Posted on by shizzle-design

Overwhelmed by Clutter in Your Workshop?

There’s a lot of folks in blogland writing about the joys of painting and refurbishing furniture.  Most of the posts I read portray beautiful photographs of furniture and rooms that could be pulled straight out of a design magazine.

I love painting furniture, but I find it a constant struggle to organize all the revolving clutter eh-hem, furniture & supplies.  I’m guessing, I’m not the only one.  If you’re a project oriented type of person, you probably find yourself in a mess from time to time.

It seems to creep up on you like a tsunami and before you realize it, your whole world is turned upside down.  I’ll be the first to admit I’m the source of most of the messes in our home.  Many of them are related to the furniture painting business I started last year.  There is always an array of furniture taking up valuable space in our garage.

My VERY tiny workshop is bursting at the seams.  I have such a limited amount of space I can barely turn around.  Did I mention I’m severely ADHD?

My time is divided between hunting for furniture, painting pieces for the space I rent at the store, painting custom furniture for clients at home, hauling things to the store, creating price tags, printing labels, photographing furniture, re-sizing and downloading photos, writing blog posts, shipping paint, scheduling jobs, ordering supplies, paying bills, answering phone calls, emails and blog replies…. and that doesn’t even account for my responsibilities as a wife and mother of young ones.

My days start before the sun comes up and I work till I collapse, sometimes into the wee hours of the next morning.  Because I’m so exhausted at the end of the day, I end up  putting away only what I absolutely have to which means I wake up to a mountain a little bit larger than it was the day before.

A year ago, I never expected entering a few pieces of furniture in Holland’s Art in the Park would evolve into such a multi-faceted business.  Because everything I do is self taught, I’ve been in survival mode to get through each day.  
Last week a few good friends stepped in to help.  One of my friends bought me see through containers and organized all my small supplies for my birthday present.  Another one volunteered her husband to build & install shelving and a workbench turning my chaos into a functional workshop and one more stopped by the next day to keep me on track and help me put back and organize all the supplies I use on a daily basis. 
I didn’t get any photos while Tim and I were doing the built in’s because I was running the miter saw and using a really cool nail gun which has now been added to my wish list:).  
Lisa however shot pictures before, during and after our day of organizing.  She wrote a post about it on her blog True Hope and a Future.  Stop by Lisa’s blog to see what we accomplished here. 
Finding God and Learning from Him
 in the Events of Everyday Life

I’m busy the rest of the week with scheduled paint jobs and am doing a demo for CeCe Caldwell Paint & Wax at Not So Shabby tomorrow morning so I’ll have to wait a bit to finish the transformation of my workshop, but the organization is already making a huge difference in my ability to be more productive.  
So… grab a note pad, a sheet of graph paper and a fresh pair of eyes and make a list of what you need to make your workshop more organized; you’ll be happy to did.
Many mahalos to Kami and Tim, Beth, Lisa and Kalei for all your help and support as I work through the growing pains of having my own business!  I couldn’t have done it without you!!

I have a lot of projects in the works and some fabulous pieces patiently waiting their turn,  let me know if there is something you’re looking for or if you have a piece of furniture you would like painted. 


Linking up to these Great Parties!
Sisters of the Wild West – Sunday Link Party
1929 Charmer – Sunday’s Best Party
Metamorphasis Monday – Between Naps on the Porch
Vintage Inspiration Friday – Common Ground
Thanx for stopping by ~ a hui hou!

8 Replies to “Overwhelmed by Clutter in Your Workshop?”

  2. Shelly,
    You totally described my life and workshop! I have maxed out every square inch of it and it’s a disorganized mess because I haven’t had the time to really get in there and get it done right. I’ve been making some small attempt the last few weeks, but the progress has been slow. How wonderful that you have such great friends who will come give you a hand!! I’m thrilled that everything is going to well for you!!! :0)

    Hey – you don’t have Knick of Time Tuesday on your list! You better keep sharing there or I’ll hunt you down!

    Love & Blessings,
    Angie @ Knick of Time

    Reply

  4. I posted a similar post recently about my craft room & carport! I know exactly what you are talking about as I will get it cleaned up and the next day it starts piling up again. Thanks for being honest makes me feel better about my chaos. lol

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  6. Ok….do your friends hire out, Shelly….?? lol! You should see my disasterous basement (workshop)!!! Yikes! Thank goodness that I moved some of my clutter out and into my new booth at Doster Emporium. I can at least make my way around my basement again….a little. hehehe! I feel your pain! 🙂 I was wondering if you knew Michelle from Emerald Cove Jewelry (blog)? She’s a pretty regular visitor to Not So Shabby I believe!

    xoxo laurie

    Reply

  8. I know this all to well. When I first moved into my home 10 years ago, I actually parked in my garage. That has since changed and their are so many pieces of furniture waiting patiently for their turn:)

    Reply

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