Worktable Wednesday.... Swamped

Monday Mayhem: Enough is Enough

There comes a time in everyone's life when they must say "Enough is enough and I've had ENOUGH!"
Three years ago, I blogged that that I was going to get my house cleaned and organized.  Guess what.  It didn't happen.
In fact, it just got worse, if that's at all possible.
Finally, I had to say that enough was enough, and I couldn't live like that any longer. It wasn't healthy, mentally or physically for me or anyone else in my family.  I couldn't have people over to my house, I couldn't let my kids have friends over to play, I couldn't let extended family come over.  I knew it was bad.  I knew it needed work.  Somehow, though, I couldn't seem to get the energy or interest to do it.  I don't know why.  Over the last seven years me and my hubby have gone through a difficult pregnancy, the birth of our twins, post partum depression that turned into agoraphobia, my feet giving out on me, the death of my darling dad, hubby losing his job (but thankfully finding a new one very soon), major appliances dying, children starting school, children sick with strep for almost an entire winter....
Well, needless to say, I've been exhausted.
However, this past spring, I seriously took the bull by the proverbial horns, and decided that I was tired of the mess.  I was tired of not being able to find anything.  I was tired of the house ALWAYS looking like a bomb went off.   And I was tired of being alone. 
I was raised in a home that was always neat, tidy, organized, and clean.  And I wasn't giving my kids that gift.  Now, I'm finally getting done what has needed to be done for years.  I made a plan, and I'm sticking to that plan, no matter what.
Every month or so, I'm tackling one room or area of my house.  I'm de-cluttering, de-stashing, organizing, re-organizing, planning, and working.  Working harder than I have ever worked before.

The first "room" I finished was one of the hardest:  The screened in porch.  It took me over a month to sort through, throw away, clean up, and get it to a place where it could be useful once again.

This is what my screened in porch looked like about 3 years ago.  Kind of humiliating that is has gotten nothing but worse in those 3 years.  There was so much crap piled up on that table, that we could barely see the sliding glass doors.   It was insanity. 
After over a month of work, many bags of trash, and a strong desire to get rid of all the excess in my life, this is the new, improved porch:

 There is now space to breathe, space to work, space to relax, and space to actually eat dinner.  Life is getting better.  Sand is becoming more blue again.  And this month, I'm tackling the living room.  Next Monday, I will show what I have accomplished there. 

The Beaded Branch's Dirty Secret...

In this post I am revealing the The Beaded Branch's Dirty Secret.

WARNING: Some of the photos might cause some people a great amount of anxiety, and stress, due to a TOTAL lack of organization!!!

After reading a bunch of the forums on Etsy, I started seeing all these people that had great crafting spaces, organized, clean, and neat.

I became jealous.

Here at The Beaded Branch we don't have one nice, neat craft area. We have four areas designated for our business that is comparable to a craft bomb going off in the middle of my house.

Here's the first area, the screened in porch. This is one of the favorite places to work for me and my hubby, especially during the fall and spring. In winter in can get really cold, and in the summer it can get really hot. But those are problems easily dealt with. However, right now, it is a mess, in dire need of organization and cleaning, as can be seen here:

As you can see from these pictures, life is NOT rosy. If you look close, there is a rotary tool stand and a bench vise that are waiting to be attached to the table. There are catalogs and magazines stacked all over the table, along with mail and trash that we were too lazy to throw away. SHAME ON US!!!!

On to problem area number two, the computer area, in the living room.

The computer area, is needless to say, a mess. Nothing has been filed. It's all piling up and I'm pretty sure that we're all going drown in paper eventually. There are even jewelry parts hiding in the wreckage of the paper avalanche. Disorganization at its finest!!!! Hang our heads in shame, once again.

Onto the third area, and can you tell that it's just getting worse. Hold onto your hats! Here's the dining room table horror:

Repulsive, isn't it? Piles of supplies, beads, tools, displays, and paperwork piled up on half the table (thank goodness our kids have their own table that they eat at, or in their high chairs!). That's a microwave cabinet over there in the corner on the left. THAT is supposed to be my workstation outside the office. You'll notice that it, too is covered in random "stuff" that needs to be sorted through and thrown out. I also have a jewelers tool chest on top, but there's nothing in it right now. FOR SHAME ON ME!!!!

And now, onto the greatest horror show of disorganization of all. The office. What is supposed to be my studio. My haven. My workplace, where I can go, shut the door, shut out the world, and create to my heart's content. Yeah. Right.

Ever try to create in a space like this? Our office has become a catchall for all sorts of junk, toys that need to be repaired, half finished projects, clothes that need to be repaired, jewelry supplies and tools, and goodness knows what all.

THIS IS GOING TO CHANGE!!!!

After seeing many organized, beautiful craft spaces, I have made a New Year's resolution to get this organized, de-stashed, stuff thrown out, and everything streamlined.

So why am I revealing The Beaded Branch's dirty secret? Because, I am going to chronicle right here on this blog everything that I do to get things back in working order!

Keep checking back for updates on Project "Clean Up This Godforsaken Mess!!!", and all the steps that happen as I travel down the road of organization.

Have a good evening, and I hope the pictures weren't to frightening.