Happy 2016 my friends! I am always surprised how quickly the end of the year sneaks up on me, but after 30 some odd years of being surprised, you would think I would have a better handle on things…
Now that the Holidays are officially over and a new year has begun, I am on a mission to cleanse and organize in the aftermath of all the chaos. I think after two weeks of sickness, and three months of holiday, work, and birthday crazy with hardly a step outside these doors except for said celebratory events… the chaos is getting to me even more than it normally does. Luckily this month’s Michael’s Makers challenge was to tackle a bit of DIY Organizing and it was just the kick in the pants I needed. Well that and the fact that I was completely out of my element this year in choosing not to bring the typical holiday mayhem out of storage and into the house. I was hoping it would keep a bit of the crazy at bay and instead it made it worse if that is even possible! I swear I am still trying to track down about seven of rolls of tape and several pairs of scissors. Scissors and tape are like socks in this house, and I can never find them when I need them, even when I just had them five minutes earlier. Don’t even get me started on pens and markers… I think Mike hordes them.
Michaels just launched a new line of storage and organization product called Cre8ted Spaces and it’s quite lovely. Tons of fabulous colorways and clever containers to help you contain your own crazy. While I need to give every single room in this house a complete overhaul, my gift wrap and other crafty supplies have been getting the better of me for the last couple of months so this is where I started. I tend to use gift wrap, tape, scissors and ribbon several times a month so it makes sense for me to keep these things close at hand but in a stored and controlled kind of way. I have a ton of organization for my crafty supplies already, but I’m finding that my need to have things out of sight also seems to put them out of mind. This makes for a lot of duplicate purchasing and wasted time and this year that irritation was allocated to gift tags and ribbon along with the usual tape and scissors ordeal. A sturdy box or two to keep my tags and other dangling bits is such a welcome thing. I gave my gift tag box a little make-under and changed the top part of the box from the stunning chartreuse color it was to the glossy white that it is, with just a few flicks of the paint brush. It just happens to be perfectly divided for my tags and that makes this little mama super duper happy.
A rolling cart for projects in progress and regularly used items has been on my list for days… Alas I have never gotten around to it since most of my time is spent creating the projects and not so much on the storage of the supplies for them. Naturally my work would be so much easier if everything I needed was beautifully organized and in its place. I think its that chicken and egg thing. I gave my mobile beauty a glimmering new outfit with a couple of coats of gold spray paint and I think that will make it easier for my mind to handle as it moves around the house as I work. The minty color it came in would have worked well in my office, but gold is a neutral and this baby will get around so she needs to blend in.
I have a large bin that holds my bulk supply of ribbon, and I am fairly certain I have more ribbon than any normal human should so I shall be remedying that asap. In the meantime, having a more mobile option to keep the rolls and spools under control while I am using them and that looks good too is absolutely dreamy. I gave a peachy wooden box a beautiful matte black finish using chalk paint and I love it so much I want to paint all the things in this gorgeous matte black color. I think you can guess what my future holds – painting, refinishing and general sprucing is certainly part of the plan. Why does the new year always kick my need for calm into high gear – and why does my version of calm require an insane amount of effort and organization?
Do you feel the need to minimize and downsize after the intense Holiday season and the addition of more of everything in your life and your home? I sure do. It is most peculiar how the gift of giving and the act of receiving makes me feel the need to shed most if not all of the things I no longer cherish and many of the things I still do. If you are feeling a bit like this too, check out the other 49 Maker’s organizing projects over on The Glue String… it will surely inspire you to go and do and whip into shape!
This crafty little organizing project was brought to you in partnership with Michaels and is part of an ongoing series of fun projects I will be creating as a Michaels Maker! Thank you for supporting the awesome peeps who help make this little corner of the blog-iverse fun and interesting! Heart you guys!
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