A Solution for Craft Supply Organizational Chaos (My Ugly Confession)

This post brought to you by The Original Scrapbox.

Today's alternate title is "A Tale of Two Rooms." I've been biting my fingernails over writing this post. Like any of you, I hate feeling judged. But today I'm taking a risk and giving you a one hundred percent real look at two rooms in my house, in hopes that I'm not alone and some of you also struggle with keeping craft clutter (or any clutter) in check. Confession: my craft supplies are in complete chaos. Today is about showing you my problem areas and coming up with an organizing solution with The Original ScrapBox!

Have you ever seen the episode of Friends where Monica is forced to reveal her "secret closet"? The secret closet is an utter disaster and Monica is completely embarrassed when Chandler discovers her shame.

Yes, that's pretty much me today. 

This room used to be Natalie's nursery.

When Natalie moved into a larger room to share with her little sister, I had every intention of turning the old nursery into a guest room and craft area for myself. I stashed a few of my craft supplies along the wall, and even bought a few bins to store them in. 

Things went downhill from there. What started as "I'll just store a few crafty things here on the wall" turned into "Don't have a place for it? Toss it in THE ROOM." It was pure laziness; and after awhile, the craft mess became a swirling vortex of disarray. It was too overwhelming to even think about where to start getting it under control, and it took me forever to find any of the lovely supplies I'd received as part of various campaigns.

Seeing that positive pregnancy test a few months ago was a real wake-up call. I certainly couldn't let the baby sleep on a box of hot glue sticks, could I?

I've been planning my dream craft room for ages. I even started a Pinterest board dedicated to craft rooms.

In my dream craft room, things are:

• easy to find
• displayed neatly
• there are pretty pops of color for inspiration
• I have room to work!

It's so much fun to dream, but at some point you also have to embrace reality, look at your problem areas, and find a solution!

Natalie's old room needs to be a dedicated nursery for the new baby, so what could I do with all my crafty things? The answer for us was to use some space in our addition, which is currently a dedicated play space for the girls. Case in point:

Obviously, this room cleans up quickly with bins and a built-in unit for various play things (not pictured, on the other side of the room). But that photo is a pretty accurate shot of what the area looks like during the day while the kiddos are at play. It was time to find a way to combine mom's "play stuff" with kids' play stuff and create a space that all of us can enjoy together. 

With some help from The Original ScrapBox, I am excited to make this dream a reality!

If you haven't heard of ScrapBox, they make the most amazing craft storage units. The cool part is that they come in several different sizes to accommodate your space and lifestyle. My eyes were immediately drawn to the larger pieces.

The EZ View Desk has a clear top that allows you to see your supplies as you need them. It also allows for more than one configuration, making it customizable for your space. 

The SewingBox can house your sewing machine, fabric, and notions...and it provides a sturdy workspace!

The CraftBox can store your crafting supplies and keep them safely away from curious little hands. 

And, finally, the granddaddy of all craft storage units, The WorkBox. I chose this unit based upon the sheer amount of space to stockpile items. With bins and shelves, pouches and a fold-out work table, I'll be able to organize my creative supplies and have a dedicated workspace. 

I'll still need to go through my stash and scale down on things I don't need or use any more, but I can't tell you how excited I am to work with ScrapBox and finalize a solution for that chaos I created! 

To me, the beauty of The Original ScrapBox is that they offer products that can blend seamlessly into your existing decor. I needed a storage piece that wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb. Our addition can be seen plainly from the entry, so a big set of plastic shelves with baskets just wasn't going to cut it. The WorkBox comes in a variety of finishes, so I was able to choose one that would work with the room. With two growing girls and a baby on the way, I wanted to be able to craft alongside their playtime, and then close up shop without leaving a room full of paper, fabric, and glue everywhere.

As much as we'd all love a room completely dedicated to our crafting hobby, sometimes it's just not a possibility. The Original ScrapBox makes it that much easier to spend more time crafting and less time digging through piles. Keeping supplies organized in an attractive and sensible way is what sparks my creativity. I'm looking forward to having a space in which I can enjoy my hobby and my kids!

I hope you'll join me on my journey to a more organized space. My WorkBox will arrive in the next few weeks and I can't wait to show you more features!

Looking for ideas for your own craft space? The Original ScrapBox has a page full of inspiration. You can also connect with them on Facebook and Twitter. 

What does YOUR ideal craft space look like?

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments.



Disclosure: This is not a paid post, but I will receive product from The Original ScrapBox in exchange for an honest review.