Organized craft closet

I suppose most people have catch-all closets, which is what became of this closet, originally intended for craft and sewing supplies. Crammed with clutter (although the perfect hide-and-seek spot for my kids), this closet was begging to be organized!

And, voila! Not a really dramatic change, but oh so much more functional. All I did was shift everything around into zones using existing drawers, boxes and other organizational tools.

SEWING ZONE: Color-coded fabric in an organizer right next to my sewing machine.

SEWING ZONE: Three drawers stash small sewing supplies like thread and needles, cross stitching miscellany and scrap fabrics.

GIFT AND CARD ZONE: A simple slotted rack on the wall displays greeting cards to choose from more easily than if stored stacked in boxes. I can also see, at a glance, which occasion I need to restock (anniversary, birthday, get well).

GIFT AND CARD ZONE: Rolls of wrapping paper and gift bags are stowed in a corner, along with tape and tissue paper.

GIFT AND CARD ZONE: Extra envelopes, address labels, standard thank you cards and stamps are tucked away on the wall adjacent.

IN PROGRESS ZONE: I tacked up some corkboard tiles on which to pin projects in progress, as well as magazine clippings and ideas. A tray on the desktop just below holds bulkier unfinished projects.

FILING ZONE: A row of magazine files are labeled according to my most frequent filing needs.

ART SUPPLY ZONE: I reserved the top middle shelf for miscellaneous art and craft supplies. Labels on the outside of clear drawers cut down on wasted time spent digging for stencils, stamps, scrapbook paper, etc.

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It's nice that everything has a "home" now, so I'm much less tempted to just pile things on the desk or shove them into a corner on the floor. I can walk in and find what I need quickly and have more motivation to put things back where they belong when I'm through.

How do you sort and organize a closet? Does "zoning" work well for you?

Weekly Meal Planning Tool

For those of you looking for a system that integrates your recipe organization with weekly meal planning, consider this option.

I keep a three-ring binder with recipes I've clipped from magazines or printed out and taped or glued on the pages. Everything in the binder fits in a category like "Main Dishes," "Appetizers/Sides," "Breads and Breakfast," "Beverages," and "Desserts."

I do my meal planning once a week by picking out recipes and slipping them inside a clear page protector in the order I plan to use them. Then I hang the page protector filled with full-page recipe clippings on my fridge with magnets.

When it's time to cook something, I pull it down off the fridge and bring it to my work area where it remains spill-proof while I cook. Then I move the front sheet to the back and the next recipe is displayed for the following day's meal. At the end of the week, I return the recipe sheets back to the binder and start over.

Note: If one of the meals I've planned isn't in my binder, I put a sticky note in the mix of the week's recipes with the cookbook's name and page number for easy reference.