Let's Get Organized for the New Year!

Wow, I can't believe it's almost the end of 2020! And what a year it's been. For many of us who have spent so many months inside, our New Years Resolutions are probably an interesting mix of wanting to get out and socialize more, but also find new ways to keep our homes and studio spaces clean, organized and easily accessible. 

I'm a big believer in the power of an organized space to make hobbies more fun. If you know where everything is, can reach all of the tools you might need, and your main crafting space is clean when you walk in, it's that much easier to enjoy what you're working on. 

To that end, I've curated a playlist of videos that are all about organizing your quilting/sewing craft space. Together we'll walk through how to store your fabric stash and your rulers, tips for getting organized before starting a new project, how to keep things together when you're in the middle of a project, and ways to sort and store small notions. I'll take you through a tour of how I've personally set up my studio so that the space works best for me, and I'll share lots of secret tips I've learned throughout my many years of working in the fabric and quilting world. 

Hopefully these tips and tricks are helpful if you're looking to re-organize your space for the coming New Year! 

To start off, let's take a 360 degree look at my own personal studio space! 

A really important step in keeping your sewing and quilting space clean and enjoyable to work in, is to find a way of organizing all of your tools and supplies that really works for you. Everyone's space is unique and might have different storage or space limitations. Take a moment to really think about your space - the kinds of projects you like to work on, the tools you reach for the most, how much room there is for storage, etc. Your space doesn't have to look like anyone else's, as long as it serves you and your needs!

Ah yes, the famous fabric stash... I absolutely love collecting new fabrics, and personally don't see a problem since they're all different patterns and colors, from different designers, and clearly I need them all! However finding a place to put all of it away in my studio space has been an ongoing adventure. I like being able to see what I have already so that it can inspire me to work on new projects, but I also don't want big piles of fabric laying around and taking up space. If you also have a fabric stash, here are the ways I've chosen to organize mine!

My other big collection is of rulers. There are so many different rulers for creating all kinds of unique block shapes, angles, and designs. I really enjoy working with rulers and having them right at my fingertips so that I can reach for the right one quickly and easily. While most may not have quite as many rulers as I do, you probably have more than you realize! They're easy to collect as you work your way through different patterns and blocks, and pretty soon you've got quite the collection. So how do I keep my rulers organized? Let's take a look!

And what about all of those smaller notions that we need for our projects? Sometimes finding ways to sort and store smaller things can be even trickier because there are so many options. Do you keep your binding clips in a little box on their own, or in a drawer with pins and bobbins? One of my favorite tips for sewing machine feet, Cricut wheels and even bobbins, is to use a bait box. I get mine from Amazon and I love how they're stackable and have little compartments that keep all of the different pieces from getting tangled/damaged. 

Now that we've found the right home for all of our fabric and tools, how do we organize ourselves for a new quilt project before we even begin? I think this is the most important step in any project. While it takes a bit of time upfront, it can save you so much time later on down the road. It's almost impossible to get all the way through a quilt top pattern in one sitting, and it can be so easy to forget which step you're on or which piece of fabric you're working with next. Take the time now to pre-cut and label your fabric, make sure you have a box big enough to store all of your larger pieces and pattern. 

If you have unfinished projects sitting around in your space that you've been meaning to get to, or feel overwhelmed by, you're in good company! It happens to all of us. On average in my studio, I'm working on anywhere from 20-30 different projects at a time so I have to keep track of a lot of moving parts and pieces. I'm excited to share with you the methods that I've developed over the years because I think they're helpful whether you're working on one project, or ten at a time. 

Thank you so much for sticking around and I hope I've been able to share some useful tips and tricks with you. If there's an aspect of your space that you're working on organizing that we didn't cover in this series, please email me at heidi@thewhimsicalworkshop.com or leave a comment down below! I'd love to come up with more ways to help you keep your space clean, productive and enjoyable!