Monday Motivation - Transforming Ugly Storage

I was motivated by a comment on my first Monday Motivation post about ugly storage solutions.  Often times innovative and cheap free storage solutions are pretty ugly.  I have a super ugly free storage solution for my cat food in my kitchen - a rinsed out empty litter bin. 

I decided to go with the simplest and fastest solution available to me today.  I took some of the spray paint I recently got and spray painted the bin straw flower   yellow.  It took four coats of spray paint to cover the bin, but the end result is OK for now.  I may try to add a pattern to it with the left over colors of paint from my canvas project when I have time.

The bottom line is that for $3.87 I was able to make it look like a cute yellow container versus a old litter container.

Budget v. Binge - Yarn

I have two modes when purchasing yarn for projects: budget or binge.  Usually binging wins out and I end up with way more yarn than what I need.  I end up buying too much because I but it online.  One of my favorite resources for all things yarn is http://www.knitting-warehouse.com/.  When I get on the website to order the color and quantity I need for a new project I end up getting distracted by all the other colors available.  I think to myself, "Well, that's a really pretty color and I can always use that in another project."

Well, now I have ended up with 6 bins overflowing with various yarn - some colors I have never used.  So I still end up binging, but I have made myself practice discipline when it comes to new projects. 

Are there situations where it is actually good to binge?  The answer is yes.  I am constantly re-ordering my neutrals.  White, Cream, Tan, Camel, Light Brown fly out of my bins faster than anything in my hobby room.  I also make baby blankets so colors like the softest shade blues, greens, purples, pinks, and yellow are good to have on hand in larger quantities. Crochet is one of my most participated in hobbies so I do dedicate more of my hobby spending money and organization space to yarn.  I still order my neutrals and baby blanket colors online when I am running low and order large quantities of them.  I have been mid-project and lost steam to finish it because I needed more of a color.  However, I have started practicing budget when it comes to special projects and non-typical colors. 

One thing that really undermines my budget mentality is when I go to the store, they don't have the yarn I need, and I have to go online to order it.  My binge temptation is always online, but yours may be when you go in the store and see all the lovely colors and types of yarn.  Know your weaknesses and try to use avoidance as a method of dealing with it.  If you can be disciplined online then don't drive to the store or stay away from the yarn section when you are there for something else.  If online shopping makes it too easy for you to order en mas then drag yourself out to get supplies for the project that you are starting.  (Project planning helps with sticking to your budget - post on this topic coming next week.)  

When to budget - when your spending money is tight.  To help budget:

1. Plan out your project.
2. Look at your inventory - can you adjust your plan to use something you already have?
3. Shop around - don't just go to Michael's: look for prices online (don't forget to add shipping into the price/skein), think Walmart, and use coupons (http://www.michaels.com/ always has 40% coupons).
4. Only buy what you need.

When to Binge - when all three of the following are making the perfect storm:

1. When you have extra cash on hand.
2. When you have a need for yarn (some of you standard colors are low/gone in your inventory)
3. There is a sale on yarn.

So, keep in mind that planning, budgeting and discipline help eliminate overspending, overflowing mess, and unnecessary inventory.

Project Pictures - Finished Hobby Room

My new Ikea Storage

My brother re-purposes the old shelves to clean his room up.

Finally have room for my dress form in my hobby room.  

(You can see all the mess I still have to sort through on the side)

Lesson: "Let it Go"

Have you ever looked at a tarted up, wrinkly old lady in Juniors glittery pink tank top, skinny jeans, and a pair of heels her over bleached hair stiffly framing a botoxed face and thought to yourself...."just let it go already"?  Well, sometimes when it comes to hobbies and craft projects - specifically your own - you are just as blissfully unaware as that old lady. 

Oops...that's not an old lady....other stuff still applies.
(Photo credit: www.vh1.com) 

It is really hard to let projects go.  Every time you pass that half finished thing you think, "I am going to finish that...can't throw that away!"  Well, you need to let it go.  Let that bad boy get into the figurative age appropriate shapeless track suit and let it be comfortable in its sunset years.  
Go through your supplies and projects and organize them into something resembling the following piles:






This will be divided up into multiple postings...one per type of pile


1)  Haven't used in over 2 years.
2)  Less than 25% complete.

3) 50 % done.

4) Almost complete - just some finish work

5) Still in the planning stage

For pile #1:  Any craft that you haven't participated in for 2 years needs have some serious thought given towards it leaving your supply pile.  Ask yourself (and be honest and realistic) Am I going to use this stuff anymore?  If the answer is no - and it should be no if you haven't used something in over 2 years..  find someone to give it to or harvest it for parts. 
P.S. If your answer was yes you can apply to be on the show hoarders here.

For example:  I have a glaring pile of wrinkly old lady cleavage in the form of a paper making supplies, a pile of denim, and yards and yards of fringe.  I haven't used the paper making stuff since before I graduated high school  (over ten years ago).  The denim was when DIY project turning a pair of jeans into a cute funky skirt was popular - seams were split and then promptly shoved in a corner (at least 7 years ago).  And the yards of fringe I ordered for a great deal on eBay and when it came instead of the lovely silvery blue in the picture it was more of a garish royal blue.  (about 5 years ago)

Here's how I dealt with the items.    The pile of denim was irredeemable.  The denim was stained, bleached out. ripped apart, and let's face it the project is never going to happen.  I have long gone all establishment on my former inner-hippie.  I have no reason or inclination to dress in a multi-denim DIY skirt.   So I relegated these particular items into the rubbish bin and called it a day.

The fringe was harder to let go of.  While to most it probably would look like I murdered cousin it and hid him in the bottom shelf of my craft room.  I have an unnatural affinity towards fringe and just seeing that perfectly great pile of it that I had forgotten I even had brought back urges of holding on.  "I could use this for something"  I thought to myself.    And then I remembered why I was doing this to free up space in my room of shame.   So before I could hang on I put it on free cycle.  It isn't bad quality and I had managed to bleach it out to a pleasing bronze-beige color.  If someone else has something they can legitimately use it for then it shouldn't go to waste.

Finally I got to my paper making supplies.  I remembered fondly that I loved making paper.  I would use my mother's blender to make pulp....add in rose petals and lavender to sent the pages.  I used to make it all the time for homemade cards and little love notes.  I thought I should use this again.  (No one ever said letting go was easy!)  Then I remembered that the screens were broken years ago and all I had left of the stuff was what was in this box - bits of cut up construction paper, lavender so old it had no smell any more, and a disreputable moldy looking sponge.  The top of the box was pretty damaged but the base was good.  The stuff and lid joined the denim and I re purposed the base of the box to as a drawer organizer to hold my paints.

So for stuff you haven't used in over two years try to ask yourself the hard questions:
Do I need it?
Am I going to actually use this?
Is it usable?
Can someone else use it? ....and....
Are there things I can use in hobbies I actually still participate in?