20 June 2009

Organization Challenge: Part I

A couple of friends and I embarked on a little organization challenge this week: We volunteered to organize the scraproom of a mutual friend while she is out of town on vacation! All three of us enjoy organizing and thought it would be fun and challenging to help out a fellow scrapbooker.

Scrapbooker X, as I promised to call her :-), is a super-creative, artistic person. We can only imagine what she could do if her space was organized and inspiring!

As you can see from these photos, Scrapbooker X has a large space...and quite a lot of scrapbooking supplies! She also has several storage units and containers but isn't using them to their full potential. In addition, she has collected a number of decorative pieces to create a garden-type theme in her room. In short, she has the potential for a great space!

On our first visit, we surveyed the territory to get a feel for the task ahead. :-)

When organizing a room, it's a good idea to start with the "big picture." How do you want the room to function? Can you designate areas for certain tasks like stamping, sewing, or die-cutting? Scrapbooker X is lucky to have a room large enough for several activity zones. With a good organization plan, she will also have room for friends to scrapbook with her.

Our first task was to begin sorting and grouping like items together so that we could move furniture and begin to set up activity zones. We labeled boxes for tools, paper, embellishments, and other supplies. We designated a box for items that had made their way to the scraproom but didn't really belong there.

Ideally, the next step would be for Scrapbooker X to sort through each box and group things into three categories -- Yes, No, and Maybe. The "Yes" items are things to keep. The "No" items are things to get rid of -- sell, donate, repurpose, etc. The "Maybe" items should go into long-term storage (6+ months) for later reassessment. The only items that really should be organized are those designated "Yes". But since Scrapbooker X is out of town and can't do this step right now, we may end up organizing everything. She can take care of this step later.

I invite you to follow us next week as we delve into this organization challenge! :-)

5 comments:

Fonda said...

oOOOOhhh what a wonderful room Scrapbooker X has. She is going to love what you guys do! What a challenge-good luck!!! I think I need to plan a vacation soon and hire you! :)

Sharon said...

I am looking forward to seeing your progress next week. After seeing pics of Scrapbooker X's room, I feel pretty organized. LOL

Fonda, I went on vacation and offered my sb room as a warm up; but, no one came. :) It was still a mess when I got home!

Linda said...

I'm looking forward to seeing what you and your friends do to Scrapbooker X's room.

Debbie said...

What good friends you are. Can't wait to see the progress

denali said...

How exciting! In some ways I think it would actually be a lot easier to organize someone else's stuff - no emotional attachment, ya know? But that is an ENORMOUS project, and I bow to your greatness for getting 'er done!

Yer so kewl *said with awe*