How to create an organized art space

I moved into my new house about a year ago and my office/art space has been a cluttered mess with boxes and paintings and random printed goods all over the place. While this sounds about right for an artist's workspace, it was not organized chaos it was pure chaos. I finally buckled down and committed 2 days to organize it and create a clean workspace. Needless to say, I regret nothing.

There is a plethora of storage options available to artists but nothing ever seems to be quite what I want. The only thing that I could not find was proper storage for my canvases that are now hiding in the closet, but I think I will resolve this with a DIY situation in the near future so keep your eyes peeled for updates. Other than the canvas problem I had to go through 10 years worth of art supplies so I could get a real idea of what type of things I need to store.

While it may seem counter intuitive, the first step to organize is to pull EVERYTHING out. For me this was not much different because my room was already chaos, but it is a necessary, albeit messy, step. I literally was just tossing things into similar item piles around the room. Drawing utensils (pens, highlighters, markers, gel pens, fine tip pens) all into one pile. Then all of my paint into one large box. Then my brushes, then my stacks of drawing pads, so on and so forth.

Once I had my piles sorted I began going through each pile with a big trash bag to toss the items that either are old or just not of any use to me anymore. I don't find it very difficult to toss unwanted items, however I used to hoard everything! I don't have a magical answer for you other than practice makes perfect. Being able to find important things is my top priority and tossing junk is just a muscle I've developed, especially when I lived in a small room with no extra storage space. When your space is confined, everything you keep matters. So pull out that big trash bag and start ruthlessly tossing the junk.

At this point your room may still look chaotic but it is progress, I promise. Now that you have your items you will keep all sorted and categorized, it's time for FUN! Now you will start looking at your storage options. I searched the usual offenders (Michael's, Pinterest, Etsy) but also looked into other artists Instagrams to see their version of creative organization. As you begin browsing search for one option at a time. For example I really wanted something to store my paint brushes, so I would look at those options. Stare at a pile, then find an option.

The next hardest task is don't buy anything yet. Obviously save, pin or like the items you want accordingly but don't purchase anything yet. After you've curated your ideas, it's time to make a list and measure! Boo....measuring sucks! I know but it's necessary. I like to print pictures of the things I want (doesn't have to be high quality), so I can visually look at where everything will go and that it cohesively makes me happy. Then I measure out how big the bulky items are (cubes, drawers, tables, etc.) and make sure it will all fit in the room. If you have a small space get creative with vertical space such as these floating shelves or a really big wall DIY project like this built in wall storage.

So now it's time to show you the space I created. I originally fell in love with the idea of pegboard craft storage ideas however I found it virtually impossible to find them supplies I needed. Either yall beat me to the punch or it was an unfortunate effect of the supply chain shortages. Either way, my DIY project I had in mind shattered. So that meant piecing together my own ideas. I ended up settling on the modular storage system by Simply Tidy. Do keep in mind that this modular system isn't cheap, however the quality is great and the customization options are wonderful.

Personally I bought this drawer to house all of sketch pads, coloring books and printing supplies. The drawers slide so quietly and effortlessly that this alone is worth the purchase! I would then do a combination of 9 different box types to make a square space and top it off with one extra half cube to house my Exact-o paper cutter.

I bought 3 panel cubes with extra shelves for all my prints and loose leaf drawings

2 of these cube with one shelf squares for bulky items like my beeswax, essential oils and of course M&Ms for snack crisis.

1 modular storage drawer for my paints (thought I might need a second one now since you can see the back is overflowing and no longer organized since Christmas gifts arrived.)

1 9 divider insert for small objects like ink bottles and small bags of pencils

1 X cube divider that I haven't found a use for yet but bought because it's cute

And of course 2 of the cubes that sold me on the system in the first place were these pegboard door and hook cubes for my paint brushes to hang and store all my ugly stuff inside (old turpentine bottles, boxes of charcoal, random curiosities that didn't get tossed)

After the my purchases were put together I ended up buying a floating shelf to put above it to hold 5 mason jars that I ended up putting all of my paint brushes in. After everything came together I cannot tell you how GOOD it feels to create in this clean and organized space! I finished the project just in time for the photoshoot with @amandawuenschellphotography for the website photos too!

So follow the rules: chaos, piles, ruthlessly trash things, search by item type, measure, then buy! Happy organizing friends! Share your creative space with me!