This is a major, multi-day project that I am breaking down into tiny pieces.
SO let’s go over why this is a Big Deal.
Several years ago, I started a DBA called Divine Bird. The idea was that I would sell the fruits of my hobbies, most notably art, knitting, and spinning yarn. It also covers the classes I teach in knitting, crochet, spinning, baking, and using alcohol markers, as well as any talks I give to local groups. I filed all the necessary paperwork and set myself up with a schedule, then got to work.
It became clear very quickly that I needed a Proper Space in which to work. So I tried to carve out that space in our tiny apartments, never really succeeding. And then we got a two-bedroom apartment where I was able to claim a whole room just for my business. Lovely!!
I set up the room as best I could. Desk in the corner with my computer, yay! Office supplies! Storage in the closet! Shelves on the walls! And then the rest of our stuff needed a home…so of course I put the extra boxes in there. And the shelves that hadn’t been hung. And then the extra clothes. And then we emptied our storage unit, so all the stuff we kept from THAT went into the room. My desk became a flat surface on which to place things. My sewing table went the same route.
I never used that room. I couldn’t work in there; it was too cramped! There was no floor space left! My only choice was to work in other rooms, and I only went into the ‘studio’ to grab supplies.
Somewhere along the line, I decided that I would do an overhaul and Organize The Shit Out Of This Room. I took ‘before’ pics and posted them on Flickr and everything. I Had A Plan! I had a layout drawn on graph paper! Except THEN I had nowhere to put the rest of the stuff.
It is about this time that my business began to falter. The classes kept it afloat, but when it came to my production of yarn, I just never felt comfortable working on it. I was always worried the cat would shed on it (a big no-no in the yarn world) or I could never sit in a proper chair (terrible for ergonomics) or there was just No Space.
When we moved into our condo 3 years ago, I thought things would be different. I claimed the sunniest room in the house, and all it needed was a coat of paint and I would have my beautiful restful haven for creative works. That…didn’t exactly happen. Because I never had a system for my old studio, the new one ended up with all the junk and the stuff I’d moved with for 10 years, some of which I hadn’t even gone through in all that time. Bins of old artwork, bags and bags and bags of fiber, yarn, and fabric…and don’t even get me started on the equipment! Sewing notions, ribbons, knitting needles, crochet hooks, yarn spindles, spinning wheel attachments (for 5 wheels that have come and gone over the years!), hand cards, yarn winders, a table loom, a FLOOR loom, and more. My little studio became a glorified walk-in closet, and a poorly organized one at that.
Until now.
See, a friend recently moved back to my town and her current place is tiny. All her possessions in one room and she can’t really manage working in there. But she has this fashion show she’s prepping for in early 2013, and she needs a sewing space.
Oh hey, I have a space. Technically.
Just after that, I found UfYH. Several days of 20/10s later, and holy shit, I have a semi-functional room at last.
It’s not done, not yet—but it’s getting there. A little bit at a time, 20 minutes here, 45 minutes there, I have been going through EVERYTHING. I’m ‘destashing’ stuff that I have loved and carried with me for 10 and 20 years, things I have kept out of guilt because it was important to me once, or I spent lots of money on it. With every piece I discard, though, I am feeling lighter and more free. I was excited about the things I AM keeping, and excited about the things I’m going to get rid of.
And here’s the great thing—as I do this, I’m eager to get to work on my production again. I have things I know will go into the shop, and I have a dedicated space in which not only can I work, but also I can CLOSE THE DOOR. It won’t have to spill out into the living room or my bedroom. I am creating a storage system now that will allow me to access all my tools and supplies with ease. I might even FINALLY start sewing the bags I wanted to make.
It’s all due to UfYH. I couldn’t find the motivation to tackle such a huge project. I always felt overwhelmed by the Stuff. But now I feel like maybe, just maybe, I can not only do this but do it RIGHT. I need for my business to succeed and it won’t unless I work on it. Having the space and the system in place will help me achieve my goals. So thank PoM for starting this movement, because without it, I might not have gotten my ass up off the couch to begin with.
At long last, more unfuckery! Today I attacked a literally-hidden corner.
I keep that painting there for a few reasons:
- It isn’t quite finished and I’ve been meaning to do something about that for ages
- I don’t have any particularly better place to store it
- It hides an otherwise terrible corner
There are 2 unused printers, an unused monitor (to be used soon), a tub of electronic stuff (already sorted), a crate full of sketchbooks, a bag full of sketchbooks, a pile of drawings and binders full of drawings, two piles of assorted papers, a box of old cards, and my paint cart.
There ended up being 36 sketchbooks, and I know I’ve gone through and gotten rid of sketchbooks from the crate and bag before… I tore useful drawings (which were then sorted/stored those appropriately) out of and got rid of some, kept in tact the oldest ones which I really want to keep, and removed drawings from and set aside those which weren’t fully used. I ended up tossing 22 sketchbooks, and it is amazing.
Paint cart got organized, assorted papers were tossed or filed, printers are staying there for now. The blue crate is full of blank sketchbooks and unused supplies (some of which was previously in a crate on the shelf, which now just contains old artworks, including the stuff which was kept from today). Painting is back in place in front of the corner, but now it’s not for purpose of hiding things, and there’s space to store inactive paintings behind the easel now!
It took an entire afternoon of 20/10s, but I no longer dread what lurks behind the easel. Thanks UfYH!
It’s amazing how a little clutter in a little room just looks like a MESS! I was going to just do the 10-minute unfuckyourhabitat challenge, but it’s turned into rather a 45/15! I got tidying, and tidying some more, then I tidied the closet and put away yarn and projects that have been relegated to the PHD pile - (“Projects half-done”, for the non Knitmore Girls listeners), although being the fan of sci-fi that I am, I should probably keep it as UFO (UnFinished Objects… Oh well, that’s for another day, and 10 minutes turned into 45! Feeling good though, now. Listened to music and bebopped my way through getting it tidied up.
So anyway, I got stuff put away, filed away, shelved away, cabinet-ed away, and it’s looking pretty great now, a nice place to go get inspired, which was its purpose. The carpet needs a vacuuming, but at least I can see the floor to vacuum it! :)
As an aside, I note that my arty studio kind of needs some art on the walls! #note to self.
As another aside, I need a fun chair to put on my upstairs landing, and maybe a funky lamp, to turn it into a little knitting nook all my own. Gonna have to do some shopping. #And so that goes on the list.
