Go ahead, post pics!
I had two upstairs bedrooms like that... both stuffed to the gills (or ceilings!) with fabric, herbs, patterns... you name it. Neither was usable (I have my sewing machines set up downstairs in the great room, but couldn't even access much of my fabric when I wanted to start a project) and it was driving me nuts. Plus, hubby would stash MORE stuff in every time we did any clean up downstairs, for the holidays or whatever.
We finally tackled them together- we first emptied the herb room (it's mostly meant for storing my herbs, OTC meds, vitamins, herb bottles and containers, beer and winemaking stuff, plus has a full wall of shelves my son built which hold large Rubbermaid storage containers full of fabric) into the guest bedroom (I wanted to cry- it was the only room up there which was actually clean and organized!). We sorted, tossed, washed and replaced ONLY what we felt was necessary (which is still way more than any sane person who isn't a prepper would keep). When that room was organized, we emptied the "sewing room"- which is essentially fabric, pattern and notions storage- into the guest room. Did the same process.
It took 4 long days. I took several large garbage bags full of assorted fleece, various craft items, etc up to our Amish neighbors. Their teenage girls were ecstatic... they make decorative scrapbooks, and other items and the various rubber stamps, ribbons, etc will be put to good use. The fleece fabric will be used to line various jackets, etc.
There is still a stack of containers of fabric in the center of the sewing room- simply no room on the wall shelves for them. But they're all clean, labeled and I know exactly where everything is... and I don't have to climb over anything to get to what I want!
None of the shelves we built are fancy- 2x4's and either plywood or MDF board (I do spray paint the MDF, as it doesn't tolerate ANY dampness otherwise). But they're sturdy, and very useful.
Of course, I swear that the last few bits took the longest to deal with- the stuff that was borderline "keep or go", or just didn't seem to have a "Category" where it fit very well. But the guest room is now clean and usable again, and I know exactly where all my patterns, etc are- a good thing, since my youngest son just announced they're expecting their first baby in the Spring.
There were times in the middle of the project I wanted to jump out of the window (and I'm very blessed to have a hubby with an excellent sense of organization, plus the willingness to scrub anything that needs it- we carried dozens of various rubbermaid type containers out to the milkhouse to be washed and dried before refilling), but it was SO worth doing.
Summerthyme
