Reorganizing can clear one's head

I don't know about you, but I'm a creative person. Which means - I'm kind of a messy and cluttered person.

Sometimes this makes me nuts. And like most messy people, I look at the mess and think 'I've got to DO something about this!' 

And then I procrastinate. It sounds like too much work. Pain and suffering. Ugh! Not having it.

Not today!

So the mess continues to make me crazy.

Until I lose it and decide to REALLY do something. 

Here is what was making me crazy:

So pretty!

This is where most of my tatting and other hobby materials exist. Mind you, I live in a flat with limited storage - and this is the one and only hall I have. And it's the thing you have to pass to come in.

Obviously MUCH has been dumped in these shelves. And not just tatting - work things, sewing and knitting/crochet tools, and a ton of miscellaneous junk.

(I'm not going to discuss my Pez dispensers now. I collect them because they amuse me. Sue me.)

A couple of those boxes on lower shelves were full of tatting thread and other supplies. 

So.... I finally got off my arse and went to work.

Corralling the thread

First I took charge of my thread - which was WAY outta control! I sorted it by brand, size, and color combination. Some time ago I got these nice boxes from Handy Hands and they are now a big help. I labeled all the boxes on the ends. The crochet sized balls went into other containers.

Then I looked at the beads and findings. Most were dumped into a big plastic container but there were a bunch in other locations. I didn't need everything so I contacted a friend who is a beader and have shipped her a box full. She should be happy!

A tiny selection of the beads

I put all the UFOs together.(Be honest - we all have UFOs.) I found I have a ton of tatting bags so I put those together too. Then I got all my shuttles in one box and found another to put tatting tools like picot gauges and crochet hooks. 

I never need to buy any crochet hooks again. And probably not any shuttles either. It will be a very long time until I need to get thread. 

And I sorted through all the miscellaneous stuff, giving some away and throwing out an ginormous amount of trash and junk.

Tidy!

Ta-da! SO MUCH BETTER! I freed up two whole shelves and several big containers! 

More importantly - I can FIND things when I need them. 

And I feel a big weight off. Whew!

Now onto the Pez collection....