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Be warned, this will not be a pretty-picture post. While I admire many a crafter’s wonderfully organised yet cheerful, pretty and appealing studio or crafty corner, in my present circumstance of living in a 3×3 meter room in my parents’ house I’ve found that functionality trumps looks. This is the space in which I sleep, dress, work, craft and relax. Fitting that many activities (and their tools) into such a space is no small task. So my yarn shares a space with my dictionaries, my armchair serves as a shelf for finished objects, and the “studio” in which I do most of my crafting is my bed.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining too much! This was my childhood room which gives it a very warm feel, and I prefer smaller spaces to huge ones. But a few extra square meters wouldn’t hurt. I’ve found that the best way to make use of a small space is to go up – use the height, stack things up. It can be a little annoying, when you have to lift up five heavy dictionaries ten times a day because you always somehow need the one that ended up in the bottom of the heap, but it’s better than having to go into the next room ten times a day. The problem with knitting projects, though, is that they don’t exactly stack up. Which brought me to the idea of shoe boxes.
This was a total breakthrough for me! Shoe boxes are the perfect size to keep several balls of yarn, needles, a printed pattern, and all those other itty bitty things you need for a knitting project. Not to mention that it’s easier to dig out a tiny stitch-marker from a box than from a fabric project-bag, where it hides in the curves and the darkness… Aaaaand they stack up! :)
Apart from noticing that I am a big fan of Clarks, you may also notice in the photo that I label my projects with post-it notes too. That way I know what is where and when I feel like working on a project, I just pull out the labeled box and get to it, it contains everything I need. And I have a constant visual reminder of all the projects I have going, which I like to tell myself keeps my WIP count from rising. With all those boxes looking at me a little accusingly, it’s easier to give up on starting another new project and grab a WIP to finish instead. All in all, I’m very happy with the shoe box idea and will surely be keeping it even when I have more room at my disposal. Though I might do something to pretty up the boxes – sorry Clarks, nothing personal!
Now, if you’re looking at the above photo and thinking that it all looks super nice to you, let me present – the bigger picture.
Note that the WIP area also serves as a bookshelf, a shoe-closet, an umbrella stand, a shelf for my iron, and many many more things. As I said, this is a multi-tasking space! ;)
Happy Wednesday! I look forward to picking up a few good organisation ideas from other crafters today! :)
fridica 