This week I began my hard-won journey to move my craft room into the unused (and rather large) room that occupies downstairs. This room has been an eyesore for many years in my house as it has been mainly a dumping ground for other items that we need to get rid of, or that came from when my partner lived in the city in his tiny apartment.

For years the room has sat unused, a rather large space being occupied by a few hard to place items. Odds and ends once sat in this room.  Unused electronics, bookshelves, memorabilia from years gone by, hard to recycle items all came to live in this room of disorganisation and disaster.

While upstairs, my small computer room eventually became filled with my new (1-2 years) obsession with scrapbooking, cardmaking, and crafting.  Two years ago I asked my partner about moving into this room.  As he did not want to have to sort through his items, or basically do anything with the space it became a sticking point between us that we couldn't get around or seem to discuss without heated tempers.

It took convincing by a few family members and friends to get him to agree to let me move into the space.  And it was decided last year I was to move into the space.  And now it's been a year after that, and I'm finally moving in.  Yes, it took a year or more to get him to actually sort the items in the room.  They're still not fully sorted or stored, but I'm just moving them out.  Time to go.

Over the next couple of weeks my scrap space will be in fluxuation while I prepare (and do!) move downstairs bit by bit.  Downside of course is not having anywhere to scrap and my tools and embellishments in one space, stamps and other things in another.  And all during this, I'll also have to find the time and wherewithal to create a fabulous going away card for a coworker who is leaving.

Every morning I've vowed not to go downstairs without taking something with me to put in this space.  Moving (no matter how close or far) always seems like a daunting task, so I broke it up into small units.  Each morning I take down a box or plastic storage drawer unit into the space at a time.  My day is usually fairly busy, and get home late at night.  I prepare the item to be moved 10 minutes at night beforehand, and then pick it up as I head downstairs for work in the morning and put it into the room.  After week 1, moving 1 storage unit/box at a time I'm very nearly done.

For items that DON'T belong in this crafting space and will need to find a home, I'll put in a laundry basket.  After the basket is full I will sort through it and find an appropriate "home" for everything, distributing items throughout the house.  Some items have ended up in my craft room because the other spaces that they needed to be in were filled. For example, my closet was used to house my work clothes, then all my clothes as the cat found it necessary to sleep on everything in the bedroom closet.  This pattern ends now as the clothes will need to move back into the bedroom.  Perfumes as well will need to find a home, possibly beside the bedroom closet in a small bookshelf.

But it doesn't stop there!  I plan on continuing my purge cycle throughout the house and whip my home back into shape.  Putting things in their appropriate places, sorting through and getting rid of items that are no longer useful.  Recycling more cardboard, more paper, and getting my life back into the order that it once was.

Trouble is, finding the time.  We always seem to be busy, and in my case I'm always distracted. I'm not the only one to blame in this house of mess though, as I'm also living with a 51" tv going unused and a 51" tv box to accompany it.

When I'm done I plan to make my very first Youtube video showing a tour of my scraproom.  I haven't yet posted a video as my space has always been cramped and basically ashamed of how it looked.  Now that I have enough room to spread out and organise, I shall endeavour to make my first video!

Stay Tuned.