Order Out of Chaos

My yesterdays are all boxed up and neatly put away. ~Sheryl Crow

Well, I managed to restore order to my knitting and crochet patterns.  As you can see from the photo they are neatly contained in four binders now.  I still need to buy some more plastic sleeve protectors and some dividers. The binders are now stored on a shelf in my craft closet--the only things in there that are organized.

Chaos

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it's not all mixed up.  ~A.A. Milne

Oh, why didn't I read the words above before I started printing patterns out?!!  I've been seriously knitting and crocheting for about seven years now and have been printing out patterns for just as long.  Patterns I wanted to make right away (and I have made some); patterns I would like to make some day; patterns I liked the look of; patterns that would teach me a new technique; patterns . . . well, I think you get the idea. 

I began to put them in a binder when I realized that I was collecting quite a few of them.  I brought the binder with me when I moved from Virginia, along with quite a few space bags filled with yarn.  That was almost four years ago and my collection of both patterns and yarn has grown to amazing proportions.  I am attempting to control the stash yarn by not buying any new yarn and knitting and crocheting items that will utilize the yarn I already have in my possession.  Of course, that has necessitated finding and printing out even more patterns that are ideal for the yarn I have.  So, the yarn accumulation is very s-l-o-w-l-y diminishing, but what to do with all the patterns?

The original binder was filled up some time ago and so I began putting the patterns in plastic sleeve protectors.  I kept these on top of the binder in my craft closet, but every time I wanted to find just the right pattern that I knew I had printed out at some time in the distant past, I had to fumble through piles of patterns that I didn't want.  And they slipped and slid all over the place.  

So, yesterday I decided to get organized.  I pulled out every pattern I could find in the craft closet and put them on my kitchen table to begin putting them in order.  I remembered a box of empty binders that came with us from Virginia that has been hanging out in the garage since we moved in here.  Binders! What a perfect place to store all those patterns!  Much easier said than done, however.  I worked for several hours yesterday and this is what I have accomplished:

Why haven't I finished yet?  Today was Super Bowl Sunday and I had company coming over to watch the game with us; and I had food to prepare to munch on while watching the game.  But, no more excuses.  I promise I will have a picture tomorrow of all my patterns arranged in orderly fashion in binders. Just don't hold your breath.