1. Just do it!
I know, right? Something always comes up and it gets pushed back a week... or forever. Take a day and schedule it in, just as if it were a doctors appointment, work meeting, vacation, or church. Yep... things that don't get cancelled often. I marked out one day and that is ALL I did. Granted, it took more time than that, but I got a lot done in that day. Go ahead and make that appointment, you won't regret it!
2. Have a plan of attack!
Know where you are going to start. For me it was easy decision... the ironing board.
3. Have a trash bag beside you!
Follow your first instinct. If you think "toss it"... do it. Don't think twice. If you do, more than likely it will get kept to be never used and will continue to clutter your space.
4. What are you problem areas?
Maybe cleaning up isn't the issue. Perhaps its organization so you don't have tear everything apart to find one little thing. Totes, school boxes, crayon boxes are great. Click here for solutions.
5. Make it work for you!
For example, I loose seam rippers all the time (who doesn't?), so instead of searching the world over, I have them purposefully placed in convenient areas. Walmart has some for $1.00. Since I have them spread out all over my work areas, I use it and put it back. I have sewing scissors that stay at the machine, cutting table and computer. It really does help keep things organized and ironically less cluttered.
6. Treat it as a normal work day!
This goes along with #1. Do you pack your lunch for work? Do you put make up on for work? Do you get up at 6:00 and leave at 7:00? Do you take a mug of coffee to work? Whatever you typical work day schedule is, stick to it. If you treat cleaning day as a work day, you're apt to get more done... trust me. (I would forgo the stilettos though.) Granted, it will feel like you lost a day off from work, but the pay will be worth it.
7. Have fun!
So everything I said so far makes it sound like a terrible horrible chore (it is), but it has to be done. So where does the fun come in? This time for me it was jazzing up my area. I had storage (I just wasn't using it properly.) I hadn't really given my room love since I moved. So in the midst of cleaning, I did some prettying up too. I have a bunch of my grandmothers sewing supplies. I wanted to have them out and use them with purpose if possible but if not decorative. Old thread and buttons are now in a jar on display. The thread isn't good, but I didn't want to part with it yet. The buttons *might* get used here or there, but not likely to use this many... ever. Instead of these notions being scattered, they are now prettified and organized.
8. Take pictures!
A before picture and an after picture make you feel great about it once it is finished! (Check out my post from Cheryl's Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop 2019)
9. Clean the machine!
Not the first thing that comes to mind with cleaning the shop, right? Well, it actually really should be at the top of the list. If we are all honest, it doesn't get done quite as often as it should.
10. So now what?
How to keep it clean? I really want to make a good design wall. Right now I am using the back of a table cloth. It's time for something better. I know they aren't expensive to make, but when money is tight it isn't at the top of the list. Here's my incentive, if I keep the studio clean, at the end of the week, I will put $10 toward the wall. If it is not clean at the weeks end, I will take $10 out. Since I'm at the weeks end, and it's now clean. I'm adding the first $10 to my jar. Eventually, I will build that wall... if I only keep my room clean.
Here's the list of blog hoppers & check back for mine May 9:
April 30 - Sandra Johnson @ Sandra Johnson Designs May 1 - Jennifer Schifano Thomas @ Curliecue Creations May 2 - Becca Fenstermaker @ Pretty Piney May 3 - Sue Griffiths @ Duck Creek Mountain Quilting May 4 - Kate Starcher @ Katie Mae Quilts May 5 - Jo Westfoot @ The Crafty Nomad May 6 - Sam Hunter @ Hunter Design May 7 - Simone Fisher @ Simone Quilts May 8 - Elisabeth DeMoo @ Brown Bird Designs Quilts May 9 - That's Me! May 10 - Amy Bradley @ Purple Pineapple Studios - May 11 - Kathy Nutley @ Quilting by Kathy May 12 - Cheryl Sleboda @ Muppin