For the New Year

My resolution for this coming year has always been to organize what I affectionately call "The Black Hole" or... my sewing closet.  It's a smallish walk-in closet.  It's barely big enough to turn around in it, but it's fairly deep.  And just the right size for storing away fabric and supplies.  Now I'm 6'0, and the closet is almost piled willy-nilly up to my shoulders.  At least at the front.  There's about 20 years of bits and pieces of fabric in there.  Once something goes in there, there's no guarantee that I'll ever find it again.  And I've had enough with not being able to find anything.  And since apparently after Christmas sales are really plastic storage bin sales, now is the time to do it!  I'm going to need a bit more for my ever-growing pattern collection, and I need one more for flannels... and maybe some smaller ones for miscellaneous notions.  But I think this is a good start! 

Yeah, it's only 10 bins... and medium sized-ones at that.  And I accidentally got the wrong size lid for two of them, so I'll be going back to Target to exchange them.  Each bin is labeled with either a color or a material.  I mean, I have lots and lots of flannel, fleece, and denim, so they get their own bins.  Most of what I sew with otherwise is cotton or cotton/poly.  I should also have one for knits (sigh)  and one for lace and one for elastic.  The latter two don't need to be as big, though.  I already have a button box a scrap bin, and ribbon racks, so perhaps I should get a bias tape/piping bin, too.  And maybe a small one for zippers.  I am going to be able to find things when I need them this year!  And since we're doing a bit of moving--I'll still be on Granny Lane, but we have a pest problem that requires moving a lot of our stuff out so it can be taken care of, I have to pack it all anyway.  I might as well use the opportunity to make it so I can find things later!

I guess separating it into colors is a quilters' thing, but I do make quilts upon occasion, and I tend to dress the girls in bright colors, so it'll make locating the fabric I want a lot easier.  I don't have a dedicated sewing room.  The closet and my bedroom is as close as I get, and I do most of my actual sewing in the living room for the company.

Happy New Years', y'all.  And here's to a better organized new year!