January Organizing

So, judging by the displays in the local stores, I am supposed to organize my household in January. At the local Wal-Mart, aisles and aisles of Christmas stuff have been replaced by aisles of Rubbermaid bins, tubs, and containers of every shape and size. Okay, I’m good with that. My knitting life could always use some organization. (Plus, I’m always looking for a reason to procrastinate when there is real work to be done).

First off, I found these great little stacking containers for the small stuff – yarn leftovers, labels, dpns, and so on. This was a great way to clean off my desk.

But what has been a really wonderful find is these containers. I bought these at Canadian Tire:

Each container holds everything needed for each of my design projects that are on the go right now. I always have more than one design on the go and sometimes that makes it hard to focus. I get nothing done because I just don’t know where to start, what to work on, or I can’t remember where I was going with a particular idea. Everything that goes with each design project is now in the container – swatches, needles, yarn, sketches, charts, notes, yarn labels, samples, … everything. And if I leave them out on the floor of my office, they are always visually right in front of me. I can choose which project I feel like working on and everything is right there. I really love being able to see all my projects spread out in front of me. But I can stack them and put them away when necessary.

For my regular knitting (not original design work, but my just-for-fun knitting) I now have these great bags from Knit Picks. I highly recommend these project bags. They zip closed which keeps the cats from getting into them – very important in my house. They are clear so I can see (and more importantly, remember) what’s in the bag. They come in 3 sizes for various sized projects. This is my new favourite knitting thing!

Okay, now that everything is organized, I guess there is no reason not to get back to work. I hope I have inspired you to get organized too – happy new year!

Michelle