Here’s a fun question: what’s something that you love to do?
I’m not talking about what you do for a living, or what you think your purpose in life is. No, no. I want to know about the hobbies that bring you pure, simple, straightforward joy.
I’ve heard a lot of unique and quirky answers to that prompt throughout my career. I’ve seen beautiful antique chessboards, giant handmade canoes, meticulous dioramas, and some genuinely impressive LEGO collections. It’s during these moments of people blissfully (and often bashfully) presenting me with their little passions that I feel the most warm and welcome in their home.
We often talk about how organization can assist us with productivity or efficiency in the workplace. But I don’t think enough has been said about how useful organization is to having fun.
To help me illustrate my point, let me introduce you to a very sweet client of mine from Providence, RI.
Meet Karen the Craftswoman
Getting older can open the door to several new opportunities, and for Karen, that involved more than doubling her living space.”I had just moved across the country from a small one-bedroom apartment to a large 3 bedroom home” she recalls. And along with this major space upgrade came a fun new challenge: “I was now faced with an abundance of room and actual space for a craft room.”
Karen’s love for arts and crafts was often hindered by her cramped living space, but now that she had enough room to seize her creative potential, she felt surprisingly intimidated. “I was feeling overwhelmed with the daunting task of how to utilize this new space,” she says, adding that organization was never her “strong suit.”
That’s when she called me! We spoke about her more basic needs, like easy access to tools and special compartments for art supplies. But after seeing what we were working with, I proposed that we take things a step further.
Expanding the Vision
Karen’s new space granted us a lot of room to play around with, but a costly and time-consuming renovation wasn’t in the cards for us. So we decided to get a little creative with pieces she already owned.
“Within one short afternoon,” Karen recounts happily, “she [Katy] had repurposed an entertainment center as functional storage for my craft tools and supplies.” This ended up working so well because the piece had lots of drawers and compartments— perfect for storing spools of thread and reams of paper! We also used a few shelving units to display her beads, which gave the space a wholesome, homemade vibe and made the beads more accessible.
From there, we focused on making her tools as easy to find (and put away) as possible. Since certain crafts often require the same set of materials, it was best to think ahead and group those items together in their storage spaces. “Everything was able to flow,” Karen remarks. “She [Katy] really took the time to understand what I needed… it made all the difference.”
The Result
We don’t often put much thought into strategizing what brings us satisfaction and pleasure. But a little organization can vastly improve how we experience our hobbies. Just ask Karen!
The result of our hard work that day was a fully functional craft room that enabled her to fully pursue her creativity. Unfettered by clutter or untidiness, she was able to identify exactly which supplies she had, locate the tools she needed, and complete her creations in a space that catered to her own needs. “I love spending days in my craft room,” she happily reports, “And I owe it all to Katy's organizing expertise!”
Whatever you do for fun— puzzles, knitting, cooking, or anything in between— we at KMA Organizing can help transform your space into something that helps bring your passions to life. As Karen herself says, “It was such a wonderful experience and I couldn't have asked for more!”