Saturday, July 16, 2011

Organizing my Organizers

I may have mentioned a time or two that I value living an organized life. While it is surely true that I aspire to that, I clearly don't have a handle on what the definition of "organized" actually is. Case in point.

These four baskets under my theater chairs are not large. They measure 12x12x10 inches. 
Let's see what I found in the basket furthest to the left, from top to bottom:

Bliss. A blissful find. I had forgotten about it. I also have some corresponding yardage. Somewhere else.
Giddy. Huh. Funny that the top two "finds" would describe such a pleasant state of mind. Maybe there's a message in there somewhere.
Oz charm packs. I already have made a quilt using Oz. These might go in my etsy destash pile.

Wonderland with a pattern actually tucked in there. Good. A plan.

French General Rouenneries with a Schnibbles pattern. Cool. And Lumiere de Noel. Hmmm. Forgot I had that one.

Another Schnibbles pattern. Funny thing is that I have all my Schnibbles patterns carefully organized in a file box. Well, clearly not all of my Schnibbles patterns. And a packet of great I-Spy squares from a recent exchange. What are they doing in this basket?

Some Marti Michell templates. Why did I purchase them? What are they doing in here? But they do look useful.

A fat quarter stack that I remember purchasing at Sample Spree at Portland Quilt Market in 2008. I know I had a plan for these. I think it was a quiltalong. I don't remember which one. But then again, I didn't remember where I had stored this fabric either. Question: Do two unknowns equal an answer?

A random piece of Christmas fabric, and some random charm squares. I think these come from random fabric orders. Thanks, Randi!

I am not a "cat person." Which begs the question. Why do I have this fabric? And why is it in this basket? Again, two "unknowns" and no answer... However, "psycho cat" is pretty funny.

Ooh, look. Three patterns. Okay, I will probably never again make another Just Can't Cut It. But I like strip quilt with the zigzags in the middle, don't you?

And finally, the bottom of the basket. A grouping of fabrics. This could possibly explain the Just Can't Cut It pattern that was on top of these fabrics. But like I said. Never making that pattern again. I like the colors. And the embroidered tan-colored fabric is super cool.
Whew! That's a lot of stuff in that basket. In an organizational system that makes absolutely no sense to me. Has this ever happened to you? Do you have a good system? If so, do you make housecalls??

23 comments:

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Mrs Flying Blind... said... #

I would love to be this disorganised - it would be like Christmas and birthdays rolled into one every time you tidied up!

Staci said... #

LOL! Those Marti Mitchell templates are for the zig zag runner pattern. How do I know this? Cause I have both, in a box. . . somewhere. . . and probably not together. . .

DianeY said... #

At least your bins are accessible! My treasures are found when I find stuff that fell behind the bookcase because the top was piled so high it all slipped off!

Wacky Woman said... #

It all looks pretty good to me.

Sarah @ FairyFace Designs said... #

Lol!!! Well that was a pretty successful tidy up! I have been known to forget about fabric I owned but its always the mad stuff I buy on a whim and then don't like enough to use. But Bliss, Giddy? HOW did you forget those!!!

Grandma G said... #

Well, a power/internet outage can be a "good" thing? ;) Apparently your internet is back, so stuff all that back into the basket and go catch up on your blog reading or something instead! ;)

Unknown said... #

like finding money in the couch....

Carla said... #

Wowsers! Wonder what's in the other three baskets?! More fun stuff , I bet!! Love your theater seats, btw!

felicity said... #

I'm seriously envying your Wonderland LC. Nice results of your tidying!! My "system" gets disrupted when I shove things where they don't go (rude!) and then they're not where they should logically be when I want them.

The Luedtke Family said... #

The cat fabric found a cozy place to snooze. The I Spy fabric thought it was in an I spy basket. "I spy something that . . . ". The Bliss, Giddy, Oz, well, they may have belonged in the basket of patterns with fabric-already-planned. A few tag-alongs in an organized basket sounds good to me. Anyway, a pleasant way to spend part of your day!

Amelia said... #

Some fantastic finds in there :)
I really wish I was organised .... if you find some super organised people that make housecalls, please send them my way!!

Terriaw said... #

You have Bliss forgotten about in your stash? What a great find! Good for you for getting your stash organized! It's going to feel so great to have everything sorted and to have an inventory of what's in those organizers.

Sooz said... #

I love this post. I have a couple of similarly "organized" baskets. I even think Bliss and Giddy are on the top, too. have fun with the other three!

Samantha said... #

As I was reading your post I just kept thinking "BONUS!" LOL!! That's what I say whenever I try to "organize" my bins of "stuff", then I get sidetracked by whatever I found and never make it to the bottom of the container. ;)

Sami

kcenya1950 said... #

That's so funny. I wish two unknowns really would make a known! That would make it so much easier, wouldn't it?

Jenny in Texas said... #

Okay, I'm curious... what makes you want to avoid Just Can't Cut It? I have been given this pattern and was considering using it... what deep, dark secrets about it should I know ahead of time?

Nini said... #

I'd get distracted halfway through and start looking for patterns for the fun finds! My organziational skills are even more lacking than yours...so no worries!

Deb said... #

As you may guess by the name of my blog the Cluttered Quilter...I too have difficulty with organizing things. BUT! I am making progress! I have found using large zip lock bags and creating my own "kits" when I have fabrics/patterns, then I "file" them in boxes/bins. That way, I can find them again. They aren't "lost" in a shopping bags--my previous system!
Deb
clutteredquilter.blogspot.com

Beezus said... #

I THINK I have finally come up with a system that works for me -- I've only been using it for a few short months, so it's really too early to tell if it will continue to serve my needs (or bad habits) long-term.

Since we were getting our house ready to sell, I knew I needed something that looked neat and organized, plus would go with the decor in our spare bedroom, which I had painted a nice cheery lime green before I realized we were going to be moving! So I went to Hobby Lobby and I bought several white photo storage boxes, and I put different projects in them, and I took index cards and labeled them (photoboxes are very handy with that cute little metal thingy on the front to hold the label!). For my special project that I wanted to keep sort of separate, I bought a different color photo storage box, so that I know whenever I find another red fabric to go with my someday Dear Jane quilt, it goes straight into that box. Now, what happens when that box gets full remains to be seen. But with a little tweaking, I've been very happy. Oh, and it's important for me to have covered containers, since I have two dogs and their hair gets everywhere. :)

However, I must admit, I liked the nice little surprises that you "found" just by looking through a basket. Sort of like a time capsule from another day, no? ;)

Mama Pea said... #

Oh, God. This made me laugh so hard. Your thought process sounds just like mine when I'm going through some of my stash. I love this post! Your stuff looks pretty darn organized to me. My stuff's overflowing!

Amanda Jean said... #

I was just gonna pipe in and say, yes! I love to organize fabric and twist my arm! I'd happily make a house call. However! I realized you actually saw my craft room. And thus I have no valid or truthful point to offer.

If you EVER want to destash the French general rounerries (or however the heck you spell that) Id be first in line to buy it from you. I still can't believe I didn't buy it when I had the chance! (but no pressure, really!!!)

Connie Kresin Campbell said... #

It was fun to look through your bins and isn't it amazing what we have to work with and keep buying more? I love that kitty fabric, sooooo cute! I try to be organized and have one shelf for charms/layer/jelly rolls unless I specifically know what I want to make with them. Then I use 1 gallon ziplocs and store under my cutting table. If I put them in a drawer I'll forget all about them.

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