I was moving in to an empty room - where on earth I would start now doesn't bear thinking about!
I know what you mean about hoarding craft stuff, there is always a use for each item and so I feel loathe to throw things away. Family members keep small snippets of ribbon for me from various sources and present me with a bundle every so often, not to mention the buttons and twine they collect for me :o)
I keep my stamps in drawers in their brands, the same is said for my vast collection of dies. I am lucky enough to have a fairly good memory and can visualise the brand of a stamp/die that I'm wanting to use and so can go straight to that drawer where it's kept. My 6 x 6 and 8 x 8 paper pads are kept in baskets in cubby holes in an Ikea wall unit. The larger 12 x 12 papers fit in these cubby holes on their own and my coloured cardstock is kept in magazine holders that also fit in the wall unit. I also have a metal filing cupboard with drawers for each colour cardstock that holds the smaller offcut pieces and scraps.
I like to look at Pinterest to get ideas for storage and enjoy looking at other peoples craft room photos too - or maybe that's just because I'm nosey, lol :o)
Take care,
Lorraine

Sue's Crafty Corner said...

Just looking at my own unorganised chaos I can image what it's taking you to revamp Pauline. Everytime I start to have a major sort out I get side tracked and never quite finish (never get anywhere near finishing). It something that I have promised myself I am going to do and to be ruthless not just put everything back and as I have taken over two rooms and have a she shed I think it's going to take a while. Good luck.

Sue xx

Donna Ellis said...

Hi, Pauline! Thanks for sharing what’s happening in your life. I’m envious about the amount of purging you’ve accomplished. I do mine a little at a time, which is how I’ve done everything the last few decades. I hope you are soon recovered from the booster jab. It’s been 9 days since mine, and the side effects are beginning to dissipate. I marvel at the human body… how unique we are in body, mind and spirit… and how diversely we respond to the same stimuli.

I reorganized my dies in 2020. Because my dies include oversized and matching-to-stamps sets, I made an index card for each set on the computer. The index consists of a picture of the set, the set’s relevant info, and sometimes, pictures of ideas for using the sets. every set is filed with with the storage card in front inside a storage pocket, prior to sorting them by shape or theme. In the front of each section are duplicates of those cards as cross references. If a set has a shape that would also layer well with circles, the the actual set is filed in SHAPED SETS. In the CIRCLES section, at the front, is a printed card of the set, saying where to find it. So I made cross references for them. I’m ashamed to admit that far more dies exist in my stash than I can remember.

My stamps are pretty much stored by theme, some on shelves, and some in drawers.

Wishing you great joy in your new-and-improved craft room. Looking forward to your grand “reopening “!!
xx

crafty-stamper said...

Good to know you are okay but hope you feel better after the covid jab soon.I had loads of unused/rarely used stash and after a drastic destashing/selling/giving away I am down to basics and not enough to organise,just in a couple of drawers.
Carol x

Faith A at Daffodil Cards said...

OH! Well done you Pauline getting down to sorting, I really must do the same? As for sorting, I don't have a great deal of stamps or dies, they are "sorted" in a box for my stamps in no particular order and the dies are in an MDF open file, stuck to a magnet sheet, so I can just flip through them, although it's still a forgetting game. Good Luck, hope you feel better after your Covid jab.
Faith x

Sue said...

You sound so busy Pauline..I dread organising my craft room because it takes ages LOL I hope you're feeling a lot better after your jab. I have my dies in A4 folders sorted by type and my stamps are sorted by whichever company I have bought them from...good luck and hope to see your lovely creations soon hugs Sue x

Brenda in IN said...

That's a big undertaking but it sounds like you are working through it. It's hard for me to let go of things because I know as soon as I get rid of it, I'll need it for a challenge so good for you. I hope you are feeling better from your fourth shot.

Alice (scrAPpamondo) said...

Sorry for your heath issue after the shot. Best wishes for a speed recovery.
Tidying up a craft room is a mission impossible :D LOL so I understand very well, I can't image how many crafty goodies you have.
I haven't a lot of stamps, so I put them in a big box organized by brand, plus the Christmas one, the backgrounds stamps and the only sentiment ones in other places, but isn't useful. I think it could be better organizing for theme.
Hope you don't put all those goodies in a bin, but give for charity or to schools.

cuilliesocks said...

Hello Pauline, I'm sorry to hear that you've been feeling poorly, I hope you are feeling less tired by now.
I'm needing to clear out my craftroom too, there is so much stuff that I'll probably never use again, and I'm not making as many cards as I once did. I have no real tips to offer I'm afraid, I guess my space isn't all that organised, hope you get through it soon, take care, Kate x

KarinsArtScrap said...

Hi Pauline you are really busy, thats a lot of stuff.
I keep my stamps as all flowers, animals, musceline,
and my dies also all baby stuff,,,,,,,, flowers, leaves,

Gr Karin

Cindy Groh said...

Pauline, I have my clear stamps on peg boards along 2 walls. On the one wall I have them organized by the subject… Florals. Masculine. Sentiments. Birthday. Animals. Alphabet stamps.
On the other wall I have the subjects. Borders. Labels. Open spaced stamps. Female. Nautical. Fall. Odd ball stamp sets that have matching dies.
I have two separate cupboards for Christmas anything including the Christmas clear stamps and then a 3drawer filing cabinet with my Christmas rubber stamps. I was gifted a senior woman’s entire Christmas card making supplies when she had to go into assisted living.
Now, my rubber stamp sets from Stampin Up, they need a reorganization system. I have the alphabet stamp sets in their clear case and they sit in this wire basket thingy on a shelf. It’s nice to have them in site so I use them more often.
Best wishes with lots of luck to you.

Carol S. said...

I did wonder where you were!! I don't envy you sorting out you craft room. All the papers and anything else I didn't want, I put in bags and take it to care homes for the residents to use. Most of the homes have craft rooms for them. I started stamping about 24 years ago, so actually have thousands of them. I have 26 big files, full of stamps in plastic wallets. On a shelf under my desk area. The are all labelled like male female, floral etc and some by brand. Then I have some in drawers, boxes and cupboards, all labelled!! And so it goes on!! Still getting more with the magazine I have monthly!!
Hope you get better soon from the jab. Big hugs, Carol S.xxx

Lisa said...

I have not even started organizing my craft stash. My hubby had me move out of my craft room more than 6 months ago and until he finished the room I am in a corner of the house. I am making it work but once that room is finished I am sure I will be organizing and getting rid of stuff as well.

I do have a tote on my table and when I see stuff in my craft room that I know I will never use again or someone gives me stuff that is really not my style I put it in the tote and then every week I push myself to use up those items. If you peek at my gallery you will see me note if an item is in the tote and I am trying to use up the item. It is my own fun challenge to myself to use up those items rather than tossing it or giving it away.

Donna said...

I hope you feel better soon Pauline. What an accomplishment already! I am going through the easy sections of my room and it is looking better but I am not parting with much but a lot of trash and one pile to donate to my parents Assisted Living activity directer. I'm going to tackle the stamps and dies in a few months when I retire, section by section like you have been doing, maybe I can do the whole room like you, I'm so impressed. I have my stamps by company and my dies by category or with the stamp set. Good luck on this fabulous job!!

Jane Savage said...

I think I could do with a dose of your enterprising spirit to start to tackle MY craft room. I just shut the door so I can't see it! ๐Ÿ˜

Margarets designer cards said...

Hope the soon feel a bit better, these jabs are important but they can be annoying when they make you feel tried.

Fikreta said...

take care.
dont work to much
hugs

Witchcrafted Life said...

Stellar job, Pauline. It can be downright exhausting to tackle a serious cleaning/organizing/purging job - and all the more so for those of us who aren't in tip-top shape on the health front.

I am really proud of you, my friend, and fully imagine that you are going to feel so liberated and happy when all of your hard work has wrapped up. Nothing, I find, like a clean, well-organized craft space to get the creative juices flowing big time!


Autumn Zenith ๐Ÿงก Witchcrafted Life

Pia S said...

Better get it done and over with, because it's a big job and one you won't easily take up again unless you finish it now.
But it will feel amazing once you can sit down and create again!

Lee said...

Oh,do hope you soon feel better Pauline.Best not to ask about my craft room.It's a mess lol.xx

JD/ Jill said...

I hope you are feeling better soon.

I have been trying to do exactly what you are doing. For weeks now I have been going through drawers and boxes in my craft area trying to get things cleaned out. It seems like an impossible task...but I hope to keep trying and eventually make progress! (I've been crafting since my teens and still have some stuff from years and years ago. I do mostly paper crafting these days, and I have been doing that for about 17 years now.
I try and keep most of my stamps by brands...

Take care...Hope you have success with your working in your craft room...

Lisa said...

I swear I thought I commented on this post. I know what you mean about having so much stuff in our craft rooms. I am still in a very small room while my hubby works on my room and once it is done I am sure I need to go through everything I put back in that room so I can get rid of some stuff. I actually mailed out some mystery flat raks this week to some people on a FB group and it felt so freeing getting rid of stuff that people are asking for in their requests. Good luck sorting your craft room it will be worth it once it is done.

nwilliams6 said...

Hope the clean out is going well - we all need to do this from time to time. I hope you are doing well! Many hugz