Organizing

I rarely get the urge to clean or organize, but this week I took a look at my pattern stash and realised something had to change. I don't really have a lot of space for sewing, definitely not compared to how much fabric I have. Most of the fabric I plan to use soon is stored in two plastic bins that have been overflowing for months, and all the rest (lining and muslin fabrics, remnants, gifted things without a designated purpose) takes up a small cupboard in the hallway. I also have one large plastic bin for patterns, something that should work out in theory. But months of taking stuff out and putting it back in left the bin looking like this:

 Yeah, that's bad. But the inside is worse:

That's what you get when you start drafting patterns (so no envelopes) and just toss them into a box because you haven't thought of a way to keep them organized. I had been thinking about this issue, and knowing myself, I knew it had to be something I could store quickly because I'm LAZY when it comes to cleaning up. I had used flimsy plastic sleeves before because they were there, but they just kept sliding all over the place and fitting all the pattern pieces inside was almost as fiddly as pattern envelopes. So on a trip to the art supply store, I decided to take a look at the office supplies and find an alternative.

Tadaa! I found these cardboard folders for absolutely no money, and figured they'd be perfect. I could write anything on the front or even make a sketch of the garment, and they were large enough to keep a load of pieces. So after an hour or two of unloading this bin, sorting loose pieces and storing I was left with this:

Phew, that's better. I've got a heap of folders with self-drafted or pdf-printed patterns on one side, and extra folders, patterns with envelopes and sewing magazines on the other. This actually feels like a way of storing things even I might keep up!

Now on to the fabric...