How to Organize and Arrange a Craft Room with the Space you Have Available.

Organizing a Craft Room

Organizing a craft room can be a fun and rewarding project, as it helps create a productive and inspiring space for creative activities. Most of us enjoy some sort of crafting whether it’s sewing, quilting, scrapbooking or doing projects with the kids.

The biggest challenge doesn’t seem to be figuring out how to make the crafts, or finding the supplies, or even finding the time to craft.

The biggest challenge is organizing craft materials in some reasonable way in a reasonable space so your supplies and tools can be found when needed and so that they don’t take over the available space throughout house.

Are you somebody who has a sewing machine in the family room, patterns on the dining room table and craft books in the living room? Knowing how to organize does not necessarily make one organized.

Start making your plan for organizing, and now let’s get to work!

A Place to Craft

Assess the layout of the space you will have to use as the crafting area and identify the best areas for different types of activities. Keep frequently used items within easy reach, and, if possible, designate specific areas for different crafts.

Crafting supplies, no matter what they are, need to be kept in one area. Of course the best idea is to have a room of your own. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? A room to do exactly what you want, when you want and a place to corral the mess.

If a whole room isn’t possible, how about part of a room? Maybe you have a home office where you can set up a small space. Maybe you have a basement or rec room with an area to corner off for your crafting area?

If you are going to have to share a space until one of the kids leave the nest, you can partition your area off with bookshelves, partitions, folding screens, maybe even hanging one of the quilts you made as a separator?

Storage Areas

When you’ve figured out where to set up shop, the next step is organized storage. Have you ever spent too much time looking for your special craft scissors only to find them in the junk drawer?

For the space you end up with, find the type of storage containers that will work best for you. It might be plastic storage bins, baskets, bookshelves, an old dresser, shelving, old jars with lids, or a small file cabinet for craft papers.

Put the items you use most in the more accessible areas that are easy to reach, and the least used items on the top shelf or the bottom drawer or behind another item.

• Put fabrics in a container, your glue gun and glue in a basket on the shelf. Use another container for yarn and you can put knitting needles in an old mason jar on a shelf.
• Utilize vertical space by installing shelves or pegboards to hang tools, scissors, ribbons, and other supplies. This helps keep your work surfaces clear.
• The best organizer is one that lets you see what is inside it. It won’t help you one bit if things are put in shoe boxes and you have to open up the lid just to see what’s in it. Organizer drawers come in several sizes so you can get as many drawers as you need in sizes that make sense for you.
• If possible, use color-coded storage bins and containers to visually organize different types of materials. This can make finding items more intuitive. Maybe green for Christmas crafts, yellow for Easter crafts, red for Valentine crafts and so on.
• Label containers and shelves to help you quickly find what you need. Clear labels ensure that you don’t waste time searching for supplies.

Arranging the Craft Room

Now that you have figured out the type of storage you’ll be using, decide how you’d like to arrange your space.

There are only a few additional items you’ll need besides storage. A table, good chairs, good lighting and depending on the crafts you do, a magnifying glass such as the kind that clamps to the table. The table size will again depend on the space you have. Maybe you will want a table or a desk with drawers or just a table where you can store your craft items under it in an organized manner.

• Arrange furniture in a way that maximizes the use of space. If possible, position your worktable near a window for natural light.
• Use cable organizers or clips to manage cords from electronic tools like sewing machines or cutting machines.
• Add personal touches such as artwork, decorative items, and plants to create an inviting and motivating atmosphere.

Maintaining Organization

Find a place for everything and “everything in its place.” When you use something, put it back in the same place.

Periodically review your organization system to ensure it’s still working for you. Adjust as needed based on changes in your crafting habits.

Essentials of Crafting

Table

Make sure you have a good work table(s) and that it suits a multiple array of crafts, you don’t want to be looking up at the sewing machine and bending too low for other crafts.

If you have a room dedicated as a craft room, you can have more than one table for the different crafts you do. If you have kids that enjoy crafts, keep a folding table and chairs for them.

For folks that don’t have a lot of space, you can get a clever hideaway craft table. It has several drawers to store things in, and the whole table folds down into a very small space when you are not using it. It’s on rollers so you can move it where you need to, easily.

Lighting

Proper lighting is important, besides the overhead light, have a good lamp close to you, this is a must especially so you can thread a needle. It’s nice if you have windows. Crafting with a view is pleasant and natural light is a plus.

Clean Up After Yourself

Don’t leave yourself a giant mess, cleaning up after yourself is not just for the kids. Your craft area should be your place to retreat, enjoy it.

Remember, a well-organized craft room is setting up a system that suits your crafting style and habits. It might take some trial and error to find the perfect setup that works for you, but the effort will be well worth it in the long run.