- 2024 Goals -

I normally spend time during the week between Christmas and New Years setting goals for the coming year. However, this year I was sick that entire week - in bed, sick. AND on top of that, I was sleeping about 18-20 hours a day. Yes, I was pretty sick.

So, no goals were set. I hate that because my goals help me to stay on track through the year. I'm more productive with goals in mind.

What to do? I considered setting some year-long goals the next week, but I still wasn't recovered. Energy level was low and daily naps were required - so I decided to do something a bit different this year. Instead of annual goals, I'm going to set monthly goals. The plan is one goal each month.

January - Organize Virtual Event Class Kits

I've purchased/attended several virtual stamping events but haven't finished the cards. It's time to do something about that - past time. The best way to make that happen is to get the kits organized. That's my goal for January.

Oh my! So many events; some sessions completed but many are not.

Task completed 01.16.2024

February - Eliminate 12 X 12 Paper Pads

That might seem like a small task, but I kid you not, I had 103 different 12 X 12 pads of designer paper that I'd accumulated over the past 15+ years. It was just way too overwhelming, not to mention it took up too much space. So I went through each one, pulling the papers I thought I might use some day and then set aside the pads of paper to donate.

This picture is just a small part of the pads that have been set aside for donation. 

FYI, I went from 2 shelves of paper pads to about 5" of designer papers, which I plan to store with other sheets of 12 X 12 designer papers that I have in Totally Tiffany Paper Handlers.

Task completed 02.09.2024 

March - Reduce the Number of Sterilite Drawer Units

Well, that wasn't easy. I had several of these since years ago I'd used them to store my 12 x 12" papers. Then I used them for various card-making supplies. I got rid of some of them when we moved into this house last fall, but I still had 8 of the 3-drawer units. I wanted to cut the number in half.

This picture shows all but 2 sets of the drawers (they were in a closet). I did some sorting, purging, and reorganizing the contents of all 24 drawers and now only have the stack to the right of the desk, seen in the photo.

Task complete 03.22.2024

April - Sort, Purge and Organize Remaining Paper Pumpkin Kits

I have been slowly (VERY slowly) using my vast number of Paper Pumpkin kits, with a monthly series using one kit per month. However, I recently decided that some of the kits simply weren't my style and it was a stretch to make anything with the items included. Therefore, for this month's goal I went through all of my remaining kits and decided which ones to keep, and more importantly, which ones to ge rid of. 

I ended up getting rid of a dozen kits, but that means I still have 17 Paper Pumpkin kits (as seen in the photo). At my one per month status, I should complete the series in August of 2025. 

Task completed 04.12.2024

May - Sort and Purge Washi Tape from Three Drawer Units to One

I have way too much Washi Tape. It was cheap and I never knew what color/design I would want for my Bible Journaling tabs, which is mainly what I use Washi Tape for. 

I quickly realized I wasn't using it enough to merit the space it was taking. I did a serious purge - keeping just one of the drawer units and filling it with my most-likely-to-use Washi Tapes. The two gallon-size ziplock bags I purged went to our local thrift store, as did the two drawer units. I hope someone else can enjoy it.

Task completed 05.03.2024

June - Change the Way I Organize My Solid Cardstock

I have two (really ugly but functional) 2-drawer filing cabinets in which I store my solid cardstock. I've always stored it alphabetically with one drawer for current SU colors and the other 3 drawer with retired SU colors as well as a few other manufacturers.

 

I recently made the decision not to purchase any more SU cardstock (we'll see how long I stick with that). There were 3 reasons leading up to that decision.

1. They package the paper VERY poorly and it almost always arrives with at least one of the corners crumpled a bit.

2. The price increasing makes other quality papers more affordable.

3. The price of shipping is higher than other places.

With that decision, I realized it would be best to store my papers by color family instead. I started by taking all of the hanging files of paper out and putting them in seven stacks - Neutral, Blue/Teal, Green, Yellow, Lavender/Purple, Red/Pink, Orange/Coral. I then measured each stack, figuring out which ones would fit together to make a drawer. 

The top left drawer contains my neutral colors, which I tend to use most often. The drawer under it is Blue/Teal colors. The top right drawer is for Red/Pink and Orange/Coral. The bottom right drawer has Green, Yellow, and Lavender/Purple.

I've used this system a couple of days now. So far I like how I can open a drawer and look for just the right shade of a particular color family to fit my card/project.

Task completed 06.13.2024

July - Alphabetize Cardstock Within Color Families 

Last month I changed the way I store my cardstock - dedicating the four file cabinet drawers to different color families. What I didn't mention is that I organized the drawers from lighter colors to darker colors of each family. 

It didn't take long for me to figure out that wasn't the best way for me. While I love the color family system, the light to dark wasn't working, mainly because I know the names of most of the cardstock I currently own and when I wanted a piece of a particular color I had to work at finding it within the file drawer. So this month I changed to an alphabetized organization within each color family.

Task completed 07.24.2024

August - Reorganize Colored Pencils and Zig Markers

My Zig markers were stuffed into drawers and my colored pencils were not well organized either so I took the Zig markers out of the drawers and put them in a spinning unit. I also spread the pencils out a bit to make them more useable. 

Task complete 8.20.24

September - Reorganize My Stamping Desktop

My desktop hadn't changed much for many years, but I decided it was time to make some changes. I purchased a riser and placed it on the left side of my desk so I could place my paper trimmer under it. Before this, I had to lift my trimmer onto the table whenever I wanted to use it. I think this will keep it much more handy. I also shifted my marker storage a wee bit and opened up the center area a little more. We'll see if I like the changes or not. If I don't, I can always go back to the way it used to be.

Task complete 9.26.24

October - Put Away Loose 12 x 12" Papers

I purged my 12 x 12" paper pads in February, pulling out the sheets I wanted to keep and donating the rest to our local thrift store. Since then, the stack of papers I was keeping remained in a stack, waiting for me to sort them by category and add them to my existing 12 x 12" papers. 

One has to wonder why it took me so long to do this.

Doesn't it look more user-friendly now?

Task complete 10.08.24

November - Organize the Drawers of Concord & 9th and Taylored Expressions Ink Refills

A number of years ago I purchased a fun metal drawer unit. For a long time I stored my Eyelet Outlet brads in it. It worked perfectly. After I left their design team, I switched the way I stored those items and decided to use the drawers to store my ink pad reinkers. It works well, but they needed to be better organized and the drawers labeled so I can easily find the reinker I need. I took care of that task this month.

Task completed 11.02.2024

December - Purge andOrganize Class Kits from Virtual Events

I have been attending Virtual events for the past few years. I love watching the classes (while I work on other things) and then plan to go  back and make the cards later. Unfortunately "later" hasn't been happening, and those class kits just sit there, taunting me. I was feeling very VERY overwhelmed, so I decided to go through each bin and purge the kits from classes I knew I really didn't want to make the cards - ever.

These pictures show the bins of class kits I had before the purge.

Way. WAY. too. many.

I now have only 3 bins of classes, neatly stored in the tower/totes.

Relief.

Task completed 12.03.2024

updated 12.04.2024