Reorganize your books, mags, and patterns...it's great!

[Betty J.]

As some of you know I have been reorganizing my work space to set up my new retirement micro-business as a fabric artist. In the process, I have been reorganizing and culling my books, magazines, and patterns. In the first place, when going through all the books and magazines I have collected over many years in order to move them from one room to another and get them more useful, I found all kinds of exciting and interesting things I had forgotten I had. In the second place, I ended up with a wonderfully organized professional library in which I have resources for design ideas, answering problems, information about the history of needlework and thimbles, and all kinds of fun things related to quilting and sewing, and patterns...many many patterns. And now they are organized so I can find them. I still have a little ways to go, but I have been so enchanted with the result that I think I will do this at least once every year.

I found that I had purchased four or five Dover coloring books more than once that I can give away, that I could just throw out a large number of magazines that then made room to properly order things, and I emptied a whole filing cabinet by culling my fashion and accessory patterns, which now stands empty for either some other use or patterns more closely fitting my new life.

The result is surprisingly wonderful and I encourage you to find time to do this for yourself if you have a large unruly collection. It will save you more time than it costs and it's kind of fun!

[Betty J.]

P.S. You have to make yourself throw out or give away those magazines and patterns and even books that don't fit your current plans or style any longer. I'm sure you have them and the relief of having things organized overwhelms the little pain of throwing things out.

[Dorothy V.]

Would you please expand your description of your "wonderfully organized professional library"? It has now been over 5 years since your post. How is your library working out?

I find that I save lots of great "for the future" projects, but have to search all my projects to find the one I want. I've thought of creating a directory, but it needs photos to be of real value. I know organizing my projects will take a while to accomplish, but I hesitate to start until I'm more comfortable with an organizational plan. Please help me get over the "buts". Thanks.

[Betty J.]

Would you please expand your description of your "wonderfully organized professional library"? It has now been over 5 years since your post. How is your library working out?

I find that I save lots of great "for the future" projects, but have to search all my projects to find the one I want. I've thought of creating a directory, but it needs photos to be of real value. I know organizing my projects will take a while to accomplish, but I hesitate to start until I'm more comfortable with an organizational plan. Please help me get over the "buts". Thanks.

Hi there, Actually it's been less than a year (I think you looked at when I joined TQS), but it is working great. My method isn't perfect and I have a very large collection, so I take a kind of easy going method. I have three floor-to-ceiling bookcases, which are attached to the wall at the top for safety, and four small filing cabinets. You may not need that much space if you have a smaller collection than I do of books, patterns, and magazines. First you reorganize your books...I have needlework history, how-to-do various needlework types, and design and drawing books. Give away the books you don't need or want to keep for other reasons.

Then you do your magazines: I don't have magazine holders or anything like that, I just lay my magazines on their sides and stack them by publication on the bookshelves (you could label the front of the bookcase shelf appropriately, which is something I have not gotten to yet). I looked through my magazines and found there were quite a few I only wanted one article out of. From these I removed the article I wanted, stapled the pages together, and put them in hanging folders in my filing cabinets, divided by types of projects. Then I threw out the rest in the recycle bin. Those magazines I didn't want anything from I gave away if I thought someone might get something out of them. This eliminated about three quarts of my magazines.

I have a very large collection of Dover Publication coloring books, which I laid on their side like the magazines in a stack.

Then I went through my fashion patterns and took out everything I know I will never need...this eliminated way more than half of my collection. And I put them into the filing cabinets by type with the large envelopes in the back sideways. I haven't done it yet, but I intend to put dividers of some sort between types of patterns.

Since I am trying to start up a micro-business, I have one of the filing cabinets reserved for business receipts and other information.

I hope this helps. Some people want a much more organized approach, but I just want to keep everything accessible with a general idea of where things are.

[Lotti D.]

I sorted through my mags to see where I have a special interest. Magazines that I want to keep are in binders, sorted by season, newest in front. This way if I want something eastery I know I look through the spring mags, for Xmas I obviously look at late fall/winter mags, etc.
One binder is dedicated to special how to's (fabric dying, special patching methods etc). One has paper piecing patterns. Etc. obviously the specialty binders generally contain only the relevant pages, unless a whole magazine is dedicated to a special method ( the German mags sometimes do that, especially patchwork professional).
Works well for me.
I've also started placing a label on the front of a mag where I write the page number of a project I find especially interesting, along with a few key words.
This binder would then also have a page in the front where I jot down this project, mag, and page number, so that I see these when I first open the binder...

[Dorothy V.]

Thank you both for your responses (and, yes Betty Jo, I did look at the join date). So far I've only separated the knitting from the quilting, etc. Don't know when I'll get to sub-dividing the quilting topics. I know if you two can, I can too. Thanks for the inspiration. Dot

[ANNE E.]

I moved in 2004 and had so many boxes I didn't where to put all the stuff, I had kept my Mothers STUFF, my M.I.L STUFF and my B.I.L Stuff ( dishes linens household items) then a friend said Anne you have so much STUFF and I realised thats what it was. STUFF! I had kept it all because it was family, well I had a good clear out and loads of STUFF went to the charity shops.
It was as though a weight had been lifted of my shoulders, at last I could find things and wasn't "putting and taking"" trying to find a place to put, things my home is clutter free.
Of course I couldn't do this with my sewing STUFF I need all of that as it may come in useful one day. HA! HA!
Anne

[Betty J.]

I moved in 2004 and had so many boxes I didn't where to put all the stuff, I had kept my Mothers STUFF, my M.I.L STUFF and my B.I.L Stuff ( dishes linens household items) then a friend said Anne you have so much STUFF and I realised thats what it was. STUFF! I had kept it all because it was family, well I had a good clear out and loads of STUFF went to the charity shops.
It was as though a weight had been lifted of my shoulders, at last I could find things and wasn't "putting and taking"" trying to find a place to put, things my home is clutter free.
Of course I couldn't do this with my sewing STUFF I need all of that as it may come in useful one day. HA! HA!
Anne

:lol: :lol: :lol: YES! Well done. I did much the same thing when I moved from one home to another about 9 years ago.

[Lotti D.]

I've yet to get my act together, at the moment I'm still in the hoarding stage... To the point where my friends, the ones with the elegant, stylish and glittering apartments, come to me and borrow: dishes, crafting goods, pots, duvets and pillows when they have guests... Whatever...
Wouldn't work for me, when I get an idea I like to get straight to it, if it's creating a new recipe, trying some craft idea, making a prezzie, or just baking a cake... And my ideas don't normally come when shops are open... The best ones appear late at night, early on Sunday morning or in the middle of a lazy Sunday afternoon! So I need my 'stuff' it's a creative essential in this household

[Nancy R.]

I'm like you, Lotti. My inspiration can come at any time. And even if the shops are open, it's at least 30 minutes for me to get to any type of shop and I don't feel like taking that amount of time before starting on my project. So, I have a good supply of everything I could possibly need and collect everything new that might come in handy sometime in my lifetime (or beyond.... It's too bad my nieces and nephews don't do crafts!)!

Nancy

[Judy B.]

Nancy, you said "in my lifetime or beyond." Have you figured out how to take it with you? :shock: :shock:
Please share your method if you have. Inquiring minds need this info!

[Renata L.]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Nancy R.]

I'm not leaving until I figure out how to take it with me!! :evil:

[Betty J.]

Goodness knows I have enough stuff to last for this life and beyond. :lol: :lol: :lol: When I started this post, I had just had a really interesting time going through all my books, magazines, and patterns that related to fabric arts and thought I'd just mention it because sometimes it's hard to get motivated to do something like that and it has its rewards. :roll:

[Betty J.]

I'm not leaving until I figure out how to take it with me!! :evil:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :idea: Right there with you Nancy! So, share if you do, please