Organizing Craft Work Area

Crafts and hobbies are a huge part of life for many people, but organizing a craft work area and keeping it organized and tidy can be a challenge. The challenge is even greater if you are working with limited space. Here are a few ideas for you --- choose the ones that work for your particular craft and the space you have available. You might even find your own ways to adapt and combine them.

Containers

A container that's big enough to contain everything you need for your craft is essential. Organizing a craft work area with lots of little boxes, jars and cans is an invitation to disaster. Some crafts materials don't take up too much space. For example, I love to do papier mache, and all my paste, paper, paints, brushes, glues, etc. fit in a box that's only about two feet square. But my mother used to sew, and I know from her experience that sewing can easily take over the whole room, so you'll definitely need a bigger container for that. Small cupboards, particularly those with drawers attached, can fill the bill nicely. Buy old ones at garage sales and paint or finish them attractively so that they fit with the rest of the furniture in your room.

If you need to store your materials in a different place from where you work, a container on wheels is an ideal solution. Those clear plastic drawer units you find in hardware or home supply stores are excellent and come in different sizes.

Shelving can also convert a small area of a room into a craft corner. Just make sure you put all your supplies in good looking containers that fit the shelves. Otherwise your craft area can clutter up the look of the entire room.

Where to put your craft work area

Again, this can depend on what your craft or hobby is. My husband builds big radio controlled airplanes, and he took over our entire spare bedroom. It's now called the "aviation room", and realistically you can't work on a hobby like that without its own dedicated space.

Some crafts take relatively little space and can be accommodated in the corner of a bedroom, living room, garage or basement. The space should be comfortable, or you'll never go there. Make sure you're not working in a drafty space, or where there's no light. If you use electrical equipment, you'll also need ready access to outlets and you don't want cords stretched across a room as an invitation for you and others to trip.

Here's an idea that's a container and a workspace combined: an armoire or a big spacious wardrobe. I know a woman who has a beautiful old wardrobe in her bedroom. She's refitted the inside with shelving, drawers and a pull-out table top that allows her to put together her beautiful beadwork as well as her handknit sweaters. Two hobbies, and no sign of the supplies for either one when the wardrobe door is closed!

The magic word for organizing a craft work area is containerize! For more on how to do it, check out Organizing in Boxes