Its that time of year again where we feel the need to try and better ourselves and or our spaces. There is nothing wrong with this of course but what if I told you I haven’t felt the need to try and overhaul my quilting studio in years. Since I have started using this one trick, cleaning and tidying go so much faster. Even after a week long quilting session where my space looks like a bomb went off, it takes about 10 minutes to get it back in order. Wanna know my trick?!

Keep things where you use them!

That’s it. Sounds simple right. Well it is. Keep the items you use by your sewing machine by your sewing machine. For me that’s my thread, sewing feet, and pins (I find I like to pin as a pick an item up to sew it). I also keep my snips and my head phones at the ready.

At my cutting table I have command hooks on the sides to store all my cutting rulers. I keep some pins handy as well as my rotary cutters. The key is to really examine where and how you are using the items in your sewing space. One might think that keeping your scissors with your rotary cutters makes sense. Which for some might make sense, but for me it doesn’t. I use my scissors most often by my sewing machine to trim snowballed corners and log cabin strips. I rarely use them at my cutting table. So I keep these by my machine.

I understand space near where you sew or where you cut may be at a premium or nonexistent. I suggest using baskets or bins to maximize storage where there is no storage. Or if your sewing space is in your dining room and needs to be packed up on a regular basis, I suggest getting 1 or 2 rolling tiered carts from Target or Ikea. These will work great (combined with some baskets) to keep things tidy. And in areas that just don’t have a lot of room, keep the items that are not used very often, like the specialty rulers and threads, tucked away in a closet or cabinet. There is no point and taking up valuable real-estate on items that rarely get used.

So the next time you have a 10 minute cleanup (set a timer and pick up for 10 minutes…you’ll be shocked at how much you can get done) take note of what you are picking up and where you are picking it up. If you find yourself constantly picking up your pins at your cutting table but you store them by your machine. Its time to find a storage spot at your cutting table. Having things at an arm’s reach to use them makes it easier to put away as well as saves time. All this leads to more time quilting!