Organization Gone Wrong

  Things that are supposed to help you get organized can sometimes lead to bigger problems. This is the story of how a bright idea to make more space became a black hole of clutter.


  Ah, organizing... That thing that's supposed to help you find things easier, clean up, and get rid of unneeded items. Right? This isn't that post about how to get organized. It's totally the one about what not to do. Please excuse the blurry photos from my dark bedroom, but believe me, you won't be seeing anything pretty anyways. So, let's just get to the aftermath of what I was left with when I decided to clean out my closet:

  How did this happen to me? I used to consider myself a clean and organized person, but moving in with a spouse that constantly disrupts that order has caused me to slack off. I can't really pinpoint the exact reason... I think it's either because I'm so busy cleaning up after him that I ignore my own messes, or it's because I'm so focused on taking care of him that I forget to deal with the problems that pile up behind closed doors. Either way, by the time I'm done beating concrete out of clothes, vacuuming it off my floor, and wiping up anything else that needs dusted off, I'm too tired to remember that I have a pile of mending to do.

  We've all probably seen thousands of tips and tricks for how to get rid of clutter, save space, and keep things in their place. There's one I saw a long time ago for saving space in the closet. It's simple! You just place soda can tabs (I've seen various other items used) on your hangers, and it adds a space to hang another hanger. Perfect for squeezing more clothes in there! But in my case, it's the worst thing I ever could have done.


  Let me say that we're still using this trick in The Other Half's closet, and it works great for him. The most of what he has in there are his work uniform shirts, then there's a few jackets and dress shirts. That does stay organized, for the most part. The big problem is my closet: The junk space. The mending pile. That evil place that things get tossed in, to never be seen again after being eaten by the notorious Organization Monster.

    All of this mess got placed on my "stacked" hangers, and shoved behind the next thing. Then that thing got shoved behind the following thing. Hanging almost to the ground, some of it got knocked off the hangers and ended up piled on the floor. And again: None of it is stuff I wear. Ever. Although I have a closet full of garments that need mending or altering, I don't have many clothes to wear. I think that's what caused me to hoard these items in need of repair. When I realized I never open my closet door except to store something else in there, I decided it was time to clean it out. The plan is to put a hanging organizer... Ha ha, there's that word "organize", oh no! So anyways, I'm going to empty out my closet so I can put an organizer in there, and it's time to evaluate what should stay and what should go.

  Some of the things in there are beyond repairing, at least with my lack of sewing skills. Ripped collars, broken zippers, and that sweater that I planned on darning are all too much work for me. I don't really have a strong desire to wear any of these things, so it's time for them to go. I got to work and in no time, I had a pile of garments that towered over my collection of wearable items.

  So, here's the plan: I'm going to use the new hanging "organizer" for my sheets, so I can get them out of the cheap plastic drawer cart I have them in, which will also get that out of the way in my bedroom. I have a problem with spiders making their homes behind the cart, and now I've been finding them inside the drawers. Sorry spiders, I don't want to share my drawers -or my bed sheets- with you.

  Even that cart is messy! The Other Half doesn't bother to pull things out nicely, so it's typical for stuff to be hanging out of drawers after he goes in for a blanket. Plus, there's some sheets in there that don't fit the bed. I think it's time to turn them into rags.


  So this should be simple, right? Just get rid of the stuff I don't need, and make space for the sheets in the closet. Well, some things are easy to throw in the rag pile or the "project" pile, but the thing that really tripped me up was all the hangers. Literally. I had a pile on the bed but they slipped off onto the floor, and I ended up tangled in them. Then they got tangled up in themselves. I untangled them, hung them up, and they fell all over the floor again. So, I got frustrated and took a break (we won't talk about kicking the pile of hangers across the room), which didn't help get it done.

  Have you ever stopped mid-project, whatever it is, and then walked back into the situation to realize you're buried deeper than you thought? After sorting, vacuuming spiders, and a few sneezing fits, I was done for the day. I was left with a very small pile of donations, a large pile of junk, and a ton of hangers.


  The good thing about the junk pile is that it won't go to waste. I love to cut up material for crocheting things like bags and rugs, and the yarn from that sweater could be salvaged. The problem with that is, none of the "junk" leaves my house. I got the closet cleaned out, the sheets in their organizer, and got rid of most of those hangers. But now I'm left with a laundry basket of "potential crochet material" that's really just more potential clutter. Will I find time to recycle it, or will it only end up taking the place of the cheap plastic cart in my bedroom? In hopes of saving it, I'm hanging on to it for now. I have a feeling that this mission to get reorganized could turn into a never-ending saga.

To be continued...

Paper Craft - Tea Box Roses

  Okay... So, here's my confession: This die-hard coffee lover is a tea lover, too. Unlike coffee, tea can be made from countless varieties of herbs and spices; leaving you with almost endless flavor possibilities. I like going through the trouble of brewing up a pot using a tea ball and loose leaves, but I also keep a stock of blended herbal teabags.



  Those blends often come in beautifully printed cardboard boxes. Some are just colorful, and some have amazing artwork on them. I hate throwing any of them away. After finishing off a box of lemon-ginger blend, the idea struck me that the colors are perfect for fall. And since I recently learned how to make quilled paper roses, I thought I'd give it a try with cardboard. This works just a bit differently than quilling, but I think it's even less work without the tools. Follow along and I'll show you how I did it!

• I use a rotary cutter and mat, but scissors will work if you're good at cutting a straight line. So... I'll use that rotary cutter. And hey - Just so you know, you don't have to recycle a tea box for this craft! Just use any cardboard box (like from cereal or crackers) printed with pretty colors. The bigger the box, the more roses you can make!

 

• I wanted to get the longest length of material possible, so I opened the ends of the box to flatten it out. I really wanted to cut across the lettering, but that will leave me with short pieces. Using larger boxes will give you more options for cutting.

• I cut the tops, bottoms, and sides from the box, which left the center section as a loop of material.

• I cut the center section into 3/8" (0.95 cm) wide strips. (See later why thinner might be better!) The plan was to cut one side of the "loops" open, but then I realized that they aren't one continuous strip.

• So, the loops got cut into twice as many strips. I lost a bit of length by cutting the glue lines away, but was still left with strips that were 8" (20 cm) long. 

• When using quilling strips, you would use a quilling tool. But when using cardboard, I just use my fingers. At first, I started by rolling the strip over itself a few times before making a fold. But... Keep reading, and we'll skip ahead to where I went wrong.

• What will work: Gluing the end of the strip once the rose is complete. With the smaller roses you'll see later, I didn't need the glue. I did glue some of them, and others I let open up a little. Play around and see what works best for you!

• What won't work: This rose didn't turn out the best. With the thicker roll at the beginning, a lot of the cardboard shows in the middle. And the wider strips I cut were more difficult to fold and roll. I tried to make them a little more pliable by dipping the finished roses in a mixture of glue and water. (I thought by mixing the water with glue, they would harden and stay put after I worked the petals into shape.) The cardboard didn't look as pretty afterwards, and they didn't stay put anyways. 

• After some practice, I think I got it right! Although the thicker strips do work, I think the smaller roses made from the thinner strips (cut from the lid) are prettier and stay formed with less glue. Here's how I did it:

• With the thinner strips of cardboard, I began with a small fold instead of a thick roll. After pinching the material into shape, I made the first fold. Fold the material at a right angle to the beginning fold.

• Roll over the fold until the rose is perpendicular to the edge of the strip. Usually when quilling a rose, you would continue to fold in the same direction. Because the cardboard is only printed on one side, the ugly brown side will show if you do this. Fold the material under so that the printed side will show after the roll.

• Continue rolling and folding to the end of the strip, alternating the direction of each fold. The closer you make the fold to the roll, the less cardboard will be visible. Because I want autumn colors of yellow and brown, I don't mind if a little shows. I kinda like the rustic look of it. 

  So now the question is: What to do with these tiny cardboard flowers? Decorate a gift? Make an ornament? I think the choice is up to you! I was only inspired by the colors of the box; I don't actually have a plan for my flowers yet. Although I thought they'd be pretty as part of a candle holder, I'm a little wary of combining paper and fire. What would you do with them?

Happy Crafting!

 

Sewing: Eyeglass Case using Scrap Fabric

  I would have liked this project to come out better than it did. I'm not terrible at sewing, but I'm not great at it, either. Combining my lack of skill with my evil sewing machine, the result is never as good as I hope it will be. However, my other half needed a case for his new glasses. I had saved some scraps of vinyl that weren't really big enough to make anything, along with some scraps of a super-soft gauzy cotton material. He asked if I could make him a case, and I figured it was worth a try.



  I wasn't going to post this project due to a mistake I made and the poor quality photos. I changed my mind because I thought the project could still be done, I just had trouble making mine. If you have better sewing skills than me or your sewing machine isn't possessed, chances are yours will come out great. This is a simple project that doesn't require a ton of work.

  Fabric glue is used to avoid extra sewing. If you wish, you can sew the seams where I have used glue. I worried about the durability of the glue at first, but my other half has been dragging this case everywhere for a while. It's been wet, it's been left in a hot vehicle (also in an iced cooler), and he crams it in his shirt pocket all the time. It doesn't look pretty, but that's my fault. The seams are still together, crooked though they are.



  The only thing that didn't come out well was the side seams. The material got caught in the machine, so I had to start over. Somewhere along the way, my pins must have shifted, and the seams became crooked. But the case is completely functional, even with the uneven seams, and he uses it every day.

Materials:
Scrap fabric, a little more than twice the length of your glasses and at least one inch (2.5 cm) greater in width
-one piece of durable fabric such as vinyl or canvas
-one piece of soft cotton fabric or fleece
Tape measure
Pins
Sewing machine or needle, and thread
Fabric or craft glue

Directions:

1. Measure the width of your glasses from bow to bow when folded. Add 1" (2.5 cm) to this measurement, then multiply by two. Mark this measurement on the vinyl. Add another 1" to this number to mark the cotton fabric.

2. Measure the height of the glasses from top to bottom of lens. Add 1 1/2" (3.8 cm) to this, and mark on both pieces of fabric.

3. Cut out both pieces of fabric.


4. Fold down the short sides of the cotton fabric, about 1/2" (1.2 cm) or until they meet the edges of the vinyl piece. Use fabric glue to hold these seams.

  5. Line up and attach the cotton piece to the vinyl with glue.

  6. Once glue is dry, fold over the long sides of both materials together, about 1/2" (1.2 cm). Pin in place. 

7. Sew the seams of the long sides. I used a narrow zigzag stitch. 

8. Fold the short side seams over about 1/2" (1.2 cm). Pin and sew. 

9. Fold this in half, then sew up the sides. 

10. When I cut the material for this project, I had measured incorrectly for my seam allowance. After only sewing 1/2" (1.2 cm) seams, the case was a bit too big. I solved this problem by adding a seam about 1" (2.5 cm) from the side. This created a little slot that's perfect for a pen (see display at top). 

  So, it may not look perfect, but it's taken a lot of abuse so far and still holds together. Not one seam has come loose and no glasses have been harmed in any way. A pen even found a convenient home on accident.

  Good luck to you with your project, and may your sewing machine not jam.