Scrapbook Organization - Intro

I thought we'd take the first week to get everyone here, signed in (although if you come in later and want to join in, just jump right in! Everyone is welcome! :D), and write down our organizational goals! So... if you'd like to join the challenge (or have an organized space and want to be a cheerleader), please post ONCE with your goals and survey (or to "save" your spot)! :)

Once we have a majority of people signed on, we can start "chatting," but for now... we'll just chat *about* this thread in one of the other threads regarding this challenge. This will help keep everyone's goals at the beginning of the thread and therefore, easier to go back and edit and look at. :)

And here is a list of things that are nice to have on hand while we're doing this challenge. You don't HAVE to have these things, but this made it easier for me. :)

1. THINGS YOU NEED

Journal or Notebook with pen (attached to journal! I'll show a tutorial on my blog this week.)

Labels (temporary or permanent... post-its, sticky, pre-sticky tags, etc)

Ziploc bags (sandwich-sized and/or snack sized)

Temporary containers (shoe boxes, unused photo boxes, gift bags, that box that chocolates came in, whatever...)

Inspiration (I have an exercise for this too...)

2. GOALS

Now it's time to write down our goals! Goals like... paint room, set up new shelves, re-organize flowers, etc... I mean obviously I'll cover everything in our "program" (tee hee), but it's nice to have personal goals, so you can cross them off as you go. This way, it will support you *as* you go and encourage you to *keep* going! :) PLUS, it will help all of us keep up with you.

We are in this together! We all want to be here for support and encouragement! For this reason, please post before photos as soon as you can (on your blog or gallery or wherever). And no cleaning it up for photos either! That IS NOT allowed! LOL. I don't care if you have cookie sheets and kitty litter boxes in your space right now... it's photo time! :D

3. SURVEY!

(Questions that will help you organize better and choose storage containers accordingly.)

Do you need everything uniform (storage containers all one color or material)?

Do you want things visible and open? Not visible and open? Closed and visible? Closed and not visible? (these questions taken from Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker)

What’s working for you (organizational-wise)?

What’s not working for you?

What do you need to have close-by?

What inspires you?

What do you think will be the most challenging when organizing your space?

What specific thing are you most excited about?

Do you have a color scheme or theme? If so, what is it? If not, do you want one?

4. EXERCISE 1!

Think of your favorite patterned paper... ever. You know, that one line or collection that came out, and you said to yourself, “This is SO me!” Or “Holy Cow! This is so beautiful, I don’t even want to cut into it!” Or “Wow, this is awesome! Can’t wait to cut into this!” Or maybe you were just in awe, “I think I’ll just frame it. No cutting. No gluing. Just framing.” You know what I mean?!

Basic Grey’s Periphery was this way for me. I saw it, and I just... knew. I knew those colors and that feeling. When I look at it, I just feel so... at home and happy that there’s *that* kind of beauty in this world. :) I tried different looks and color schemes for my space, but I kept going back to it. I finally just gave in.

So find that one piece of paper or line. And make a project. RIGHT.NOW. A mini book, an altered box, a layout, a card, a home decor item. Heck, just frame it if need be. And once this task is completed, put it up in your space some place (preferably up out of the craziness). THIS will be your inspiration till we’re done with your room! Even if you don't want THESE colors/patterns for your room, it's good to be inspired!

If you already scrapped it, see if you can go out and buy another. If you can’t, get something out that you have made with it. Oh, and don’t forget to show it to us! We’re all in this together. ;)

***So hopefully, everyone will have these exercises completed in the first week. HAVE FUN! :D I will post all the challengers on this post, so we know ALL who is participating! :D