Organizers R Us

"Early in my career I felt that organization would destroy my creativity. Whereas now, I feel the opposite. Discipline is the concrete that allows you to be creative." ~ Verna Gibson

"Hello, Disorganized Anonymous. My name is Erin. I have a clutter addiction, and I need help."

Step one is admitting that you have a problem. I admit that I am the most disorganized person I know.

View from the hallway looking in. Yes. Those are taped bits of paper, bags in boxes on top of more boxes, and my childhood desk chair for comfy internet-wrangling.

I know. You will tell me that your studio or your office looks much the same as mine. Let's start a 12 step program for beadaholics, shall we?

I used to tell my mother "Creative minds are rarely tidy" when told to clean my room. {You can imagine how well that went over.}

If that is true, then I must be brimming with creativity. ;-)

Except when the untidiness takes over, like now, there is little in the way of creative energy. You know you have the perfect bead, but you can't find it...sound familiar? It saps my energy and makes me cringe to be in my space.

The other side of the room. Random shelves that need some help, bakers rack with all my boxes (and my attempt to paint in the style of Van Gogh behind my muse 'Lola' from one of my favorite local artists Jeanne Weymouth...what you can't see are the stack of boxes in front of this towering shelf filled with who knows what!

I am working on building a studio from the ground up...and I know that I am incredibly lucky that I have a space that is dedicated to me and my late night insanity sessions {this is my 9p to midnight job...anyone else with me on this one?}. When we bought this new house there was a room in the basement, no door, but a big opening and we weren't sure what it was used for. Apparently there was some sort of treadmill in it {whatever that is.}

The other table...with 'room' for stamping, liver of sulphuring, a display from a local art show, a tower of tiny drawers that I have no idea what is in them (oh! I bought myself a Dymo label maker! Should be fun!). And all those envelopes...the reminder that I have purchased a sh*tload of art beads that are still in their original packaging...because I have no place to stash them!

I knew that this was the house for us when my husband immediately said that this would be a great studio space, and he could envision french doors and counter space. That is when I knew that this was the one if HE was envisioning the perfect space for me! So we ripped out the ugly stained carpeting in there and had a hard surface installed. That is as far as we got. {We still need to sell our previous house. I am ready to bury St Joseph upside down in the backyard to make it happen.} I had a friend who owns a local cabinet store come in to give me some ideas, all of which cost a small fortune that I don't have. So now I have three folding tables, a baker's rack and two bookcases.

This is the small space that I work on in this big room right now. I think I need to fire the maid ;-)

But the {dis}organization monster is killing me.

Lack of organization + Lack of motivation = Lack of jewelry to sell

I had this brilliant idea in my last studio to have my friend who manages a local heating/cooling place put sheet metal the length of one wall with magnetic tins to hold things like clasps and wire and to use it as an inspiration wall that is changeable. It worked well in the other studio, so I know it will work well here. I can't wait to put up my wall o' metal again {hubby pointed out that I should just put it in...it can always be moved up or down on the wall when the cabinets and countertops get installed...someday}.

Really the crux of my {dis}organization problem is what to do with all the beads. Shelves are nice for books and such but what I needed to have something to sort out my beads and components. Currently I have a boat load of Snapware containers, each with a different sort of bead, stacked in towers, containing baggies within baggies within baggies... the plastic is out of control! I have toyed with tackle boxes and tool drawer towers, but it just seemed to never be enough.

Then I remembered the post that the lovely Miss Lorelei gave on her studio redo and she had scored a printer's cabinet from an antique store. This is the kind with shallow drawers containing little partitions that was used to hold fonts of every style back in the turn of the century.

I hopped on eBay and did a quick search. I was excited to find that there was an auction about to end for the most perfectly preserved antique Hamilton printer's cabinet...and it was located right here in Wisconsin. And they wouldn't ship it because it is too big. The winner {or buyer, as my husband reminds me} would have to come and pick it up.

My new baby.... I call him 'Hamilton.' He is tall, dark and handsome... and a whiz at keeping things straight! He is a level headed and sturdy young-old man that allows me to keep my favorite books nearby (like Bead Trends March issue and Totally Twisted by Kerry Bogert)...or maybe I will start preaching from this pulpit!

Now, I live smack dab in the middle of Wisconsin. Put your finger in the center and there I'll be. We always say that we live 2-3 hours from anywhere.

I showed my darling husband and he quickly told me to go for it.

That was all the arm twisting I needed.

I should have waited until the last hour of the bidding to start. If I had, I likely would have won with a few extra dollars in my pocket. But I couldn't stop myself.

I jumped in. I placed a bid. And then my heart started beating faster. My breathing became more shallow. I wanted this bad. I watched as someone tried to outbid me, but with 58 minutes and 46 seconds to go I was in the lead.

I watched the minutes tick down.

And then I got the notice that I won.

Woohoo!

I got in contact with the seller right away who told me that they had this cabinet for years, but could never figure out what to do with it. She is excited that I am excited by this awesome find. Now we are making the arrangements to get the cabinet back to the house. And today, almost three weeks since I paid for it, I drove 3 hours each way to pick up my cabinet in Emerald, WI. {The luck of the Irish must have been with me.}

I had to share with my Facebook friends immediately. Now I have never been the envy of anyone, but I felt it with this score! Someone asked how old this cabinet is. So that set me off on a quest for information. Here is what I found:
The Hamilton Manufacturing Company established in 1881 made quality cabinets and other wood products like pails in Two Rivers, WI. They say that Hamilton's case products are "known in every civilised nation of the world wherever the printing press has made material progress." Before this time, there apparently were no furniture makers catering to the printing world. Around 1905 Hamilton published a very complete catalog that I found on the internet in its entirety. They were the standard in printer's cabinets and could be found worldwide. They made everything, including the wood block letters that fit in the drawers. I found one cabinet that seems similar to mine called a Wisconsin Cabinet. With 21 drawers and a slanted top for working on (if you find one with a flat top, they made those as well, more for storage than actual work surface), they touted that these would take up less space, resulting in less rent, and increased work space for more men to set the type.

Some of the largest ones were back to back and probably the size of my entire studio. This one will be just right. I find it interesting that the Wisconsin Case that I am getting was sold in 1905 for about $18. I paid a lot more than that ;-) but I think that I made the right decision to not let this one go. I find it exciting that not only will I have a perfect organization tool, but I will be touching and preserving a piece of history. I am a bit embarrassed to have shown you the horrendous state of my studio, but this is reality. I am working to make it more functional and comfortable and a place where I can invite clients in one day. I will keep you apprised of my progress on creating the studio of my dreams. What is your best organizing tip? Do you alphabetize your spices? group like things together? buy in bulk and then transfer to smaller plastic containers? Do you have a certain type of organizing container that works well for you? Is there an disorganization monster in your life? If so, what is it and how do you plan to slay it? Do tell! Check It Out::Life Organizers P.S. Tomorrow is the last day to enter the March Inspired by...Dr Seuss challenge! The winner of the book charm from the lovely Esther in France will be announced on April 1st... no foolin'! Enjoy the day!