Home and Family: DIY Area

When I last left off, I shared the current state of my work area with you. It was not a pretty sight! This space is in the basement in an unfinished area, as you can see the exposed duct work in the ceiling. The previous owners had hung peg board and a few shelves here so I happily claimed this area as "my" space! The space has good bones and you can probably tell that I've attempted to organize and use the space to its fullest, but unfortunately it had turned into a dumping ground.

All it took was a few hours of cleaning, organizing and purging and I was left with this:

Total spent: $0 - my favorite kind of project! I used only supplies that I already had which worked out perfectly. The storage containers I had on hand and the chalkboard labels came from a project that I just completed and hope to share with you shortly. I don't know why, but for some reason when I try writing with chalk, I regress to my 3rd grade handwriting! Can someone please explain that? Am I the only one that this happens to?

I have all my paint swatches that I've collected over time in this little metal bin. You can see the front door samples are in front.

On the lower shelf I have a box for different crafts - pom poms, pipe cleaners, sequins, etc.

Next to that are some bins from IKEA for scrapbooking supplies, and miscellaneous small items. I don't really have much time for scrapbooking anymore (see wicker basket above with all the items I'm "saving" to scrapbook about one day...) but I still find that a lot of the supplies are great for other uses.

The last things on that shelf are a bin for glue, modge podge, glue gun, etc. and one below for stencils and stencil brushes.

Above that, I have a bin for fabric scraps. I don't sew so my stash is fairly small. And next to that (no picture) is an art pox with my craft and acrylic paints.

The top shelf has spray paint, wood filler and etching cream, as well as a box for vase fillers and pillow stuffing.

To the left of the shelves is my gift wrapping station. This system was already set up before the "big clean," but now I'm actually able to access everything. I have four rolls on rods and the overflow above.