organization

ok, so i want to jabber about organization a bit... i LOVE organization. i love the accessories and the toys. i love the magazines. i love the organization gadgets. i love spaces that are organized and that allow for organization. and yet,ironically, i am really not organized. well, i *am* organized in the sense that i almost always know where something is, and when i'm supposed to be where. but, i'm *not* organized in regards to "a place for everything, and everything in it's place". more often than not, my studio's a mess. so, my thoughts and ramblings will focus on that latter aspect of organization.

i mentioned earlier that last night i organized all of my paper scraps. i've decided to organize patterned paper by manufacturer instead of by color, because i'm familiar with the manufacturers of the papers i buy. i hate, hate, hate separating coordinating patterns, putting one pattern in the red, because it's more red than green, and putting the other in green because it's more green than red. that just makes me nuts; and yet, if i store them together, *because* they coordinate, i throw off my whole ROYGBIV paper storage system. so, anyway. first the scraps, later i'll get to re-organizing the full-size sheets.

in addition to organizing scraps, i weeded out the itty-bitty pieces of cardstock that - let's face it - will *never* get used. can't believe how much went in the recycle bin. (can't believe how much i tried to hang onto. crazy girl.)

i also need to use up some product that's just been sitting around for a while, with good intentions, namely those terribly cute huge Maya Road bottle caps. i want to make them into 3-D magnets, suspending stuff in them with glaze but a) i don't know what to use in them, and b) i'm out of glaze.

i also need to purge a little more. am getting ready to list a bunch of scrapbook albums on ebay... will be nice to clear up some room with those... and i know there are some marblez and other little bits of interesting things that can be given a good home by someone else...

and have i mentioned yet that i'm thinking about switching to the American Crafts 3-ring binders? they're really cool, and i love the idea of using one type of album for everything. they can hold a HUGE quantity of pages. much easier than fighting with post-bounds.

i'm taking next monday off from work for no reason other than to go to ikea. i dread going on weekends and evenings, because it's always packed, but i think a weekday afternoon, with hubby in tow, will be perfectly tolerable. on my list of organizational goodies to bring home are:

• these awesome burken bottles for my silk flowers (and a few of their bigger brothers for the kitchen)
  
• new brackets for my shelves (looks like i might have to paint them a true white though)
  
• i'm thinking about assembling my own computer desk with these legs, and this tabletop - fairly close to my "dream desk"... though not quite...
  
• i'm really digging these mag holders (in pink of course!)
  
• perhaps a set of these fun little drawers
  
• and maybe a couple of these shallow "spice rack" shelves, because they're just perfect for little stuff
  
• i've got the hots for this rolling cart, even though i don't need it (it comes in green!).

i'm also in need of a few things for the living room and kitchen. even though the stuff i actually need adds up to about $50, i know it's naive to think that i can exit the store for less than $100. i guess we'll see.

ok, so that was less about organization and more about shopping. but let me say this much: one's ability to get and remain organized has far less to do with what organizational toys, gadgets and accessories one has, and has far more to do with the effort one invests in getting and remaining organized.

in otherwords, this stuff won't keep me more organized. i have to *use* the stuff to keep organized. get it?

okay, that's all. :)