If sharpened pencils, color coded construction paper, custom garage cabinets and labeled drawers make you happy than this post is for you! Disclaimer: there are no before and afters to help you feel better about your unorganized craft room or garage, just pretty pictures!
We’ll start with the art studio which is located in the back of the garage. My client had the space finished with drywall and custom cabinets after we moved her in to her new home in October. Taylor and I spent 2 days unpacking and organizing all of the garage items and loose ends from the move.
My client has 2 daughters that love to craft and I wanted this space to be an oasis and haven for their creativity. They are lucky that they have so much room to store all of the found objects that they “might need” for future projects. If you are crafty or have a crafty kid you know exactly what I mean.
I packed up the girls’ craft area at their old house so I had an idea of what was in the boxes to unpack. Before, things were spread out between their bedrooms and the kitchen causing clutter and duplicates of everything. In their new space I wanted everything to be centralized and organized.
I create zones for specific crafts like sewing, drawing, beading, painting, etc..I created homes for things by repurposing bins and baskets from their old house. I love this cute pink bin from Pottery Barn Kids, it’s the perfect size for construction paper.
And this divided basket is darling for separating beads and small treasures. All of the little parts and pieces always need a space to “live” until they find a new purpose.
I used extra jars from the kitchen to hold paint brushes, dowels, beads, and clothespins. There is something about pretty items in bins that makes me happy.
Everything in its place with lots of room to grow!
They had craft kits and supplies stored in larger boxes at their old house making it hard to find what they wanted to work on. I decided to divide all of the kits into bins that were left over from their mom’s closet. Now they can utilize the bins like drawers, pull one out at a time to use exactly what they need.
My day was made when these pink and white mini-bins fit perfectly in the drawer. What a simple way to divide the most accessed craft supplies!
Now on to the garage! This is what it looked like before we started unpacking…
I’m sure Taylor will be upset that I’m sharing this picture with her eyes closed but it shows how we unpack, sorry Taylor! We set up tables and sort items into categories as they come out of the boxes. I have my clients make decisions as the tables fill up. Once they make decisions we unpack more boxes into more categories and the client makes more decisions, the process is repetitive but it works.
Like the craft area, here are some after pictures to give you an idea of the systems we set up. We set up a small wrapping station in a cabinet. I love this little ribbon section, shallow spaces like this give a great visual to what you have. I labeled the drawers as a reminder of what goes where.
We had an extra cabinet in the garage and instead of leaving it empty so junk could pile up, we utilized it for patio cushions. This cabinet will be empty for almost 3 seasons but at least it has an identity.
I love this entertainment cabinet! Everything you need for an outdoor barbecue or picnic in one place!
I love having a dedicated area in the garage to travel. There is no reason that bulky suitcases take up valuable closet space inside the house if they don’t have to.
Smaller travel items are categorized and stored in bins on the shelf. These are all of the little items that get lost in the shuffle and are often unnecessarily purchased in duplicate. It pays to be organized!
Well I hope you enjoyed this look at the systems we set up for my client. Spring cleaning is just around the corner so take these ideas and get motivated to tackle a space of your own!
Great job, you and Taylor did. Too bad you won’t be here when I finally unpack. But first I have to find the house.