The organized moments

To be truly organized is something I’ve often struggled with. As a teenager I made a mess just to get my parents upset. Later in life, it seemed that the messiness I had embraced, would not be as easy to shed. By nature I am a very sentimental person and I can associate objects with memories of people I’ve loved and travels I’ve experienced. I would never allow myself to be called a hoarder, the term I prefer is collector. There are many times where my love of collecting things has paid off but I have to have a system in place to make it work.

When it became abundantly clear it was time to follow my heart and pursue my passion of owning my own handmade business, luckily I had saved all of the tools materials, and supplies that I’d been collecting over my lifetime. So my major expense was simply in the raw materials and initial set up cost. Holding onto these tools saved me from having to purchase them for my business. In fact over the years these tools have built my business, so keeping things is not always bad it’s just a matter of knowing what to keep and what to let go of. Once you have evaluated your set up and determined what should be kept, and what can be let go of, the next determination to be made is what to do with everything you’re keeping? This is where that illustrious idea of organization comes into the picture.

I find that I’m only as organized as the systems that I have put into place. Repetition is key but only if the original organization system is working. So literally everything in my studio has its place. That’s not to say that my studio is never a mess, however when I decide to clean it, it takes a lot less effort and time because I already know in advance where my tools will be going. Not to mention that there is not an unlimited amount of space in my studio, so I have to be very conscious about tools or materials that I bring in.

Another step I take to be organized, is only keeping the current projects I’m working on, out and scattered about in the studio. Meaning, when I am completely done with the task I put up all the materials and tools associated. This way I start the next project with a clean working space. It allows me to be more focused and to plan for the job ahead of me. Making jewelry, being a seamstress, and creating up cycled goods all require different tools and processes. There is some overlap but generally that is how I categorize my supplies. I use creative bins, tackle boxes, dressers and shelves to make everything have a clean uncluttered appearance when I’m not working.

Not only is organization within my business important, but also, this translates over into organized paperwork, organized bookkeeping, and organized taxes. By putting systems into place and repeating them daily,i’m bound to be organized eventually. Right? I am great at organizing other people’s spaces, I’ve even been hired to do it (for some reason this is much easier). I know one day I will have it figured out but in the meantime here are a few of the great blogs and resources that help keep me organized.
http://www.cleanmama.net/free-printables
http://www.teamconfetti.nl/free-printable-to-do-list/( I use this printable in english but you will want to translate the rest of the site)