Everybody is different, and that is what makes life interesting! I am a clean as I go person, so after every project I clean up. My brain gets scrambled if I begin a new project and my craft room is dirty and disorganized. My husband is just the opposite and thinks I have OCD. Whatever!😂 Anyhoo, my recommendation would be to set up a reward system: Challenge yourself by methodically walking around your room and create a list of tasks that need to be done, i.e., finding a home for your extra organizers, putting away kits, etc., and then tell yourself that after each one is finished you get to not only cross it off your list, you get to REWARD yourself with something that brings you joy (I wouldn’t recommend shopping for more supplies, LOL) like watching a favorite show, eating a special meal or treat, or even taking a nap. The rewards are different for everybody, but that is the beauty of it, you can customize your reward system to benefit you. It is amazing how once you cleaned and tidied up your desk, emptied your trash, and vacuumed your room it looked so much better. And sometimes, once you get started on a small task it is so motivating you just continue to do more than you planned. I am not saying to be like me, but just try to get over this hurdle you are facing so you can have a successful reset for 2025. I am for Team Melanie. You can do this, girl!!
Thank you for showing everyone what a normal craft room looks like. I can relate! Your desk looks great and I agree, a good vacuum makes a big difference. Awesome progress and thanks for the inspiration!
It’s refreshing to see a realistic craft room that actually gets used! I too like to contain items, clear off my desk and give it a good wipe down. And there is just something about a freshly vacuumed room that makes it feel clean even with the piles (or mountains in my case). Thank you for taking us along on your reset.
Thank you… I always love hearing about others that have a similar organization/style approach as me. It is amazing how a quick vacuum can make such a difference. A little reset like this always feel good … the rest will get sorted out eventually, right? ~Melanie
I’ve really been trying hard to clean up after every crafting session so it’s ready to go when I come back to craft again. I share my craft room with my office and it’s also open to the living room so I can just close the door to a mess. I can see it from the couch. 😂 But during fall and Christmas crafting for my selling paper craft items at a farmers market, I did not put those items away until I was done with those “seasons”. I do have my piles of new supplies so I need to be better about putting those away regularly. I do keep a lot of scraps since I do make a lot of cards. I keep them in the small photo boxes, but I went thru those and tossed out all the patterned paper scraps that were small (less than 3/4” or less than 2” square) and had been in the bin over a year. It’s obvious I probably won’t go back to use those especially if there is nothing else to match to it.
It sounds like you are already doing a great job! It just takes time and I think everyone can relate to the seasonal crafting piles. I am so fortunate I have a door and can shut the door! ~Melanie
I have the perfect opportunity to figure out how to organize and figure out where things go--I had to clear out the whole room because the room needed a new floor--I am talking all the way down to the crawl space; needed new floor joists and all. I am slowly moving back into my beautiful space, not bringing things in I don't use, reconfiguring as I go. We took out a tall cabinet that I had purchased at Home Depot (It was beautiful, but had a lot of wasted space as the shelves coul not hold much weight), and replaced it with wire wall shelving.
The function over beauty dilemma is real isn’t it? I have acquired so many cute baskets or bins because of how they look but ultimately just don’t work they need to so I hear you on the cabinet. Ultimately for me I’ve chosen function over form and I think my room is still “beautiful”… not Pinterest/Instagram beautiful but it’s beautiful in all the creative opportunities it holds. You do have a perfect opportunity to resent. I’ve been thinking about moving and while the thought of packing everything up is a little intimidating I can appreciate the opportunity it would present to redesign my space with all that I know now. I like that you are taking your time and make careful decisions about what you want for your space. ~Melanie
Thanks for sharing your scrap room with us. My place is so bad I can’t see the floor. This is going to be the time I get it back in order. I love to put things in bins too.
You are doing great! I try to tidy every week, but realistically, it's every two weeks. And I put things in microcategories, then put the items away in their proper home. The current issue is some items still need a proper home, in the sense that I don't like the containers I have.
Finding that right solution or home is a challenge isn’t it? But when you do land in one that fits its amazing isn’t it? You’ve done a great job too on getting your space where you want it to be Tania ~Melanie
Ohhhh thank you so much for this video! You sounded like me with how you feel comfortable in your space and how you see everything, I can so relate to everything you were saying! I have a friend who is soooo organised and tidy, don’t get me wrong I think it is amazing but it’s not how my brain works, the harder I try the more mess I get into! I feel so uncomfortable that I’m not like her and can’t keep everything organised but you made me realise that it’s just the way I am. My new year resolution is to spend an hr a day in my room to try and tidy everything so I can get back into scrapping, it’s been too long! I’ve spent the last two day’s rearranging and organising. Thank you for your inspiration to just keep going. 🙏
If you have done the organization type quiz by “Clutter Bug” you should. It really helped me to acknowledge what my organization style is and that it’s okay. Once I embraced this and not some instagram ideal it was extremely freeing. An hour a day is a great amount of time to spend on sorting things out. I’d encourage you to also start playing/scrapping before everything is “perfect”. Sometimes we can get caught up in the organizing and don’t get to the crafting. My motto is that if I have space on my desk I can craft at least something. That being said I’m also a huge believer in following what you are motivated to do. Sometimes I become hyper focused in the organizing and as long as that is strong I lean into it. When it starts to wane I make sure to jump into doing something creative. Good luck and I hope you check back in periodically and let me know how your progress is going. ~Melanie
@@ACreativelyCraftedLife Thank you so much! I just took the Clutter Bug quiz and it soooo ME! Yes i tried yesterday to organize for too long and got in a bigger mess, so I sat down and just sorted out a messy pile of photos I had just dumped on my desk to deal with, it felt so good to get them sorted. Thank you 🤩
Oh this is so many good ideas. So glad to see my craft room isn’t the only one that looks like this. Going to use your process and tackle small areas at a time. Thanks for sharing.
I like to think of it as continuous tweaking of my craft room… that way I don’t get caught up in getting it all “done”. Small progress is still progress. Hope it works for you. ~ Melanie
Your desk looks GREAT!!! I'm also a piler. I use a dining room table as my craft desk. I have 4 chairs, which is the idea place to pile, along with the floor. Besides setting some crafting goals for 2025, I'd really like to eliminate the piles, which actually means I need to craft more, since the piles tend to be projects. Like you, when my room has become a mess, I start with cleaning off the desk. I take everything off, wipe down the desk area, and then put back only those items that really need to be on the desk. Everything else is put elsewhere, which might be a pile.
Crafting more is always a good goal. I think one of mine should be not starting more projects or more classs until I finish the ones I have but not sure if that’s realistic. 🥴~Melanie
I am a piler! The main reason is that not everything has a designated home in my scrapbook. So it is easier just to pile it. A hint i have heard is make it easier to put it away than to make a pile! Once I have a pile, I make more! So I am trying to figure out Where is the easiest place to keep certain items. A work in progress! 😀
Absolutely a work in progress. My space is at capacity and it doesn’t seem like I can stop buying (although I am going to give it a try for the next few months). So that means more purging, condensing and reconfiguring… I will not give up! ~Melanie
I understand the struggle re containers. It’s so hard to let go of them cause I always think about how often I change things up and might use them again. I also try to use them up in rest of house but….so many containers!
It’s like you are in my mind … EXACTLY! I am also a sucker for a cute container or bin… may not always be right functionally but it sure is cute 🥴. I also struggle with wanting to repurpose containers. The struggle is very real. ~Melanie
@ oh yes I forgot to mention how I have recently started to save sturdy and perfectly shaped boxes to decoupage or cover in pattern paper to store my junk journal king older papers in ! I just need about another rooms worth of flat surfaces to keep them all on. Lol!
Great start on ‘macro’ organizing, Melanie. That’s the perfect term for it. My go to strategy is to identify anything that has a designated home and put those things away first. That frees up some space and gives me a sense of accomplishment. The things that pile up in my space are usually things that don’t have a specific home or things I need to make a decision about. Those things are the bane of my existence.
Your and mine both! I also struggle with having systems in place and then manufacturers go and change the package sizing or some up with an entirely new product. ( how dare they 😬). So for now I will declutter to make space to hopefully one day I will have a designated space. ~Melanie
I totally get that! I truly don’t fine it easier if I don’t look at the big picture and just focus on the next thing. A clear work surface is a must… how else can you craft, right? I would challenge you to clear your desk of only those things you use all the time. Anything else put aside in a box (if it has a home and it’s easy to put away do that) but otherwise just put it in a box and that can be deal with another day. If I have a big overhaul I will often work in 15-20min increments. I set a timer and just tackle something I can do in that time. Maybe it’s emptying the garbage, removing items that don’t belong or clearing surfaces by boxing it up. Or maybe deal with one of the boxes, bins or piles. The only problem with this method is that you likely won’t be “done”… I like to think of it as on a going tweaking of my space so I have no expectations of “doneness”. Hope that helps give you some ideas… deep breaths… you can do it! ♥️~Melanie
❤ I spent the last 2 months os 2024 trying to organize my house... made progress but still fighting with things😅, but I just took time while watching this to clean up my desk top❤
Love that you working along with me. Hopefully you’ve made some good progress in the rest of your home as well. I’ve been thinking of moving so I’m going have to do some decluttering in the other parts of my apartment. ~Melanie
I guess my ‘method’ is similar to yours: like items with like. All the adhesives together, stamps, punches, pens, pencils. The use on every project things… but, my room is not good or my desk!
Your room looks like mine! I am a piler too. I have piles all over,. The floor is my favorite place to pile stuff. I like to get things out to create with, but don’t like putting them back. I have tried to clean as I go, but it just doesn’t work. Surprisingly, this only applies to my craft room. The rest of my house is pile free. What is that caddy that’s clamped to your desk? I need one of those. Thanks for sharing.
It’s called a Table Tidy by TonicStudios. It’s modular so you buy the base and can add in some extra items. I love to use for everyday tools that don’t really fit in my lazy Susan caddy. Thanks for sharing that you are a fellow “piler”. 😁~Melanie
Everybody is different, and that is what makes life interesting! I am a clean as I go person, so after every project I clean up. My brain gets scrambled if I begin a new project and my craft room is dirty and disorganized. My husband is just the opposite and thinks I have OCD. Whatever!😂 Anyhoo, my recommendation would be to set up a reward system: Challenge yourself by methodically walking around your room and create a list of tasks that need to be done, i.e., finding a home for your extra organizers, putting away kits, etc., and then tell yourself that after each one is finished you get to not only cross it off your list, you get to REWARD yourself with something that brings you joy (I wouldn’t recommend shopping for more supplies, LOL) like watching a favorite show, eating a special meal or treat, or even taking a nap. The rewards are different for everybody, but that is the beauty of it, you can customize your reward system to benefit you. It is amazing how once you cleaned and tidied up your desk, emptied your trash, and vacuumed your room it looked so much better. And sometimes, once you get started on a small task it is so motivating you just continue to do more than you planned. I am not saying to be like me, but just try to get over this hurdle you are facing so you can have a successful reset for 2025. I am for Team Melanie. You can do this, girl!!
Love this! Thanks for the encouragement Laura ~Melanie
Thank you for showing everyone what a normal craft room looks like. I can relate! Your desk looks great and I agree, a good vacuum makes a big difference. Awesome progress and thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks Jo Jo… definitely a working “not so Pinterest worthy”craft room but I love it and am so thankful I have the space. ~Melanie
It’s refreshing to see a realistic craft room that actually gets used! I too like to contain items, clear off my desk and give it a good wipe down. And there is just something about a freshly vacuumed room that makes it feel clean even with the piles (or mountains in my case). Thank you for taking us along on your reset.
Thank you… I always love hearing about others that have a similar organization/style approach as me. It is amazing how a quick vacuum can make such a difference. A little reset like this always feel good … the rest will get sorted out eventually, right? ~Melanie
I’ve really been trying hard to clean up after every crafting session so it’s ready to go when I come back to craft again. I share my craft room with my office and it’s also open to the living room so I can just close the door to a mess. I can see it from the couch. 😂 But during fall and Christmas crafting for my selling paper craft items at a farmers market, I did not put those items away until I was done with those “seasons”. I do have my piles of new supplies so I need to be better about putting those away regularly. I do keep a lot of scraps since I do make a lot of cards. I keep them in the small photo boxes, but I went thru those and tossed out all the patterned paper scraps that were small (less than 3/4” or less than 2” square) and had been in the bin over a year. It’s obvious I probably won’t go back to use those especially if there is nothing else to match to it.
It sounds like you are already doing a great job! It just takes time and I think everyone can relate to the seasonal crafting piles. I am so fortunate I have a door and can shut the door! ~Melanie
I have the perfect opportunity to figure out how to organize and figure out where things go--I had to clear out the whole room because the room needed a new floor--I am talking all the way down to the crawl space; needed new floor joists and all. I am slowly moving back into my beautiful space, not bringing things in I don't use, reconfiguring as I go. We took out a tall cabinet that I had purchased at Home Depot (It was beautiful, but had a lot of wasted space as the shelves coul not hold much weight), and replaced it with wire wall shelving.
The function over beauty dilemma is real isn’t it? I have acquired so many cute baskets or bins because of how they look but ultimately just don’t work they need to so I hear you on the cabinet. Ultimately for me I’ve chosen function over form and I think my room is still “beautiful”… not Pinterest/Instagram beautiful but it’s beautiful in all the creative opportunities it holds. You do have a perfect opportunity to resent. I’ve been thinking about moving and while the thought of packing everything up is a little intimidating I can appreciate the opportunity it would present to redesign my space with all that I know now. I like that you are taking your time and make careful decisions about what you want for your space. ~Melanie
Thanks for sharing your scrap room with us. My place is so bad I can’t see the floor. This is going to be the time I get it back in order. I love to put things in bins too.
Yay!!! I’ll be posting regular organization videos so be sure to check back in and let me know how you are coming along with your space. ~Melanie
You are doing great! I try to tidy every week, but realistically, it's every two weeks. And I put things in microcategories, then put the items away in their proper home. The current issue is some items still need a proper home, in the sense that I don't like the containers I have.
Finding that right solution or home is a challenge isn’t it? But when you do land in one that fits its amazing isn’t it? You’ve done a great job too on getting your space where you want it to be Tania ~Melanie
Ohhhh thank you so much for this video! You sounded like me with how you feel comfortable in your space and how you see everything, I can so relate to everything you were saying! I have a friend who is soooo organised and tidy, don’t get me wrong I think it is amazing but it’s not how my brain works, the harder I try the more mess I get into! I feel so uncomfortable that I’m not like her and can’t keep everything organised but you made me realise that it’s just the way I am. My new year resolution is to spend an hr a day in my room to try and tidy everything so I can get back into scrapping, it’s been too long! I’ve spent the last two day’s rearranging and organising. Thank you for your inspiration to just keep going. 🙏
If you have done the organization type quiz by “Clutter Bug” you should. It really helped me to acknowledge what my organization style is and that it’s okay. Once I embraced this and not some instagram ideal it was extremely freeing. An hour a day is a great amount of time to spend on sorting things out. I’d encourage you to also start playing/scrapping before everything is “perfect”. Sometimes we can get caught up in the organizing and don’t get to the crafting. My motto is that if I have space on my desk I can craft at least something. That being said I’m also a huge believer in following what you are motivated to do. Sometimes I become hyper focused in the organizing and as long as that is strong I lean into it. When it starts to wane I make sure to jump into doing something creative. Good luck and I hope you check back in periodically and let me know how your progress is going. ~Melanie
@@ACreativelyCraftedLife Thank you so much! I just took the Clutter Bug quiz and it soooo ME! Yes i tried yesterday to organize for too long and got in a bigger mess, so I sat down and just sorted out a messy pile of photos I had just dumped on my desk to deal with, it felt so good to get them sorted. Thank you 🤩
Yes! And breaking things into smaller bits also feeds into the “buzz” you get when you complete something. You’ve got this! ~Melanie
I wish I could tidy as I go but alas never happens. I do however tidy up after every project/page. I like to start with a clean desk.
This is where I would like to get too… at least do a basic tidy after each project. Goals! ~Melanie
Great job! I'm not a clean as I go person either. 😂I try to clean my desk every few layouts.
I tend to leave it until I have no space. This was a good day. 🥴~Melanie
Oh this is so many good ideas. So glad to see my craft room isn’t the only one that looks like this. Going to use your process and tackle small areas at a time. Thanks for sharing.
I like to think of it as continuous tweaking of my craft room… that way I don’t get caught up in getting it all “done”. Small progress is still progress. Hope it works for you. ~ Melanie
Looks like my space 😆 I need to do a major purge and cleanup
Love that you can relate! ~Melanie
Your desk looks GREAT!!! I'm also a piler. I use a dining room table as my craft desk. I have 4 chairs, which is the idea place to pile, along with the floor. Besides setting some crafting goals for 2025, I'd really like to eliminate the piles, which actually means I need to craft more, since the piles tend to be projects. Like you, when my room has become a mess, I start with cleaning off the desk. I take everything off, wipe down the desk area, and then put back only those items that really need to be on the desk. Everything else is put elsewhere, which might be a pile.
Crafting more is always a good goal. I think one of mine should be not starting more projects or more classs until I finish the ones I have but not sure if that’s realistic. 🥴~Melanie
I am a piler! The main reason is that not everything has a designated home in my scrapbook. So it is easier just to pile it. A hint i have heard is make it easier to put it away than to make a pile! Once I have a pile, I make more! So I am trying to figure out Where is the easiest place to keep certain items. A work in progress! 😀
Absolutely a work in progress. My space is at capacity and it doesn’t seem like I can stop buying (although I am going to give it a try for the next few months). So that means more purging, condensing and reconfiguring… I will not give up! ~Melanie
I understand the struggle re containers. It’s so hard to let go of them cause I always think about how often I change things up and might use them again. I also try to use them up in rest of house but….so many containers!
It’s like you are in my mind … EXACTLY! I am also a sucker for a cute container or bin… may not always be right functionally but it sure is cute 🥴. I also struggle with wanting to repurpose containers. The struggle is very real. ~Melanie
@ oh yes I forgot to mention how I have recently started to save sturdy and perfectly shaped boxes to decoupage or cover in pattern paper to store my junk journal king older papers in ! I just need about another rooms worth of flat surfaces to keep them all on. Lol!
Oh yeah the “I can make something out this” bug. That another one that hits hard. 😬~Melanie
Great start on ‘macro’ organizing, Melanie. That’s the perfect term for it.
My go to strategy is to identify anything that has a designated home and put those things away first. That frees up some space and gives me a sense of accomplishment. The things that pile up in my space are usually things that don’t have a specific home or things I need to make a decision about. Those things are the bane of my existence.
Your and mine both! I also struggle with having systems in place and then manufacturers go and change the package sizing or some up with an entirely new product. ( how dare they 😬). So for now I will declutter to make space to hopefully one day I will have a designated space. ~Melanie
I don't know how to begin and consequently my space is always a disaster. I look at my room and I am overwhelmed and so I do nothing!😮💨
I totally get that! I truly don’t fine it easier if I don’t look at the big picture and just focus on the next thing. A clear work surface is a must… how else can you craft, right? I would challenge you to clear your desk of only those things you use all the time. Anything else put aside in a box (if it has a home and it’s easy to put away do that) but otherwise just put it in a box and that can be deal with another day. If I have a big overhaul I will often work in 15-20min increments. I set a timer and just tackle something I can do in that time. Maybe it’s emptying the garbage, removing items that don’t belong or clearing surfaces by boxing it up. Or maybe deal with one of the boxes, bins or piles. The only problem with this method is that you likely won’t be “done”… I like to think of it as on a going tweaking of my space so I have no expectations of “doneness”. Hope that helps give you some ideas… deep breaths… you can do it! ♥️~Melanie
Thanks for sharing Melanie, oh the piles! I cannot wait so relate. You have a great room.
Thanks Jennifer. Lots of likes to share. 😁~Melanie
❤ I spent the last 2 months os 2024 trying to organize my house... made progress but still fighting with things😅, but I just took time while watching this to clean up my desk top❤
Love that you working along with me. Hopefully you’ve made some good progress in the rest of your home as well. I’ve been thinking of moving so I’m going have to do some decluttering in the other parts of my apartment. ~Melanie
I guess my ‘method’ is similar to yours: like items with like. All the adhesives together, stamps, punches, pens, pencils. The use on every project things… but, my room is not good or my desk!
It’s a constant struggle… that’s all I can say 🤷♀️~Melanie
Good ideas. One suggestion...ad you empty the smaller bins,remove them from the work sutface
That’s a great idea. Thanks Karen ~Melanie
Your room looks like mine! I am a piler too. I have piles all over,. The floor is my favorite place to pile stuff. I like to get things out to create with, but don’t like putting them back. I have tried to clean as I go, but it just doesn’t work. Surprisingly, this only applies to my craft room. The rest of my house is pile free. What is that caddy that’s clamped to your desk? I need one of those. Thanks for sharing.
It’s called a Table Tidy by TonicStudios. It’s modular so you buy the base and can add in some extra items. I love to use for everyday tools that don’t really fit in my lazy Susan caddy. Thanks for sharing that you are a fellow “piler”. 😁~Melanie
New subscriber here❤
Welcome aboard! I am so glad you are here. ~Melanie