Just Picture It: 2013 De-Cluttering Project #1

One of my BIGGEST urges of the New Year was to organize, clean, purge unused items, and organize more. Over the past 6-months or so of total craziness, one of the main things that we let go of was our sense of order in our apartment, so when January rolled around, I realized that I could no longer live in such a hectic environment. Therefore, last weekend, Ben and I set out on a trek to the one-and-only, Saturday family furniture & home-organization destination, Ikea (Phew! That place will stress. you. out.). Our main focus? SHELVING. We need more of it. In fact, if I could have it my way, almost every wall in our apartment would be covered in shelving, so that we could get everything off of the floors and into little labeled bins and categorized sections ;) But, since that isn't reality, I had to settle with buying enough shelving to cover two of our walls, which we have now begun to assemble and organize at home.

So obviously, today I wanted to give you a sneak peek into my first organization project: my painting studio (our "den" that also doubles as Ben's closet). It has been absolutely fabulous to have this small creative space in our home, and when I first set it up, I figured that a little corner of the room would do. However, seeing as though my creative process involves sprawling out, jumping from one thing to the next (at a somewhat frenetic pace), and leaving wreckage in the dust, I should have known better. As I've worked in the room for 1.5 years, it's become more and more chaotic, messy, and disorganized. I need more space. Thus, the following room makeover. 

It's still an artist's studio (meaning that it's never going to be PERFECTLY organized, and will always have a little bit of hectic clutter), but everything is a whole lot easier to get to, find, and thus, use...

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Yes, you can see that poor Ben has been along for the ride. The best part? When I build an entire shelving unit, and then he comes over at the *very* end to hand me the shelves as I put them into the unit. He likes to feel like he's helping--but only at the absolute last-minute ;)

My next project? Our "dining area"/my office/Ben's "telework" office/kitchen spillover area (yes, that has all become the same room). It will definitely be a challenge and I'll post pics as soon as I've finished (hopefully this weekend)!

How can you de-clutter your life, your living space, or your mind in 2013? I hope that you find a way and that it brings you just as much satisfaction as it is bringing me. There's just something about the New Year that calls for a cleansing, isn't there?

Namaste,
Mary Catherine