Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

A week or so ago I picked up the new issue of Cloth Paper Scissors: Studios and started flipping through it almost as soon as I got home. Man, is this magazine ever chock-a-block full of craft room & organization pr0n! But then, I knew what I was getting into since I'd picked up the Spring issue of Studios earlier in the year and loved it. I just can't get over all the great ideas for organizing every size and shape of craft space!

The very first article in this issue is all about "Creative Organization" and was written by Julie Morgenstern, the same woman who wrote that book I was talking about earlier. In fact, it was reading this article that propelled me into picking that book up off my shelf and actually starting to read it and use the tips and tricks it holds.

But getting back to the article... Morgenstern's major guiding idea is that the kindergarten classroom is a perfect model for organization. Or as the author says, "What makes the model work is that the room is organized into zones of activity, the tools needed for each zone are stored at the point of use and everything is kept in an appropriate container." I feel like this is absolute genius. The kind of genius that is so obvious that you feel a little "challenged" for not thinking of it yourself.

Now, The BF and I live in a tiny apartment. We share what is probably a max of 800 square feet. Space (especially storage space) is a high-priced commodity in our home, and I think that I have just been so busy trying to pack things away and out of sight that I haven't thought about how I'm gonna get them out again. For example, I store all my fabric in a difficult to access box under my bed. Yet, the sewing machine and all my other notions are in the living room! Reading this article had me thinking that that setup is probably not the best idea. (Uh, duh.)

So yeah, reading all this stuff made me realized that I could do with a bit of reorganizing. First I'll finish reorganizing my time use and after that, I'm gonna follow the 5 steps in the article to help me better organize my craft space, and all my living spaces in general. And if you wanna know what those 5 steps are or if any of you out there are thinking about switching things up in your own studios or craft spaces, I highly recommend this love volume for the simple fact that it's great eye candy!

{No, I haven't been paid by Quilting Arts to promote their magazine! I just really like the article that much!}