first and foremost i HAVE to say THANK YOU for all the amazingly brilliant, wisdom filled answers i received from last weeks question....and quite honestly that will be a whole other post very soon. i do however have to give Kelly a big, fat, special thank you for our continued conversation after her comment...she posted about it here.
(and if you haven't seen Kelly's artwork...well....you will have to see for yourself....in my opinion it's simply delicious!!!)
so here goes today's question...which may be a bit selfish...cuz i need some SERIOUS help!!!
HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU MANAGE TO STAY ORGANIZED WHEN EVERYDAY LIFE KEEPS FLYING AT YOU?? WHAT ARE YOUR SECRETS???
this is what i am up against today....and TRUST me...this is simply what was underneath my work table....coming inside my studio is MUCH worse!!! looks like a little cyclone decided to set up shop inside that one particular room!!! these boxes have no rhyme or reason....so i will be spending all day today sifting, sorting, blah, blah, blah!!!
hoping you are all having a magical, beautifully organized wednesday!!!!
xoxoxo
I swear you stole those piles from my studio/office, I have the same stuff, seriously. Piles and bins and containers of stuff that need to be put away...but where?
ReplyDeleteI am afraid I don't have an answer to your question today. I am surrounded by piles. :(
what a fun question! and thanks for the link to kelly's site. i love finding new fabulous artists.
ReplyDeleteto stay organized in my studio, instead of hanging shelves, i found that those fabric shoe bins that just hang in your closet work really well to keep all of my crafting supplies organized. then there's my three notebooks for all of the lists i make...one for have to-do's today, one for ideas, one for scribbling down all of the random things i'm thinking, so they stop circling in my head. well, that's what helps me anyways. happy wednesday! xoxo, juliette
I am cracking up here because I was reading along and for moment thinking to myself of words of organizing wisdom that I could pass along . . . then I looked down at my desk! The horror of it!! I will say that things like bins and folders with labels do seem to help a bit. I just need a lot more of them to corral everything.
ReplyDeletep.s. just noticed the Michael's bag . . yep, i've got a few of those stragglers, too.
ReplyDeleteI need someone to come organize for me. My dining table is overflowing with decoupage projects I started earlier in the week. Just when I get one drawer under control, all the other ones seem to spill over. It's a vicious cycle. I see all these lovely blogs with beautiful bins and boxes, canning jars labeled nicely, file folders prettified with scrapbook paper .. and I think WHY CAN'T I DO THAT! It's a work in progress. A vicious cycle. Spring Break is here. Maybe I can get organized. Have a terrific Thursdy! :) Tammy
ReplyDeleteI try to find a catagory for evrything...year or color ...paint or paper supplie and then I have a huge cup of coffee and I see what I can do in one hour...I think in my head everything has a place...everything has a place and maybe it doesnt but I trick myself...make a place for cards and catagorize even if its big catagories...then just go for it....love you miss beautiful kolleen
ReplyDeletekolleen, just love the dialogue between you and kelly!
ReplyDeleteso amazing...so true. we need to hold onto that part of us who feels so deeply the connection between our soul and that which surrounds us. i am lucky to have a husband who I think, sees way more than i do. he is an artist at heart...and a creative soul.
in the business world now, but still working on fulfilling other dreams...maybe someday.
ok. onto organizing. ugh. my weakness, unfortunately.
i finally found that for me, whose studio is mostly open shelving, i love vintage jars, enamel bowls and containers, etc. So I find these things and then store my art stuff in them. I also love baskets, and do store inspirational pics, mags, etc. in them. I also find that if about once every two weeks, I just spend an hour or so de-cluttering and tidying up, things are ok. I wish i had a larger workspace...but even if I did, i think I would have it cluttered within minutes...so much going on when I create....
would love to see a pic of your creative space/studio!
xxoo
jody
kolleen
ReplyDeletenice to meet you. if we really did meet i could probably help you as i am clutter-phobic. but keeping on top of what comes in and having things in their place all the time can be exhausting so maybe you could help me too : )
beth
Kolleen, I have to confess - I read your post yesterday, but didn't feel like commenting. Why, you ask? Well, since I am leaving in the morning for the weekend and having company right after that, I had to tackle my own table once again (what would the company think??)Having just done that, I wanted to wait and see what everyone else said! Actually, the more often I have to do this, the more organized I get. I was able to carve out some cupboard space where I can store baskets and bins and almost nothing shows. Still need a real studio one of these days!!
ReplyDeleteHmm..Miss Kolleen. Great question! Humbly speaking, I have to say the one thing that keeps me organized in the studio, is setting aside "one day" each week that is "totally" dedicated to cleaning, organizing, and inventory control. Mine is Saturday. Rain or Shine..(unless there's a dire emergency) I make a point to remove clutter, clean and straighten, make an order-list for needed supplies, and just primarily make my space ready for the coming week.
ReplyDeleteIt's a practice that once learned and fully digested..you'll wonder how you ever functioned without it.
And another great thing that I've discovered is using men's toolboxes to store all my paints and supplies. Yes, that's right. The large ones with roll around wheels are excellent. You can store so much inside these babies you'll wonder how in the world you existed without them. They're easy to roll to wherever you happen to be working at the moment. I'm always chasing the "light" in my studio..so when I need to be at a certain angle..these boxes and chests move easily with me.
Hope I've helped a little.
Blessings, Love and Thursday Sunshine, Terri
i am just plain inconsistent! what inspires me more than anything with such a task is color. so i prefer colorful file folders, paperclips, etc. (but i must admit, colorING has definitely taken over organizING!!).
ReplyDeleteso i'd say i'm in need of some help too, heartwingsister!! xo
I generally don't have clutter, but I have no useful tips for you. I can't not be neat, so I think it's a semi-useful gene or something. ;) However, I do like containers for things. I may not keep the stuff nice and neat in the container, but at least it's all together.
ReplyDeleteOh! I did one of these Office Spa Days and found it very helpful. Maybe an idea for you if it gets really disorganized and you want inspiration to start work on it:
http://www.inspiredhomeoffice.com/products/spa-day
Living in a studio apartment I have the luxury of not being able to hold on to things I do not need. My apartment is filled with all things I love and use. I keep the things I use the most like my journls, books, and pens within arms reach. Well my apartment is so small everything is in arms reach :)
ReplyDeleteWish I had some tips to help you out.
Love you dear!
Ha Ha Ha.... If you only knew (or could see) my house and studio. you would think to yourself. Hmmmm, and i thought i had a problem with organization? this girl needs some SERIOUS help. Having said that. I daydream of going to Target or Ikea and buying beautiful, matching containers of all sizes and having someone come in and help me get my sh*t together once and for all. I like the idea of having a set time for clearing the clutter and organizing. Although, I hardly have time to get out and be creative, so for me, that takes precedence. you can clean tomorrow (or the next day, or the next day). hee hee. good luck girl!
ReplyDeleteha. I wish I was organized. your piles don't look so bad to me. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteWell, it's so good to know that I am not alone! It's hard staying on top of everything, not just the physical world, but also clutter in my computer files and e-mail. I like to keep our living space decluttered because I can think better that way... However, my studio space gets cluttered in a colorful way and about once a week I tidy up. I do have some piles that are starting to form and I need to figure out what to do with those... some day... Love, Silke
ReplyDeleteI always say that I would be more organized if I had a bigger space.
ReplyDeleteBut after reading all of these wonderful comments... I'm pretty sure I would just be in the same boat as I am now!
Right now, I use a lot of re-purposed items (i.e. colourful mixing bowls in various shapes to hold alphabet stamps, or ink pads, neat mugs for pens, pencils, exacto knives, etc). I also have an AWESOME desk from ikea, that has a glass top, with a 4 inch space under it, so you can store stuff under the front, for storage & to inspire!
I also hoard little box like containers of all shapes and sizes.
I really just like to sort!
Best of luck to you in keeping your stuff organized!
Kolleen, I just saw your link to our conversation! How awsome! Thank you very much! I need to figure out how to check on my favorite blogs a little bit better! You are the best!
ReplyDeletelove to you!
Oh, and an answer to this question...I don't! And usually I get too wrapped up in my little art world and have to be pulled back into reallity by my husband or kids! Usually statements like these pull me back! "Kel!!!! I have no clean underwear!!!! Can you PLEASE do some laundry today!!!!!" Or Mom, I went to have a bowl of cereal and the milk is old! PLEASE grocery shop!"
Thats MY secret to keeping up with life! hahahahahaha