It's going to get worse before it gets better...

One of the many things I love about my house is the craft room. I am astounded by the amount of stuff I have that's craft related: rubber stamps, package upon package of fabric, paper, beads, yarn, stuff! The picture below is indicative of my current storage technique:

You'll notice the unit under the windows, the two tall wooden shelves, the stack of crates, and the small drawer unit. And this is only one side of the room. There's more like that. And every piece is full.

So in an attempt to create order out of chaos and take advantage of my 9' ceilings, thanks to the Container Store, their sale on Elfa shelving, and the generosity of my mother, we have a plan!

This whole wall between the windows will become shelves and drawers. I have all of the materials except for one shelf which I can pick up next week. The whole thing requires assembly, of course, but the only thing that requres skill and power tools is hanging the strip just below the ceiling that all of the shelves will hang from. After that, the shelves and drawer units will go up quickly.

It will look something like this, minus the green wall, and taking into account the radiator that juts out inconveniently into the space:

But of course it's not really that easy. The room is full of stuff, and the wall of future shelves has that charming array of pieces already there. I've created only the rudiments of a master plan to deal with this all.

The first step for me was dismantling my old desk in the corner, the file cabinets and desk top I've had since junior high, and pushing the table that was in the center of the room into the corner. The file cabinets have to go. They're bent and have drawers that hate to open. Their contents will go in the new unit. I'll save the desk top and possibly get some new legs for it (from Ikea?) to use as an extra work space/cutting table when needed. Here's the desk on its way to not existing:

I did not photograph the pile of fabric bags that were under the desk, though you can see some of them above. The next step is to move the tall wooden shelves that are currently against the key wall elsewhere, and to get help hanging that top track. Stay tuned for progress updates. and let me know if you feel like constructing drawers some time!