Organizing the mess that is my creative life

I'm one of the few folks who still enjoys reading Better Homes and Gardens. I wish there were not so many ads, but one of the things I like about it, as compared to other decorating-type magazines (now that Domino is dead), is that most of the stuff in it is not necessarily high-end. They do have some classy stuff, but they also publish out of Des Moines, so I think that helps them keep it sort of middle-brow.

I was on their website today and found a few things.

I'm in love with this.

from Better Homes and Garden's shoot of Margaret Sindelar's sewing nook.

And I don't know how practical this is, but it sure is pretty. It's better than my ugly board and Kevin tripping over the cord and then throwing the recycling under it because I've set it up right next to his desk because it's the only out of the way place with both light and an electrical outlet.

From BHG shoot of Margaret Sindelar's sewing nook.

I enjoy these glass cylinders for the storage of things that need to be flat, like markers and such.

BGH Quick and Clever Ideas for Organizing Crafts

And, if you're feeling like your house will never be organized, just look at this. 

From Highlights Magazine

What are your favorite studio designs?

Organizing Fabric

I've been making some progress on my goals from last week, although I did get side tracked on things like cleaning Benjamin's room. 

(My husband keeps telling me it's normal that his room should be that messy--like dirty clothes under the carpet messy--but I couldn't get in there to put the laundry away on Saturday and I couldn't take it anymore. And, he couldn't put his own clothes away because his drawers were so messy they were quite literally about to break off the rails. As I was cleaning, I had a flash-forward of him being 15 and me finding pot and condoms in his room instead of broken nerf bullets, dried out markers and lego pieces. I don't think five years will improve his cleaning skills but it's likely to change other things. Yikes.) (Update: Monday p.m. I'm cleaning out B's end of the year backpack and I find the stuff photographed above. What is it? An entire pencil bag devoted to colored pencil shavings.)

Although I really need to start the syllabus and website for summer school (boo!), I've progressed far enough in the rest of my cleaning and sorting that I need to figure out what to do with all of this fabric I've been buying. I've got it in piles and boxes and dresser drawers and plastic storage bins right now. And none of it is washed. So, the plan is to sort and cut it, then wash, dry, label and organize. How is the question.

Here are some possibilities I've seen online. 

I like what Urban Grace did with the tags. Of course, they were only organizing swatches. (I need an Allison too.)

I love these labels for rolled fabric from Just Something I Made. When Kevin and I used to quilt we did something similar. Labeling the size of each piece is not that important to me--I can eye-ball it to see if I have enough. But I do like to have all of certain kinds of fabrics together. Cottons with cottons, etc.

The studio below belongs to Saldos de Concha. 

I like the fabric in the glass cabinet. It's protected from dust, but still adds to the color of the room. That's nice, I think. And less messy looking than some of the other systems I've seen about as I search.

Of course, I still am dreaming of this studio I found months ago.

What have you seen?

Getting the ideas (and the desk) organized

I'll be back this week with part two (and maybe three?) of the garage sale post and more about the launch of Smarty Pantalons, but I'm taking this last day in May to get organized. I thought I'd pass along some of the web tools I'm finding to do so. I'm not an iphone/blackberry girl. I have a smartish phone, but I don't use the smart features. I function better with a piece of paper or a stack of post-its when it comes to a to-do list or a plan of action.

To-Dos and Lists

Weekly to-do

Master to-do

Cool online checklist

Calendars

Blog Calendar

2010 Monthly Vertical

2010 Monthly Horizontal