A chronicle of the meanderings, false starts (which in retrospect, while sort of embarrassing turned out to be highly instructive), epiphanies, selective apathy (still evolving), wild mood swings, opinions (subject to frequent change), and life lessons of an inveterate dabbler (and her latest dabblings).

Monday, August 16, 2010

Easy Tutorial to Organize Your Workspace

Are you overwhelmed by a messy bead board? Just don't have the time to clean up those odds and ends? This was my problem. I even contemplated buying another bead board! But then I discovered the solution, and my workspace went from this:

So messy! Argh!
 To this:
Pristine!

How did I do it? I'm going to tell you, 'cause I'm like that. It was so simple and easy!

Here's what you will need:
1. Large plastic bag.
2. Plastic container with a lid. Or two, depending.
3. Storage cupboard or shelf, preferably with a door on it.

The first thing you need to do is so easy! You can do it in a jiff. Go over your bead board and pick out the really good stuff--pendants, focals, finished items, pharmaceuticals, cash, anything precious metal, art beads. Put them in a safe place where you'll remember where they are. Maybe write down where you put them. And put that note in a safe place where you'll remember where it is.


Once you've picked out the expensive or important stuff, it's time for your plastic bag. A big one is best, one that is big enough that you can fit the board all the way in it. There should be no holes. (Stiffer plastic bags work better, like really big plastic shopping bags like if you bought a duvet or something at Bed Bath & Beyond. But check for holes).
The bag.
Carefully slip the board all the way into the bag.
The board going in the bag.
Once you have the bag safely enveloping the board, gently tip the board up and keep tipping until everything from the board is in the bag.
Tipping the board.
  Everything should then look like this:
The board.

The bag.

Now take your plastic bag and your plastic container (or whatever kind of container you like, it should just be fairly deep to keep things from bouncing out when you make the transfer), and carefully make a little pouring spout with the bag into the container. Carefully tip the bag up (see below)

Pouring the bag.

so that the contents of the bag pour into the container. When all the contents of the bag are in the container, put the lid on the container. It should look like this:

Container with the lid on.

Put the container in a storage area:
Storage cupboard.

Close the door.
Voila! 
And the beauty of this technique is that you can do it as many times as you need to! You could even do it with your whole work bench if you had a big enough bag. And container.

12 comments:

  1. You're post makes me laugh, that is exactly a problem I share! Although, eventually those boxes will have to be sorted through :D

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  2. This is awesome! I love the quick clean up method, the subtitles, but mostly that my beads were pulled out along with the dollar bill amidst the important items removed first!!!

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  3. ROFLMAO!!!!
    Can you come over and do an intervention in my studio? Like, RIGHT NOW!? I have so many of those containers but no place left to put them. Argh. The beads are taking over!

    I love your solution. Elegant. Simple. And inexpensive.

    Enjoy the day, Keirsten!
    Erin

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  4. ::laughing LOUDLY:: need I say more? ;o)

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  5. I think this post may have changed my life!

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  6. I needed this post two days ago before my precariously balanced bead board slid down to gently rest amongst a mountain of packaging supplies in my "bead closet"...I've chosen to just ignore the problem for a couple days...

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  7. I managed to tip a small bowl full of mixed seed beads onto the floor. I ended up hoovering most of them up! I'm much tidier since then...
    thanks for such an entertaining solution to messy beaders :)

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  8. OMG! You are too funny. I'd try this technique except I'm pretty sure I'd need more than 1 bag and definitely more than 1 container. Oh, and I have no empty shelf space...darn it!

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  9. OhMyGOD......we are related!!!!
    I adore you
    ~big smiles~
    Sharon

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  10. HA! I have done this "now you see it, now you don't" magic trick so many times I can't open the closet door any longer! My husband says he can smell smoke and sulfur seeping under said closet door...

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  11. *giggle-snort*
    I used to do that (without the pre-sort)... until I went through a few of the boxes and found several ounces of sterling findings and Bali beads. ;)

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