Cleaning the Closet Clutter :: Craft Area.

Today’s Closet (Area) | Craft Desk.

When we moved into this apartment a year and a half ago, I wanted this specific one because of the built-ins. There is a wall of built-in bookshelves in our living room/dining room and a desk in Gabe’s room with shelves that span the entire wall. I just love built-ins. They add so much character and we can own less furniture, since it’s already in our apartment. Plus, it made putting up the awful wooden paneling in Gabe’s room worth it.
I’m lucky enough to use the desk in Gabe’s bedroom as my sewing/craft area. Until Gabe gets old enough to demand I stop taking over his room, anyway. I absolutely adore how I can display my fabric and have other, less pretty craft supplies tucked away behind the built-in cabinets.

Before:

This has been one of the messiest areas in our apartment. In every apartment we’ve lived in, there has been a Very Messy Room (aka: the second bedroom), where everything would get thrown when company came over and which would double as storage. Until my born-again minimalism conversion, Gabe’s room was this spot in our house. A laundry basket shoved full of papers and so much other random, random odds and ends was under the desk, while the surface was filled with clutter.

Because of this, and because it’s in Gabe’s room, and thus inaccessible when he’s sleeping, the desk has a tendency to morph back to its earlier, messier days. Behold:

Yikes.

After

Annotated:

The Process:

1 – Throw out or recycle trash. (There are no trash cans in our bedrooms, and I can surprisingly lazy as a result.)

2 – File paperwork. (So much paperwork.)

3 – Get rid of craft stuff I no longer use or want.

4 – Reorganize supplies, refold fabric, and continue to declutter.

5 – Realize it still looks cluttered, and remove all the picture frames (I hardly notice them, anyway) and replace them with the pennant I made for Gabe’s birthday party.

6 – Revel. This has been, by far, the best transformation thus far. I keep peeking in Gabe’s room to marvel at the clean, empty space. It’s just begging to be used.

The Casualties:

Lessons Learned:

• Go through and file paperwork monthly, not annually.
• Stuff will accumulate on the desk top. To combat, go through daily or weekly and put things where they belong.
• Continue to declutter and get rid of any craft stuff I don’t use. Be honest with myself. The less stuff I hold on to, the more likely I’ll use the stuff I have.

ALSO:

I am giving away or selling all of this:

It’s basically just shipping, so check out my Etsy shop or email me if you want something!