Organizing a tiny craft space

Its no secret that my craft space is a desk in the corner of my small bedroom. A few weeks ago I was despairing at the amount of stuff littering my desk, I was running out of space to put things and for me, cluttered space=cluttered mind. It felt like my creativity was literally sapping out.

So I decided enough was enough and spent over a week sorting, organising and storing, trying to create more space for myself. It definitely wasn't easy but I did it! I now have a lot more room to work and find it much easier to find what I'm looking for! So if you have a small craft space that is overflowing and want to sort it out, here is what I did =)

• The first thing I did was decide where the main problem was. For me, it was my ribbon, I had reels and packs of the stuff everywhere! I also had large packs of scrapbook papers that were too big to fit on a shelf or in a draw. By identifying the main thing that is causing the clutter, you can look for a solution.
• This step took me ages but it was so worth it! I sorted through everything in my bedroom. Not just my craft stuff... Everything. I went through my wardrobe, my chest of drawers, my desk, my shelves, the boxes under my bed. Everything went in 3 piles, Keep, Bin or Charity Shop. During this step I realised that I hoard Birthday and Christmas cards... You can read about that here.
• Once that mammoth task was over, I removed the bin liners that were for going in the bin or to charity, then looked to see how much "new" space I had. I was thrilled, I now had 1 big drawer, 1 little drawer, 1 shelf in my wardrobe and 1 large box under my bed that were completely empty! 
• I found a place for everything that didn't yet have a home. Apart from my ribbon and scrapbook papers, I had a plan for them...  
• I enlisted the help of my Grandad to fix rails on the top compartment of a "double storage cube" I bought from Argos. Pics are below and the full post is here.

Before

After- Ribbon on rails and my big paper pads fit in the bottom!

So my craftroom/bedroom is finally sorted! I'm working hard to keep it that way! If you want to have a go at this too my top tips are:

• Use clear storage boxes and jars so that you can see what is inside
• Use files and labels to organise papers and documents
• Make the most of wall space, put up shelves
• Be creative!
• If you can't find the right storage DIY!

If you do this, let me know how you get on! =)

Hayley x