It’s Time to Spring Clean the Studio

The annual Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop, hosted by Cheryl Sleboda of Muppin.com, couldn’t have come at a better time. Back in January, I proclaimed that 2021 was going to be the year I put order and organization into my quilting studio. As a pattern designer, my studio space not only serves as my place to sew but also where I run my business. This means the space also has my inventory, shipping materials, and office supplies. While I have always dreamed of a large, working studio space, the reality is that I work out of a spare bedroom that measures about 10’ X 12’, or 120 square feet. Not that large but I am grateful that I have a dedicated space for my quilting.

My organization plans started back in January when I crafted a room layout that would provide more storage solutions. I divided the room into 6 key areas to best meet my needs. So far, it seems to be working well.

Fabric Cutting and Project Storage

The space already had a small kitchen island that I used for cutting fabric. I also had a Kallax shelf unit. from IKEA that I used for project storage. To get some additional storage space, I added another Kallax shelf to the other side of the island. I love that everything is on casters so if I need to move things around, it’s easy to do. It’s also great that I can conceal the clutter by keeping work in process projects in the bins yet can quickly identify what is in each. Sorry for the glare in the photo.

Business Project Command Center

I also needed to set-up a command center to keep my business projects organized. And since I was running out of floor space, this needed to go vertical on the wall. A series of wall baskets now hold patterns that I have in development. The frames will soon hold a calendar, project list, and some inspirational artwork. The wall also has a dry erase board and several hanging baskets for miscellaneous stuff.

Supplies and Inventory Storage/Shipping Station

My metal shelves had been in place or a few years now but I needed organization where I could clearly see what and where I had everything stored. Enter my love for clear plastic bins. Large bins work well for my pattern kits and other inventory items, medium bins hold my patterns and some future project materials. The small bins serve to hold my sewing accessories and supplies, things like thread, scissors, sewing notions, etc. Next item on the to-do list is to label all of these containers so I have no doubt about what goes where. I also have my shipping station in this area. Boxes, tape, envelopes, and such are all on the smaller shelf unit. It’s nice to have this all this in one space and close to my product inventory.

Fabric Storage

The closet in my room serves as storage for my fabric, batting, and UFOs. Here too, I am a big fan of the plastic storage containers. I store my fabric by color for the most part. If I have fabrics I know I want to use for a specific project, I will set those aside in a project specific bin. I have been on a mission to reduce the amount of fabric in my stash as the closet is almost at max capacity. Here too, labels on the bin make identifying what color fabric is where.

Sewing Storage

The ALEX drawer unit from IKEA is also a new acquisition back in January. I wanted a space to hold the everyday sewing materials I use where they would be quick and easy to access. Think seam rippers, rulers, sewing feet, piecing thread, etc. When I sewing, I pull the unit out from under my table and keep it off to my side. The top makes a great space for quick pressing or trimming blocks while I am sewing. And when I’m not sewing, I can roll the unit back under my table for less clutter.

Office Supply Storage

Last, my red cabinet had been a catch all for anything and everything that really didn’t have a space. It is now dedicated space for office supplies and business documents. Paper, printer ink, file folders, etc. are all neatly placed in the cabinet with the printer on top. It’s nice to have a focused area to corral these items.

A Look at Where I Started

All in all, I am happy with the organization of the space, now my trouble turns to keeping it clean. As you can see below, I pretty much have a bad habit of pulling things out of their space and then not returning them once I’m done using them. Anyone else suffer from this troubling problem? I know I am not the only one! It’s hard to imagine, but I really don’t like clutter and seeing my studio in disarray leaves me stressed and frustrated. If I could list one of my bigger faults, it’s not taking the time to put things away once I am done using it or having the mentality that I’ll be using it again soon, so I will just leave it out a little longer. With a small space, I really can’t think this way and am working to improved on that behavior.

Check out my BEFORE space

But I digress. I am hoping this spring clean-up is the start of what I hope can be a cleaner studio space moving forward. I have been practicing the art of a quick clean-up at the end of each sewing day and taking some extra time at the end of each project to do a more comprehensive tidying session. I’ll see how things go for the month of April.

Anyone have helpful cleaning/organizing/tidying tips and tricks they’d like to share to help keep me on track? Any and all help is always appreciated. Drop me a comment and let me know what you do.

Thanks for coming along on this tour of my quilting studio. I hope I offered you some organization tips that will help you in your work space. I know for me, it’s nice to see it all cleaned up. I’ve got a big weekend of sewing planned and I’m all ready to go.

Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop

There is a whole group of hoppers participating in the Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop. You can read a new blog post everyday through April 12. If you missed the first few days, you can also go back and check those out. Here’s the full list of participants, dates, and blogs.