I’m sure most of us, if not all of us, are guilty of having a messy art space. There are times it gets so bad that I become overwhelmed just thinking about it. Or my creativity becomes stifled because I can’t work pass the chaos that is my art room.

I am also guilty of not dealing with it. You would think that if something is bothering you, then you would fix it right? Not me. I just put it off and let it build up.

This picture shows the current state of my room. This actually isn’t that bad compared to usual messes.

Another thing we may have in common is having a lot of art projects on the go. Some of these projects may be classes you have signed up for and haven’t started, or you have started half a dozen or so but completed none.

Some of you may even have deadlines for projects you need to hand in.

I thought instead of adding to your plate (and mine) with another arty challenge, I would try and help calm the chaos.

Spring Cleaning

It is April after all, which is springtime for most of us. Springtime = Spring cleaning right? That’s what I’ve heard anyway. Don’t really practice it much though. Lol

Don’t worry, I am not going to have you going through your house spraying everything down.

It’s like you don’t even know me if you think I would do such a thing.

But what about a little Spring cleaning in our art space?

This is our challenge for April. To regain a little bit of control in the place that’s suppose to bring us peace and joy.

Here’s what we’re going to do:

Throw out/give away/donate, whichever, as long as it leaves your house, 5 things you know you’re never going to use. Now some of us may be able to up this number to 10. Maybe even 20! Lol

I know this is hard. I struggle with this as well. I have drawers full of things that I have owned for at least 7 years, if not longer. But we can do this! Just think of the room you will have to better organize your supplies that you do use! Or add new ones! Whatever works to motivate you! Lol

Find at least 5 things that are out of place and put them back where they belong. Again you can double this number or triple if need be.

See those piles? You know the ones. You place something on the desk, the tray, the floor, a chair, whatever flat surface you can find. Then another piece of paper got added to it. I bought this but I don’t know where to put it yet, I’ll just put it right here for now. Oh here’s a notebook, some gel printed papers, a page of stamped images, some collage sheets. There’s the list I wrote of things I wanted to get done. It’s all in that pile. Forgotten about. There may even be something in there that you’ve been looking for.  GET IT GONE. Go through that pile. Trash, put away, organize. Just get that pile gone.

Do you have multiple journals that you work in? I have started many journals thinking I’ll use this one for watercolor. This one for sketches, this is for collage, this for gel printing, etc. So I have multiple journals being used. And being forgotten about. Label them so you can see and grab that journal when you want to use it.

Sometimes when you get something new you don’t have time to play with it right away. But if you put it away you may forget all about it or keep putting off using it. Don’t make me feel like I’m the only one who does this. How about a cute basket, container, or bin. Just use something to contain them and place it somewhere visible so they are not forgotten about.

Do you have projects that you only work on maybe once a month? Like setting up a planner. I use a grid journal, like for bullet journaling. I get my whole month set up beforehand because I don’t have time to do it each day or week. So I get it all done in one shot. There’s certain supplies I use only for this. But yet there it sits on my desk, taking up space and looking messy until I use it again next month. Why not get a container to put these things in. Then you can label that container and put it on a shelf and grab it when you need it.

This may not be for everyone but I have a computer in my art room that I use quite often. I need to edit YouTube videos, write up tutorials, create collage sheets, write blog post, the list goes on. I use my computer every single day. Sometimes I can’t even find a place to set down a coffee mug. This does not create a nice place to work. It does not help me in wanting to do something that I am already not looking forward to doing. I mean, come on, we’d all rather be arting than stuck at the computer right? But if we have to, then let’s at least make it easy on ourselves. So tidy up that computer area!

Take stock of your inventory. Now I don’t mean every single item in your art space. Although if you want to you can go right ahead. But have somewhere on your phone, or a notebook, where you can track things that you may accidentally buy two of that you don’t need two of. Like a Distress Ink pad. Note all the colors you own.

Clean your paintbrushes. I am AWFUL at this. I will use my brushes and put them in water and just leave them. Sometimes (most times) to the point where all the water evaporates and the brushes are sitting there drying up! No need to toss them though. You can place them in some Murphy’s Oil Soap for a day and clean them up. Just make sure you take them out of here as well and don’t just leave them sitting in the soap for weeks. Yes, I’m guilty of that too.

Organize something you have been putting off. Like maybe you have lots of gel printed papers from the March challenge. Find a place for them other than that pile on the top of you desk. You could get an accordion file folder thing, you know the ones. You can organize them by color, or if you have themes, or by paper weight. How ever you tend to use them, organize them accordingly.

Okay. Now just give you room a glance over. Are there any spots driving you crazy that have not been addressed by the above? Deal with them. You will feel so much better.

Please don’t feel you have to do this all in one day. You don’t even have to deal with everything in your room. You can look at this list and take one thing a day, or week. You can lightly do each of these things, but do it repeatedly until you’ve done all you want to do. There may be only one or two things on this list that you really need to tackle! That impresses me by the way. I just hope by doing this list, or even one thing on this list, helps you breathe a little easier and feel a little more calm when you walk into your art space. Your little get away should bring you joy and help you relieve stress, not add to it.