Where I Create: An Inside Look at My Disaster Area(s)

I have mentioned a time or two my disaster area(s).  I have also told a few of the gals at my workshops that I would post pictures.  Honestly, I'm sick of taking before pictures - other than the piles, they really don't change much - it's exactly that - a Disaster Area! 

I have the largest of the three bedrooms upstairs (much to my boys' dismay).  Unfortunately, I have also claimed the smallest of the 3 bedrooms upstairs (again much to my boys' dismay).  When my stepson lived with us, he needed a room, so my boys shared a room.  When he moved out, I started cleaning out my disaster area (honest).  I just never finished, or maybe I just added more stuff (LOL!)

I keep hoping to find time (and energy) to get upstairs and start going through stuff.  My intention (there's always good intentions), was to get most of the normal housekeeping chores done yesterday so I could spend time up there today. I figured with the weather being nice that my hubby would be on the Harley and the boys would LOVE being outside.  All we had to do today was groom and bath the cats.  Unfortunately, by the time the kitties got taken care of it was after noon.  And for some strange reason, the boys were "bored". I even tried giving them 30 seconds to decide whether to go outside for 2 hours or come help me clean upstairs.  They didn't like either option!  Kids today - sheesh.

I did manage to get up there and take pictures.  I also managed to get a LITTLE (and I mean very little) done in there today. 

Join me as I take you on a tour of my Disaster Area(s). Warning: if you are a neat freak, organized, or otherwise afraid of messes, I suggest you be sitting down...yes, it's that bad.

This is my bookcase to the right of the door as you walk in.  It houses my Plastic Canvas, Cross-Stitch patterns, albums, mini albums, odds and ends.

This is my computer desk.  The computer on there does actually work (I think), but I don't use it. I just need to get everything off of it and start over.  The corner cabinet houses my CTMH Catalogs, Consultant magazines, and miscellaneous business books and training materials.

My boys help me put together this grid system to house my shipping supplies. It also gained my yarn (stored in recycled 2-liter pop bottles).

This begins my "cutting table". The tower of drawers holds all sorts of things (all labeled by the way). My themed non-CTMH paper goes here (Nascar, Fishing, Marching Band). I also store my page protectors and scraps and blank mini albums in drawers.

The rest of my cutting table.  The 2-drawer file on the right houses all my CTMH Cardstock, arranged by season: Spring, Summer, Basic in the top drawer; Autumn, Winter, Retired in the bottom drawer.  That drawer is from http://www.for-keeps-sake.com/.  The 2-drawer file on the left houses all my CTMH My Reflections Kits arranged by newest first. Theoretically, the retired ones are on the bottom, but I really need to go through those drawers. That drawer is a retired set from Memory Makers (I believe).  The counter top is just a cheap white counter top from Lowes.  My color swatches and sample rings hang from the shelves directly over the cutting counter.  I've also got my Cricut and Bind-It-All store there.  The drawers on the shelves house pre-cut cards/envelopes, incentive stamps, Connection Club rewards, Booking Sets and miscellaneous stuff (all labeled).  The 2-drawer cabinet under the counter houses my clearbags and miscellaneous bags, totes and other diecut 3-d objects (waiting to be used).

My punches are organized in the Crop-In-Style Punch Pals that hang over the closet door.  My Cricut cartridges are in a 3 shelf thing that is attached to the side of my 2-drawer paper file. I did not take pictures of the closet, but it has albums, photos, and lots of miscellaneous stuff.  There are shelves in the closet, so that helps.

The wall in front of my windows has several of the JetMax and Store-In-Style cubes.  At the moment, the cubes hold my Cuttlebug folders and dies, Sizzix Dies, Nestabilities, and cutting pads/plates.  I also store completed artwork in some drawers - standard cards fit really well in the 4-drawer cubes.  I have completed layouts in the 3 drawer cubes.   Sadly, I have to set up a small 2x4 table in order to actually find a surface to work on when I need to create. And even that is a disaster area!

This is my stamp wall.  The big white cabinet is homeless at the moment. I LOVE this cabinet! It has tons of little cubes inside for storing anything and everything. I got my youngest to help with organizing and labelling it. It houses my embossing powders, glitters, alcohol inks, Shimers, re-inkers, etc. It also weighs a TON (even when it's empty).  I would like to sit it up on top of my stamp counter, but I don't think it will support it.

My CTMH My Acrylix stamps are in the drawer cabinets. The right side one is from Lowes from when I first started stamping.  The top drawer houses my CTMH woodies, the 2nd and 3rd drawer contain my alphabets and winter sets.  The drawers on the left are Sterilite drawers from Walmart.  I recylced cardboard boxes for dividers and can get roughly 100 stamp sets in each drawer (no they are not all full yet).

The stamp shelves on top hold all my miscellaneous woodies from various companies. One of these days I'll get back to unmounting all of them.

The dresser contains my cassette tapes, music CD's and unmounted stamps in CD cases (mostly Stampin' Up and The Angel Company).  The storage drawers on top of the dresser hold all my Dimensional Elements (labelled and sorted), and bulk embellishments.  The white locker my hubby found and cleaned up and painted for me. It contains my accessories cases, ribbon rounds, Just Blooms, and other miscellaneous embellishments. The red storage drawers on top contain more embellishments (yes, I'm an embellishment junkie).

Here's a shot of the floor from the window.  My ribbon box is there, along with a tote full of "alterable things", and boxes of stuff that I need to find homes for.

Here's a shot of the floor from the computer desk.  Believe it or not, I can get to almost every area of my disaster area - you just have to know where to step....and step carefully.

Now, on to what has become affectionately known as my "overflow room".  This is the smallest of the 3 bedrooms that my oldest son would like to have back.  We were supposed to work on this over Spring Break, but we had some academic issues that needed addressed and are much more important.

Most of this room is just floor space - other than the bed.  This room gets used when I have to vacate the living room downstairs.  There are boxes of stuff piled everywhere. Most of it, I just need to sit and go through (with a large trash bag I'm sure).

The large blue totes contain stuff for the crops I vendor - products, artwork, displays, etc.

Again - just stuff piled everywhere.

What's left of the bed :) Again, just stuff I need to go through. And my display boards.

When I got my new dining room table, the boys dismantled my old one and stored it up here behind the door.  With a little modification (and a LOT of organizing) it can become a crop table for me in my disaster area.

Thank you for joining me on a tour of where I create.  Now you can see why I call it my Disaster Area.  I'd love to be organized and have a place for everything and everything in it's place, but finding time and energy has become an issue.

I found a blog that has an organizational challenge - My Love Affair with the Label Maker.  I LOVE the ideas. Unfortunately, I got really scared when she mentioned that I need to box up my stuff and take it out of my room. I'm afraid that if I did that, my husband and kids would think I'm moving out. :)  However, I do plan on using some of her ideas. I just can't box everything up and move it out. I'll keep you posted. My goal is to have it done by the end of the summer (as in before school starts next fall).

Until next time...