Keeping it all together

We have one room in our home that serves many purposes. Luckily it is a room of good size, but it still takes a bit of ingenuity to make it all flow together smoothly. This multi purpose room that we so lovingly call the Library (because I one day want it to have built in floor to ceiling bookshelves all the way around, and we will use it just as library) now serves as a Library, School Room, Sewing Room, Office for our home and our two businesses. So how do we keep it all together?

I have separated it into zones. We have our Library zone which also holds all the school books and manipulative's as well as craft supplies that are stored in the labeled stacking shelves beside the bookshelf. Don't underestimate those bookshelves either, they are holding around 1,000 books and probably more, with a shelf to spare.


Next is my sewing zone. This is where I do all the sewing for the business, so it also holds alot of business material as well. The storage totes hold my finished products so that they are protected from dust and dirty little fingers. Utilize your wall space, by hanging things up.

The next area is our school desk which houses the kids school bins. They each have a color and you can see how we use those here. This obviously is where we sit and do most of our school work. I do tend to send some to read in other rooms so that they can focus.

Then the office area is off to the left of the school table. It is where I spend way to much time trying organize my life and all that comes with it. Receipts, schedules, lists, bills, calendars, phone numbers, addresses, to do lists, and that is just for the house. Add to that two businesses, our construction business and ALL THAT COMES WITH THAT. Yes I am the secretary, the personal assistant, the bookkeeper, the accountant, the media personnel, employee relations....ugg I'm tired just typing it all. Then there is my business that is a bit less daunting, but still leaves its paper trail none the less. I am notorious for throwing things away, I really don't like stuff...it clutters my mind even when its in another room. So I don't keep much paper around, if its important I will scan it and store it on a disk. I also try and deal with any paper work "to-do's" before I go to bed, that way its done and off my desk. Lastly, the biggest thing I can think of that has helped with keeping all this stuff together is the lock that is on the door. When I am not in here and there aren't any big kids in here to keep an eye out for wandering hands....the door is pulled to and locked. The lock is a simple slide lock that is placed just high enough that only those aloud in the room can unlock it. If that is not an option for you, I would suggest locking cabinets, for ALL craft stuff, as well as games. These are the things in our house that the little kids just love to get into.

So that is how we keep things "together" around here. Some days are better than others, but for the most part it works.

Now the day that the lovely 40's wallpaper is gone will be a joyous day.