UPDATE: The winner is…Brenda Anderson!
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My art room (I’m not yet ready to call it a studio, because artists have studios, and I don’t feel like one quite yet!) is a work in progress. It’s very utilitarian—industrial tile on the floor, tables and work benches on each wall, a large table in the center, which is my workspace. When my mother, who was a true artist, passed, I inherited her multitudinous art supplies. When I tried to cram them into my room with everything I’d already accumulated, I couldn’t walk around the tables without standing sideways because there was so much “stuff.” It took a super-human effort, and the help of my daughter, to get it pared down so I had floor space. I’m not kidding. I could’ve been on the hoarders TV show. Over the nearly two years since then, I’ve donated and tossed items. I’ve also looked for good storage solutions. I’m making great progress, but until recently, working on my central art table was hard because even though it’s a banquet-sized table, it was covered with the art supplies I use most. I needed a solution so I could clear the table before considering working on larger pieces.
After scouring Pinterest and other artist’s organizational tips, I found this:
It’s an IKEA Raskog rolling cart. If you go onto Amazon they’re around $100. When I went straight to the IKEA site, I found it for just $35 plus $10 for shipping. And luckily, it is one of the items they do ship! When it arrived, my SIL assembled it—it’s super easy to assemble by the way—and I began to offload my many cups and bowls of supplies onto the cart. I’m giddy over how much space I have (I’m still clearing the table, so I’ll take a picture of the finished table another day.
If you’re wondering about what that pile of stuff to the upper right of the photo is, it’s tea bags I’m drying that I’ll cut open and empty, and then paint on. I know. My daughter thinks it’s super weird, but tea bag art is awesome for collaging. That wire thing tucked in the near corner of the top rack is a large, vintage flower “frog”—an Ebay find I thought would be perfect to gather all the scissors into one place. I need more scissors!
But look at this! Here are views of the second rack:
See that wooden compartmented box? It’s a $8 flea market find and fits perfectly! I know, me and my flea marketing… And there’s a little bit of space left to fill. 🙂
Here’s the bottom shelf:
Yes, I should find some containers that take up a bit less space to maximize what space I have in the cart, but all that crap was on top of my table, and now it’s not. I can roll that sucker next to my chair when I’m working and have everything I use the most right there.
I’m beyond thrilled.
My daughter loves the cart, too. She wants one for her bathroom to hold her multitudinous beauty supplies. I bought her a white one, and it’s coming on Wednesday.
So, I shared. Now, I’d love to hear about any organizational items you use or want, or tips for how to organize smarter. Include links if you can. One commenter will receive a $5 Amazon gift card!
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I love using boxes to organize. I have a cart like yours as well
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i use plastic boxes for my craft items but i don’t have as many as you and i would love such a cart when i get a room organized for me
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I myself use Mason jars for my paint brushes, an old rack for my tread, plastic tubs that roll under bed or tables for my fabric, my paint is in a plastic bag that used to have a set of sheets in it. I paint in my kitchen using the table because it’s the only place that has natural light coming in. My spare room is packed full with my fil, mil, and husband and my things from the last apartment with over 80 some odd years of accommodation from all of us combined. I’m weeding out as I get older. I have 2 easels. One for oil paint and the other for acrylic paint which I unfortunately can’t open up for there’s no more room in the trailer we bought and now live in.
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I have one of those, but it’s from Michael’s vs IKEA. I also bought the flat topper, and some of the different trays/containers that sit on the sides. I want to get another one for my cutting table area. The one I have now is in my home office in my basement. I have a large L desk for crafting, painting, and sewing in there. Along with an ultra firm twin mattress for my spine. It was cheaper than getting a king ultra firm for our bedroom and a twin is small enough for my hubs to move the riser and the mattress next to the couch in the main area. It lets me surround myself with art and creativeness when my spine goes out and he’ll crash on the couch. The top let’s him move the cart and I can use the top as a bedside table when I need. Plus, I can use it next to the recliner to. They are perfect! My cutting table is in the finished basement near big basement windows. I have a lot of supplies stored in my office in those 9 cube containers so I don’t block off the only escape window in my office for safety reasons. Then I have a lot of supplies in a half size folded fabric binI found at Walmart that I used empty water bottles with the tops cut off and a couple small makeup or supply boxes I cut to size to fill in the rest of the space in it. I want to get some of the acrylic square cups off Amazon, but for the # that would fit in the fabric box that houses my inking pens, pencils, rulers, and few other artsy things water bottles and recycling boxes I had works wonderfully. It also saved a ton as those acrylic square cups on Amazon are cute but expensive. I’ve used it for going on 6 years and I haven’t had to replace any of them yet. I also make custom storage out of the thick foam boards when it comes to storage I don’t move around from space to space. I have a few I want to prime and paint.
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I would love to leave an organization tip for you, but I need all the help too! Our craft supplies are all over the place! I’ve been wanting to get a cart, but it will be for books. Maybe I need to get two?
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I love to get organized – helps so much in being able to find things and also in cleaning. I have hooks on many of the doors in my house; Towel rods inside closet doors to hang things like folded thin sweaters, scarves, hats (put them high above the level of where the things hang in the closet. Lots of boxes to store things – smaller ones on closet shelves get labels on the ends. I prefer clearish boxes to see what’s inside & boxes with locking mechanism so they stay closed if they fall as I get them in & out.
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I have plastic containers with labels on the front saying what’s in them. My husband made me a cabinet using a window from the barn for the door so I can see all my paints. I also bought bookcases and 2 bookcases with drawers from IKEA to make me a crafting center where everything is stored. Another bookcase is filled your yarn I’m a yarn hoarder for knitting projects.
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I have all different sized bins with labels. a drawer set on wheels and bookcases… which I could use an extra one or two…
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I love your cart and the mugs are a bit of personality! I must label everything which means everything must be categorized and assigned a space.
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I always need organization tips and tricks! I call the room I have all my stuff in either my atelier or the hoarder’s room.
One corner bamboo desk is for writing. Then I have a long narrow desk for sewing, with my sewing machine and serger set up. A small table contains my jewelry-making supplies. The best things I ever got for bead, fasteners and finding organization are both advertised as hardware storage but they are marvelous for jewelry supplies!
The first is wall-mounted: https://tinyurl.com/j8fyx8h8
The second is small, and when the model I bought was available, they came with a caddy to carry five of them around. It’s perfect for travel! https://tinyurl.com/2s847nf6
When I moved into this house 9 years ago, I found limited storage for my extensive selection of crafting supplies and books. I mounted shelves with the tracks and brackets in EVERY room! Some have since been moved and consolidated – the smallest bedrooms is a library – but those shelves have been marvelous for getting things out of boxes and all visible, so I knew what I had to deal with. Organization is difficult if you don’t know the full extent of stuff.
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When my daughter graduated college & we hauled all her stuff home….there were many storage drawers & totes. I didn’t know what to do with them but once I really started thinking about it, I found one that fit in my bathroom closet under my shelving there…if use it to store all my extras…shampoo, pills, toothpastes, deodorants, & in this time Covid tests. I keep my extra shower curtains & other linens, knee braces, hot pads, ice packs & whatever else. Then I put / others in my back room with extension cords, tools, & many other things that just get in the way if not put away in a spot like that. I utilize every available spot & have had lots of shelves put up to store appliances, paper goods & such
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I have three of these already from Joann. I love them. I use emptied glass jar from food or candles to help in the trays. Some have caps some don’t.
Trying to save up for a couple more. Great storage and easy to move around.
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I love the cart. I like using boxes and see through plastic containers. I label everything.
Containers you can stack work well.
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use labels
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I like your new favorite thing. My latest organization project has been to purge. I am getting rid of so much stuff that I haven’t so much as looked at in years. All that stuff that I was saving for whenever or whatever, is gone. I know, a bit drastic. But it is working for me. Now I have room for the things I am actually using. But, I may be looking into that cart. The crafting space around my favorite chair is looking a bit cluttered.
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I have a similar cart (but narrower) next to my desk. It fits under the keyboard tray so it’s not in the way when I have the keyboard pulled out. I love finding things like your cart to help with organization. I don’t really have any tips to share right now, though.
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I love organizing. My first tip is to purge at least once a month, getting rid of anything that I might have been saving for a random reason. If I haven’t used it in the last 3-5 months it’s going in the trash or being donated. To organize my cart, I use wooden boxes of different sizes, that way I can design and personalize them however I want. I also have a set of small wooden drawers for the smaller objects/crafting supplies on top of my bigger crafting table. I made sure to label everything that way I know what is where at all times. Since I work with woods and resin, I always make sure to have the resin stored away from everything in case it spills inside a plastic box. While my power tools hang on metal hooks on the wall behind a glass case, that are under lock and key.
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I totally get your thrill over having this organized.
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Ooh, the cart is terrific! We have a set of drawers on wheels that DD uses to corral her art/journaling stuff. She doesn’t have as many tools as you do, so they fit relatively well in the four drawers, plus a smaller set of drawers that sit atop her table that holds her paper supplies.
Her knitting/crochet supplies are in a couple plastic bins and milk crates…
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All these wonderful ideas! Liddy, thanks for the URLs!
The winner, chosen by a random number generator is…#4, Brenda Anderson!
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Congratulations