Craft Supply Hoarder Update

You may remember my post about being a craft supply hoarder. Since I wrote that post last March, I have been working on changing our back porch into a craft room. Even though most days I could only work on it 5-10 minutes at a time before the baby would need me, I did get it done little by little.

As I said, organization is very difficult for me.

I was actually very proud of myself for what I did.

It took me forever to put the shelves together and organize things into baskets. (Yes you read that right- I organized things into little baskets!!!)

I was going to take pictures to post on here. I just had a few things to finish.

Then it happened.

The night before our court investigator came (the very last step to finalizing our adoption!) I was trying to get Jayden to sleep and Adam was doing some last minute cleaning, which included putting something on the craft shelves. I was upstairs in the nursery so I didn't hear the loud crashing sound.

Adam came up and gave me the bad news.

All of our shelving that was holding my scrapbooking supplies had come apart and there were craft supplies EVERYWHERE.

Open stamp pads, spilled beads, all kinds of paper, stickers, markers, glue, scissors, photographs...

It was bad.

I had a complete breakdown and then we came up with a plan. My mom came over with large totes and we threw it all in them...then hid the totes in our cars! Our cars were filled- front, back, and trunk.

Our inspector came the next day and everything went very well.

So, now I am left with bins full of scrapbooking stuff. Exactly where I was at months ago. How depressing is that?

One thing I know for sure is that after all that craziness, I deserve real shelves this time, right? Not flimsy wire cubes that come apart!

I can't believe I am starting over again.

I Am A Craft Supply Hoarder

My worst ADD symptom is that I am awful at organizing things.

I remember when I was diagnosed, the psychologist who had done my testing had a meeting with me a week later to go over the results. One of the things she was able to do, based on my results, was perfectly describe what my bedroom looked like. She explained that I need to think outside the box when it came to organizing my things. Open shelves or even bins instead of dressers with drawers. I always think back to that conversation and try to give myself some slack and come up with solutions to my organization problems.

I also have a problem with craft supply hoarding. Between crafts and art supplies for the kids and my own crafting supplies....well, let's just say I have a lot.

The majority of our second floor is Jayden's nursery. The exception is a very small room with a desk, which was my craft room. I outgrew that room quickly:

Yes, these pictues are very embarrassing.

Although in my defense, it didn't get this messy until after Jayden as born. :)

After that room was full, I began to take over the hall outside the room as well:

Oh, and this is in the dining room:

This is in a closet:

This is in our bedroom:

(Although I would like credit for how well organized these supplies are! haha.)

So, you may be asking yourself why I am sharing my embarrassing photos. It's because I am determined to get all these things organized and in one place. I am turning our back porch into a craft room. A place where all supplies will be stored and easy to find. It's not ideal because although it is enclosed, it doesn't have heat or AC so it can't be used year round. But, I can easily go out there and get what I need, use it inside, and then put it back out there when I am done.  I am slightly concerned about how some items will hold up in heat or cold, but this is the best solution I could come up with.

One of the biggest reasons I am determined to do this is that I want to start on Jayden's scrapbook and there is no way I can do it while being this unorganized. I have been saving things for his scrapbook for about 10 years now. I think it will be great once I locate everything I need.

Also, once I get everything out of the upstairs, the entire second floor can be for Jayden. That will be my next big project. I would like to create a sleeping area, comfy reading area, play area, and then make my current craft room into a homework room he can use when he gets older. It's perfect because it's a very small room that pretty much only consists of a big built in desk and a chair.

So, here I am putting it out there. I will do this. Now that I have blogged it, I have to, right?

I'll keep you updated on how it's going and post pictures of the back porch as I go.