Monday, March 8, 2010

{Monday: Mise en Place (Organization)} -- O, Scrap!

"O, scrap" is right!

Last week, it occurred to me that my scrap bin was overwhelming my desk space. I'd also purchased a two-drawer filing cart from Costco that I'd been intending to put together so that I'd have an organized space for my scraps. A project was born...
The bin that you see on the lower left of this photograph was my scrap bin. When I teach classes, I always prep a few extras of each card, so there were a number of zippered plastic bags with left-overs. You can see a huge stack of those left-overs below:
Here's one drawer with each Stampin' Up! color punched (using the Word Slot punch) and adhered to the file folder tab. I have one drawer with Earth Elements and Bold Brights and the other with Soft Subtles and Rich Regals. The Neutrals were divided between the fronts of both drawers. As you can see from the photo below, I found *A LOT* of Whisper White and Very Vanilla scraps. I have so many of each that I've actually moved some of each to a box to save for when this supply is (eventually!) depleted.
It's weird to admit, but now that the scraps are organized, I feel like I can be more creative. I didn't realize how much the messy desk was distracting me. In fact, the top of this filing cart allowed me space to lay out the bulk of my paper punches. No more fishing around for the one I need; I can find it at a glance!


Anyone who knows me will attest that I am severely organizationally-challenged. I'm a student of organization, but it's something I've always struggled with and something I'm always working to improve. Stay tuned for further posts on the evolution of my studio. "Mise en place" is French for "Everything in its place," so that's my motto. When you see a post with "Mise en Place" as part of the title, know that it's a post about organization...


I've also just "shot" my first video of a project and I'm working on cleaning it up to post. I'm still working out the bugs, but I think videos will be fun additions!


Please email me with questions or issues of organization that you would like to see discussed here. Better yet, email me with ideas (and photos!) of organizational victories... Share your know-how!


Thanks for the visit! I'm excited to post my first video (last night inspired me). "I'd like to thank the Academy..."

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